Casual Collective

So when I was surfing the web trying to find something to waste my time away, I stumbled upon the Casual Collective. It's a site that hosts a bunch of flash games, but it's not like the million other flash game sites out there. Instead of having hundreds or thousands of small games, Casual Collective has focused on a few very developed and highly addictive games. I can personally assure you that the games are highly addictive as while writing thi... More >>

So when I was surfing the web trying to find something to waste my time away, I stumbled upon the Casual Collective. It's a site that hosts a bunch of flash games, but it's not like the million other flash game sites out there. Instead of having hundreds or thousands of small games, Casual Collective has focused on a few very developed and highly addictive games. I can personally assure you that the games are highly addictive as while writing this review I keep taking hour long breaks playing the site's notorious flagship game, DesktopTD.<br /> <br /> Looking at this startup from the perspective of how it fits into the current environment, I really like its future prospects. With a recession at hand, people are going to be less willing to spend $20-50 on regular games and instead more willing to try out free ones. Now you might ask why wouldn't people just go to one of the thousand other game sites out there? The answer is that the mind numbingly simple and easy games offered by these sites won't cut it. People are getting used to more complex computer games and need something that actually makes them feel like they are challenged and that's exactly what Casual Collective provides.<br /> <br /> Now I'm a big critic of the ad-revenue based model for websites and that's my one concern for this startup. Even though some people are saying that interactive ads embedded in flash games are doing better than in traditional media, I still don't think that will be enough to hold them through what I think will be the burst of the ad-revenue bubble. On a more positive note, I'm pleased with the fact that the site creators are aware of this deficiency and are making attempts to diversify their revenue stream. They have setup a system through which you can buy "casual credits" which can be used to upgrade your experience on the website in a number of ways. <br /> <br /> All in all, I like the more focused and community feel that you get from Casual Collective compared to other gaming sites. If they continue to diversify their revenue stream away from just advertising and manage to not get addicted to their own games, I think that they will be well on their way towards a successful business.<br /> << Less