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It’s been some time since the folks over at Booyah released any new titles on either Facebook or mobile, but the creators of Nightclub City and MyTown 2 have finally let loose a new concoction in the form of Pet Town. Though the free-to-play iOS game is yet another in the sea of city building business simulations, this absurdly adorable number came as a pleasant surprise. Incorporating a handful of new features and constantly rewarding the player, this stylized animal utopia is certainly a step above the rest.

By now, just about everyone and their mother has heard about the Child’s Play charity. Founded by Penny Arcade creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins in 2003, Child’s Play raises money to improve the lives of sick kids by raising funds to make sure that hospitals have all of the toys and video games they could ever need. It’s a noble cause, and it’s one that a lot of gamers have gotten on board with. The latest group of kind-hearted gamers to get involved are indie developers working with the Adventure Game Studio engine – and they want you to name your price for 14 of their latest creations, with all proceeds going to Child’s Play.

You’ve seen the dark side of Felicia on more than one occasion in the PuppetShow series, but what if she wasn’t always so sinister? That’s the question ERS Game Studios is posing in PuppetShow: Return to Joyville, the fourth entry in the franchise.

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You’ve trained for years to be the leanest, meanest and quickest master of your craft the world has ever seen. Days and nights of endless training have become your life. The word “quit” isn’t in you vocabulary. Perfection is all you strive for, it’s what keeps you going. Though you’re ready for anything, there’s no war to fight, no battle to be won, no enemy to destroy...but man is this place filthy. Grab your broom, janitor, it’s time to get this place clean. You duty lies with the DustForce.

It's Friday, and you know what that means: it's time to look back on the week in gaming. And what a week it was. Games helped save lives, launched on new platforms, and even flirted with the idea of gambling. Here's what happened in casual games this week.

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While the match three genre has never been at a loss for new games, it’s a pretty safe bet that most new games will be fairly mindless, asking you to simply make matches of three or more like gems as quickly as possible, with little concentration or effort on/for a greater goal. With Hello Venice however, you have a game that plays with far more strategy (and therefore lasting entertainment) than most others.

Earlier this week Popcap announced that Facebook game Baking Life would be coming to an abrupt end, officially shutting down on January 31. As you can imagine, players are not happy.

It’s official. According to AllThingsD, Zynga has confirmed that it is currently investigating getting into Internet gambling, assuming it is made legal (which it will be).

It should come as no surprise that Zynga is seeking partners in Internet gambling. Zynga Poker is still the top poker game on Facebook, Zynga has announced plans to create a Zynga Casino suite of games, and there has been a lot of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity around social game companies that focus on casinos recently.

What is surprising is that they are tipping their hand around this strategy, just a month after going IPO. Internet gambling still is illegal in the US and Zynga just went public with the intention of becoming the number company to play games, not to gamble. So, why the admission, when it would have been just as easy to play it coy?

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Pocket Gems, the mobile games developer behind popular titles such as Tap Pet Hotel and Tap Zoo, is adding a new 2D app to its repertoire: Tap Buggies. As the name would suggest, it’s centric to the insect world, and in typical Pocket Gems fashion consists of creatures wielding big watery eyes. Oh yeah, and it also goes into that whole business simulation concept again. This time around, however, it’s been shrunken down to a bug’s level.

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Mike and Jane are enjoying a beautiful afternoon aboard their yacht, the Sea Bliss, when a storm suddenly appears. The sky turns dark and a strange symbol glows in the sky right before the yacht is hit with a powerful wave. You come to on a deserted island just in time to see Mike’s unconscious body being dragged away. Thus begins Sea Legends: Phantasmal Light.

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Let’s face it, we’ve all dreamed about getting that winning lottery ticket and becoming instant millionaires. Of course, that’s not likely to happen, which is why the concept behind Day Dream is so appealing. Unfortunately, the reality of the game is far from what one would hope, with most of the play feeling superfluous and un-gratifying. You may be able to buy the cars, homes, and vacations of your dreams, but it’s just not that much fun when the spending isn’t real.

When Minecraft first popped up on the scene, about a thousand clones or “inspired by” games popped up everywhere. The Xbox Live Arcade Indie section became flooded with games using as many variations on the words “mine” and “craft” as you could possibly imagine. A 2D version, Terraria, popped up on Steam and became a best seller. The “voxel (volumetric pixel)” style was everywhere, digging and crafting were all the rage, and it was all thanks to a game that was then in the alpha stage of development.