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Ask HN: Casual but Non-Addictive Games You Play

17 points by yawz 7y ago

Do you play any casual games that you're able to play only a short while, and not pick up until you have free time without creating addictive anxiety?

Ishmaeli 7y ago
Mini Metro: https://dinopoloclub.com/games/mini-metro/ https://dinopoloclub.com/games/mini-metro/
alashley 7y ago
Just finished Beyond: Two Souls in about 15 hours over 2 weeks. I also find the website How Long to Beat let's me know how much time I will invest in a game upfront. For me, typically the longer the game, the more addictive it is.
tasssko 7y ago
I play overwatch (it’s hard in the beginning as you figure out maps and hero’s, and the odd toxic player). Overwatch is great for short play sessions though you are not guaranteed to finish feeling good, matchmaking and player role selection add a level of frustration. i end with Widowmaker or Reaper who on certain maps is a bit overpowered. pokemongo, legend of Zelda, breath of the wild and recently Animal Crossing. Personally I found it hard to get into Pokemongo and made it because my daily dogwalks pass through a few gyms and stops which helps and I built up a friend list. With lockdown it’s been harder to play but I’ve developed a few teams in the battle league and that’s quite fun. I don’t play everyday none of these games are addictive but they are fun for me and they all reward regular long term play. I hate casino style games (pay to progress micro transactions many of these on iPad now). Also hate games that are built around grinding.
mrfusion 7y ago
Solitaire. Minesweeper. (Looking for more like this)
- Cheetah26 7y ago
  I think that Sudoku could be categorized with those.
DrNuke 7y ago
The 1$ humblebundle offers are a joy these days, the latest gem I got is WRC7, short runs & jumpy enough for a bit of fun.
skinner_ 7y ago
I'm a huge fan of Blokus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blokus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blokus), a deep board game for 2 or 4 players. https://blokee.mattle.online/ https://blokee.mattle.online/ and https://pentolla.com/ https://pentolla.com/ are places where you can play it online. Quick, hassle free. Both places have bots, the Pentolla bot is not bad.
ars 7y ago
Puzzle games are my favorite for that, but not any individual game, rather as a category. Most puzzle games are short, but it's hard to stop in middle and continue later since you'll forget some of the mechanics.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
Method5440 7y ago
Human Resource Machine ...or... 7 Billion Humans
darkwizard42 7y ago
Overcooked 1 & 2. Great with a partner, easy puzzle game design, super simple concept, and fun to pick up in short bursts.
raphtheb 7y ago
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, better known as DCSS. https://crawl.develz.org/ https://crawl.develz.org/ The premise is simple: Dive into the dungeon, retrieve the famed Orb Of Zot, and abscond with it in your possession. Easy, yes? What sold me were the vi-style controls, the ability to play directly from a terminal (or a prettier web GUI if you so choose), and how every action is on a turn-by-turn basis. You get to pause/stop at any time, and your progress remains for years. It can be a little daunting to get into it, but it is a lot of fun!
- babuloseo 7y ago
  I was about to say this, you beat me to it :P It's kinda like Binding of Isaac if anyone was wondering. Similar in terms of you want to give up after losing sometimes.
seanwilson 7y ago
Baba is You is really good puzzle game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/ Think Sokoban or Chip's Challenge but you have to rewrite the rules of the game to solve puzzles. Going away and coming back later probably helps solve a lot of the puzzles.
danbolt 7y ago
I really enjoy SlipWays, a PICO-8 game. [1] https://krajzeg.itch.io/slipways https://krajzeg.itch.io/slipways
polishdude20 7y ago
Gamecraft.live Codenames online play with friends, no signup required .
anonyxyz 7y ago
Blitz games on lichess
csa 7y ago
I play Go. Tsumego Pro is a nice app for quick, short-term life and death problems with a range of difficulty. If you are new to go, check out http://playgo.to/iwtg/en/ http://playgo.to/iwtg/en/ -- it's a solid introduction to the game.

17 points by yawz 7y ago

Do you play any casual games that you're able to play only a short while, and not pick up until you have free time without creating addictive anxiety?

Ishmaeli 7y ago

Mini Metro: https://dinopoloclub.com/games/mini-metro/ https://dinopoloclub.com/games/mini-metro/

alashley 7y ago

Just finished Beyond: Two Souls in about 15 hours over 2 weeks. I also find the website How Long to Beat let's me know how much time I will invest in a game upfront. For me, typically the longer the game, the more addictive it is.

tasssko 7y ago

I play overwatch (it’s hard in the beginning as you figure out maps and hero’s, and the odd toxic player). Overwatch is great for short play sessions though you are not guaranteed to finish feeling good, matchmaking and player role selection add a level of frustration. i end with Widowmaker or Reaper who on certain maps is a bit overpowered. pokemongo, legend of Zelda, breath of the wild and recently Animal Crossing. Personally I found it hard to get into Pokemongo and made it because my daily dogwalks pass through a few gyms and stops which helps and I built up a friend list. With lockdown it’s been harder to play but I’ve developed a few teams in the battle league and that’s quite fun. I don’t play everyday none of these games are addictive but they are fun for me and they all reward regular long term play. I hate casino style games (pay to progress micro transactions many of these on iPad now). Also hate games that are built around grinding.

mrfusion 7y ago

Solitaire. Minesweeper. (Looking for more like this)

Cheetah26 7y ago
I think that Sudoku could be categorized with those.

DrNuke 7y ago

The 1$ humblebundle offers are a joy these days, the latest gem I got is WRC7, short runs & jumpy enough for a bit of fun.

skinner_ 7y ago

I'm a huge fan of Blokus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blokus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blokus), a deep board game for 2 or 4 players. https://blokee.mattle.online/ https://blokee.mattle.online/ and https://pentolla.com/ https://pentolla.com/ are places where you can play it online. Quick, hassle free. Both places have bots, the Pentolla bot is not bad.

ars 7y ago

Puzzle games are my favorite for that, but not any individual game, rather as a category. Most puzzle games are short, but it's hard to stop in middle and continue later since you'll forget some of the mechanics.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Method5440 7y ago

Human Resource Machine ...or... 7 Billion Humans

darkwizard42 7y ago

Overcooked 1 & 2. Great with a partner, easy puzzle game design, super simple concept, and fun to pick up in short bursts.

raphtheb 7y ago

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, better known as DCSS. https://crawl.develz.org/ https://crawl.develz.org/ The premise is simple: Dive into the dungeon, retrieve the famed Orb Of Zot, and abscond with it in your possession. Easy, yes? What sold me were the vi-style controls, the ability to play directly from a terminal (or a prettier web GUI if you so choose), and how every action is on a turn-by-turn basis. You get to pause/stop at any time, and your progress remains for years. It can be a little daunting to get into it, but it is a lot of fun!

babuloseo 7y ago
I was about to say this, you beat me to it :P It's kinda like Binding of Isaac if anyone was wondering. Similar in terms of you want to give up after losing sometimes.

seanwilson 7y ago

Baba is You is really good puzzle game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/ Think Sokoban or Chip's Challenge but you have to rewrite the rules of the game to solve puzzles. Going away and coming back later probably helps solve a lot of the puzzles.

danbolt 7y ago

I really enjoy SlipWays, a PICO-8 game. [1] https://krajzeg.itch.io/slipways https://krajzeg.itch.io/slipways

polishdude20 7y ago

Gamecraft.live Codenames online play with friends, no signup required .

anonyxyz 7y ago

Blitz games on lichess

csa 7y ago

I play Go. Tsumego Pro is a nice app for quick, short-term life and death problems with a range of difficulty. If you are new to go, check out http://playgo.to/iwtg/en/ http://playgo.to/iwtg/en/ -- it's a solid introduction to the game.