Monthly Archives: June 2009

Coming Soon: New Download Edition - Sara’s Super Spa Deluxe

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If you’re a fan of Sara’s Super Spa, you’ll love the new Download Edition: Sara’s Super Spa Deluxe. Get it  exclusively on Shockwave, Tuesday, July 7th. Sara’s gone back to beauty school and learned new ways to  pamper the patrons of the Super Spa. Give your clients all the treatments they desire; hot stone massage, hair  extensions, even dental whitening, only available in the deluxe edition! All of Sara’s current services are still available for you to perform before time runs out!

This July, help make Sara’s Super Spa Deluxe a Super Success!

Get ready for more New Releases coming your way from Shockwave! Soon you will be able to enjoy these hot titles:
• Avalon
• Sprouts Adventure
• Burger Shop 2
• Dragon Portals
• SCRABBLE Plus
• Aveyond: Lord of Twilight
• Delicious: Emily’s Taste of Fame: July 3rd!

We appreciate your feedback and game suggestions and want you to know that we read every single one of them. While we strive to respond to as many requests as possible, we will not be able to respond to everyone individually. Check back here Monday, and we’ll post a response addressing the week’s most commonly requested games.

Coming Soon: Burnin’ Rubber 3

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Filed under Coming Soon, Community, Online Games

To me, there is nothing more iconic in racing than the smell of burning rubber.   You know that it’s not a good race unless there is smoke under your tires, and you know that some of the best online racing games are Burnin’ Rubber and Burnin’ Rubber 2.  But, what you don’t know is that on July 7th, Burning Rubber 3 is coming to Shockwave!


That’s right, the next installment of our favorite online racer is almost here, and when I found out,  just had to get the inside scoop to share with you.  I caught up with our producer on the game, Michael Ruppert, and the talented developers from Xform, who are currently putting the final touches on Burning Rubber 3.

The Spark: Michael, can you let us in on the back story of how the Burnin’ Rubber racer series came to Shockwave?

Michael Ruppert:  Part of my job as a Game Producer is to scour the web for top online game developers. During one of my routine searches, I stumbled upon a fun little prototype Kart racing game from Xform, a group of talented individuals from The Netherlands.  The game had lots of potential thanks to some great art style and track design.  I got in touch with Xform, and quickly found that we all had similar tastes in racing games and could create top quality racing content.  We released the original Burnin’ Rubber on Shockwave on December 4, 2007 to extremely positive reviews and it became an instant hit on the site. Xform really enjoyed the experience and were eager to start work on a sequel. For Burnin’ Rubber 2, they pulled out all the stops and added a ton of great features like daily races, hidden packages, and a bunch of new cars and tracks. Needless to say, Burnin’ Rubber 2 was an even greater success than the original and is still one of the most played racing games on Shockwave.

The Spark:  Pieter and Diederik, your work at Xform on the Burnin’ Rubber series has delighted racing fans on Shockwave since 2007!  Can you tell us a bit about the evolution of this awesome game over the years?

Xform:  Technically a lot has changed from the first one to Burnin’ Rubber 3, from what goes on behind the scenes to how we make our games in general. We stopped making tracks based upon laps. Instead the tracks are always a path from A to B. This allows us to build tracks with reusable tiles (big square blocks with a road and additional scenery) and makes for much cooler scenery as you speed down the racetrack. We first used this approach in Burnin’ Rubber 2 and it was a big hit.  In comparison to BR1 the other games have almost ten times the content.  BR1 featured 3 tracks and 3 cars. BR2 had 15 tracks and about 5 cars. With Burnin’ Rubber 3 we went completely overboard with content (a bit too much to be honest ;) ) Over 10 cars (all customizable), weapons, upgrades and lots of tracks!

The Spark: Wow, I can’t wait!  Burnin’ Rubber 3 is not just bigger and cooler; it has new features as well.  Just when I thought it can’t get any better!  What made you decide to put weapons in BR3?

Xform: There are two main reasons. First of all we had great fun seeing the traffic cars explode in Burnin’ Rubber 2 when you bumped into them.  Although not very realistic, it was great to see them burst into flames and fly away.  So, we were already thinking about how fun it would be to destroy more stuff during a race. Secondly, we wanted to do something more action packed than our previous games and thought that adding some guns and rockets would be a great way to do so.

So there you have it.  If you thought that your favorite racer can’t get any better, on July 7th Michael Rupert and Xform will show us that it can with Burnin’ Rubber 3.  I hear the game still has those awesome hidden packages that will score you extra goodies, the race will still get your adrenaline sky-rocketing, and now you get to customize 10 brand-new cars complete with weapons!  I’m told there are a few other surprises in the game, but we’ll just have to wait (impatiently) until July 7th to find out more.  In the mean time, I’ll be practicing with my old friends Burnin’ Rubber and Burnin’ Rubber 2.

Tricks and Tips: 5 Ways To Win @ Risk®

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Risk®, the ultimate flash game of global domination has been a favorite on Shockwave.com for a while now. I have been playing the game myself since I was a kid, and no matter who I’m playing against (be it the computer or my best friend) it remains challenging. And it’s a great way to exercise your brain. With that said, I want you to know that winning at Risk® is not easy! There are many things you have to think about in order to finish on top in a game of Risk®, and I hope that with these simple tips you too can keep your troops strong and your victories glorious! 

Here are my 5 tips to help you win at Risk®!

1. Keep a strong front: when setting up your line of defense, make sure that you don’t leave any holes. The AI will invade any vacant countries around your stronghold, and move in to try to weaken your force.

2. Patience Pays Off: a lot of times with this online version, you’ll want to rush through turns and play quickly. However, this could lead to compromising your strategy. Play with patience, take your time, and calculate your attacks to end with more wins.

3. Chose Your Targets Wisely: unless you think you can hold it down for an entire turn, don’t bother conquering an entire continent. Doing this is sure to attract unwanted enemies, and when they gang up on you, it’s hard to keep order.

4. Stay In Control: when you have full control of a continent, it’s best to set up your armies so that they can protect the points of attack, rather than wasting troops guarding the less vulnerable countries that make up the area’s interior.

5. Finally, don’t spread yourself too thin. Keep your troops as well distributed as possible. If you don’t, other players will reek havoc on your low numbers. 

What We’re Playing: Best 5 Mahjong Games For Dad

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Hi there, Daniel here, and I love being a dad even more than I love playing games, but a truly great game will let me combine the two. I especially love mahjong games because my three year old can make the matches herself, sometimes with only a little help from me. We really enjoy the free online mahjong games at Shockwave, because a game takes just a few minutes, there’s no download times, and it’s an easy way to bring us together.

My favorite free mahjong games to play with the kiddo are:

* Mahjong Panda
* WordJong
* Mahjong Roadshow
* Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2
* Mahjong Solitaire

Happy Father’s Day!

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Filed under Download Games, Events

Make Dad Glad!

This year, give dad the gift of fun and find it for 50% off at our Father’s Day sale!

Father's Day Game Sale

Coming Soon: Wedding Dash – Ready, Aim, Love!

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Ready, Aim, Love!


Wedding Dash®
: Ready, Aim, Love!™ is a great sequel to a brilliant series. Weddings were a place the Dash series should have gone, and did go successfully. In this installment you do more of the same: “plan” weddings and administer them. I’m not a person who cares much for the stories in games of this genre, so I won’t get into that here. Set-up stories don’t matter in a time management game, game play matters, and Wedding Dash: Ready, Aim, Love has plenty of it. I like time management games that set up opportunities for stringing together easy-to-access, logical combinations of actions. Ready, Aim, Love was designed and tuned with this in mind. It’s fast-paced, well-ramped and just plain fun to play. It’s everything I expected in a sequel, and everything I demand of a time management game.
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Strong theme, well-produced, very clicky and easy to grasp. I highly recommend Wedding Dash: Ready, Aim, Love to all who like strong, rhythmic game play. Even if you’re a guy, and even if you think a wedding theme is too girlish, try it. Because this is a solid time management game.

Soon you will be able to enjoy these fun download games:

  • CLUE™ Accusations and Alibis™
  • Nancy Drew®: Danger on Deception Island
  • Dragon Portals
  • Delicious - Emily’s Taste of Fame
  • Avalon

The AddictingGames Showdown: Vote For Your Favorite Games!

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Our friends over at AddictingGames.com have a really cool event going on over at their site and on Nickelodeon. Check out the AG Showdown and see if any of your favorite games are up for an award! Check below for more information and be sure to cast your vote while you still can!

AddictingGames wants to give a shout out to some of our most awesome games. And we like the idea of being on television. So, for the first time ever, we’re honoring the greatest in online games with The AddictingGames Showdown, airing Saturday June 27th on Nickelodeon.

The AddictingGames team has been working hard: cooking up cool categories, like “Best Performance by a Monkey” and “Greatest Escape Game.” And then we had to go through more than 3,000 contenders to select the real over-achiever games.

This is where you come in. We have ten categories and four nominees in each category. You, dear gamers, will determine the winners. What do the winners get? Are you kidding? Fame, respect, adoration and bragging rights. What game wouldn’t be proud to win?

Play the nominated games and vote for your favorite in each category. Is it Porta Potty? Escape the Car? Moto Rush 2? Dance Monkey Dance? We’ll count votes from now through June 27, and announce the winners on TV! Check out this great video which is also airing on Nickelodeon now!

OverSize XXL: Tips & Tricks

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Hello fellow monster truck junkies. It is I, Big Ben, the baddest bro to ever take on a mud course. Today I’m here to talk about a game that’s a bit larger than life. In fact it’s XXL Larger than life. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then check out one of the most popular games on our site, Over Size XXL.

For those of you who are ready to rumble, let’s get down to business. monster truck racing is tough. You have to be able to handle powerful machines at top speeds while avoiding a variety of obstacles that will cross your path. Here are a few tips that I have used to turn me into a better racer and I’m sure they can do the same for you.


Stay straight: when your truck starts to pick up speed and boost forward with power, it’s important to stay as straight as you can for as long as you can. You can do this by picking out a line on the track and using the right and left arrow keys to balance your monster as it tears through the mud. This will keep you going faster longer and give you an edge when you come out of turns.

The air up there: since these big guys blast off with major power, it’s important to use your jumps to fly over as much of the course as you can. Be careful though! It’s very easy to lose control of your tuck in the air, which could result in a serious disaster for your first place dreams. 

Stay away from obstacles: this game has some amazing artwork, but with beautiful scenery comes many well drawn obstacles that will put your vehicle in instant park on contact. It doesn’t matter if it’s a rock or a cactus,  if you happen to slide off the road and hit anything in the background, your Truck will stop right away and all your momentum will be long gone. The best advice for this problem is to stay on the road. Follow cars closely to get the hang of how the turns work, and then work your way up to passing. Before you know it, you will be leading the pack.

Finally, the inside will take you home: once you have worked on your steering and jumping abilities, it’s important to keep any advantage you can get on the other cars racing against you. Once you have a lead, keep to the inside of the track. Use less gas on turns and cut corners sharper. This can slash valuable seconds from your time and help you get a killer score!

Hopefully my words of wisdom will help your next Over Size XXL adventure. I started off slow once too, but now I’m blasting by the best of them. If you have any specific problems with your trucking abilities, feel free to post them in a comment and I’ll do my best to get you across that finish line first!

Keep on monster truckin’!

Coming Soon: Winemaker Extraordinaire

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I’ve never considered myself a wine connoisseur, but that was before I played Winemaker Extraordinaire. Now I can appreciate all the work (not to mention fun!) that goes into making fine wine.
After inheriting your grandfather’s bucolic Italian vineyard, you have the chance to grow and expand the family business like never before. Travel the world and meet the World Guild of Extraordinary Winemakers as you search for new ingredients, recipes, and vineyards to keep up with the high demand for your famous blends. Impress the Guild enough and you may just uncover the missing pieces of the recipe for Vino Ultimae, and bring the world’s finest wine back to life! This game harnesses the tycoon spirit, but has a style and charm all its own. With 15 beautiful cities to visit and 20 delicious wines to bottle, Winemaker Extraordinaire keeps you on your toes without overwhelming you. Add in some fun mini-games for sorting and growing grapes, and this game is a recipe for success!

Get ready for more New Releases coming your way from Shockwave!

Soon you will be able to enjoy these fun download games:
Nancy Drew®: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
Tradewinds Odyssey
Nancy Drew®: Danger on Deception Island
DinerTown Tycoon™
• Cradle of Persia
• Nanny 911

Everyone’s Favorite Online Puzzle Game Goes Mobile

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The most popular game on Shockwave is now also available for the iPhone and iPod touch. The new Shockwave Daily Jigsaw TO-GO app provides you with a new puzzle every day, just like the online Daily Jigsaw game. Plus, you get 90 pre-installed puzzles instantly when you download the application.

Have some great photos on your iPhone? Turn them into entertaining puzzles with the Jigsaw Maker feature. Want to really challenge your jigsaw skills? Crank up the difficulty—there are three levels from which to choose. Shockwave Daily Jigsaw TO-GO is a great way to bring your favorite online puzzle fun to your fingertips, with all the customization, flexibility, and portability that the iPhone and iPod touch have to offer.

You can pick up the Shockwave Daily Jigsaw TO-GO app, or get more information, here:

Take a peek behind the scenes of Shockwave.com at The Shockwave Spark, an online gamers blog that keeps you up to date on the coolest titles, the hottest deals, and other newsworthy and buzz worthy tidbits. Get the scoop on the latest in online games, you'll have the chance to ask questions, comment on recent posts, and chat with the rest of the gaming blog community.

Of course, we appreciate your feedback on our gaming blog, including all your game suggestions. But, there's a lot of it! So, while we read every single one of our members' comments, we can only do so much. We'll get to as many requests as possible, but usually don't get a chance to respond to everyone individually. This is one popular online gamers blog! Check back each week and we'll post a response that addresses the most commonly requested games.

For even more fun, check out Club Shockwave and Shockwave® UNLIMITED. As a member of Club Shockwave, you'll have access to exclusive versions of the best games around, including Free Cell, Mahjong, Bingo, Daily Jigsaw, Solitaire, and more. When you play games, you'll earn tokens, win trophies and have a chance to play instant win scratchers or enter sweepstakes for big cash prizes! With Shockwave® UNLIMITED you'll receive access to exclusive online games and downloads for a low monthly fee, unlimited play on all downloadable games, no ad interruptions on all games, and brand new Flash games each week. Plus, you'll have full access to all of the great online features of Club Shockwave, including multiplayer games like Bingo.