Monthly Archives: December 2009

Coming Soon: Empire Builder - Ancient Egypt

52
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Posted by Justine on December 29, 2009 – 7:00 am
Filed under Coming Soon, Download Games

Become Egypt’s greatest architect as you raise this ancient empire from the sands. In Empire Builder: Ancient Egypt, players meet a series of powerful pharaohs that want their help building empire along the lush Nile River. Over thirty fun and challenging levels of play, players won’t just construct cities, but some of the world’s most famous monuments!

More upcoming releases are coming to Shockwave. Soon, you’ll be able to enjoy these great new games:

  • Little Folk of Faery
  • Mystery P.I.™ - Lost in Los Angeles
  • 1912 Titanic Mystery

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 next week, and we’ll post a response addressing the week’s most commonly requested games.

Set Your Sights To The Sky With Santa – Tricks & Tips: Santa Blast

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Posted by Ben De Ayora on December 24, 2009 – 12:30 pm
Filed under Online Games, Tips and Tricks

The holiday season is always full of fun, from taking time off work, to sharing good food with family and of course some solid holiday gaming. This year I’ve been hooked on a game on Shockwave.com that puts a new twist on sending Santa Clause flying through the air.

In Santa Blast, Chris Cringle doesn’t use a magical sled or reindeer to travel through the skies. In this game he uses good old fashion TNT. While it sounds easy enough to just use high powered explosives to blow a jolly fat man up in the air, this game can get a little tricky. For this reason I’ve come up with a few tips that will keep Santa up in the air longer. This will help your high score and your attention span during the holidays.

• Master The Controls – If you have never played this game before I recommend just running through it a few times to get a better idea on how the controls work. At first I was a little confused how to move St. Nick around but after some practice, I had an easier time collecting objects as I flew through the air!

• Keep an eye out for TNT – In this game you are nothing without your explosive boost. Try launching yourself into the sky at full power a few times so you can get a good idea where the first few sticks of dynamite are located. Once you find these you can start to get an idea of how the items are stacked. They don’t change positions so once you find a path that works for you, you can continue to get higher by following what you already know and advancing from there each time.

• Time Your Blasts – The key to scoring the most points in this game is the timing of your TNT blasts. Now that your control is solid and you know where the TNT is going to be, you have to learn to use your boost so that you can continue to soar. I recommend waiting until you have about leveled out before blasting higher. Unless you know you will be filling up with Fresh TNT after a short burst, a fast explosion may help keep your momentum going.

• Go For The Big Items – You will see a lot of items littered in the sky but the biggest items (like sacks of presents) will give more points and more momentum as you make your way up!

Now that you know what you are doing you should have no problem making our high score leader board and while the holiday season only comes once a year, you can play this great game on Shockwave.com every day!

Play Santa Blast!

2009 Shockwave Staff Favorites

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Posted by Yelena Kozlova on December 24, 2009 – 10:44 am
Filed under Club Shockwave, Community, Download Games, Online Games, What we're playing

It’s hard to believe that 2009 is almost over. We just got started, and… it’s almost time to ring in 2010. We had a lot of fun this year bringing you the best free online games and download games from across the globe, searching through thousands for just the right titles for you to enjoy. We really hope that each week everyone found something new they could play or discovered another favorite title to enjoy again and again on Shockwave.

While the staff here doesn’t like to play favorites since we play every single game that comes out (tough, I know, but someone has to do it) many of us did find ourselves coming back to certain games over and over again.


Michael, our producer extraordinaire, couldn’t stop burnin’ rubber in Burning’ Rubber 3 . “Who would have thought you could play a home console style game on the web? This game has it all: high speed racing, weapons, boss battles, random explosion powerups, daily challenges, car customization, and even a tank. The only thing this game doesn’t have is a literal kitchen sink. Everything else is in here. And if you can find all the hidden packages, my hat goes off to you. Word is that it unlocks something you never thought you’d see in a car race game.”

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Jessie, our marketing maven, fell in love with The Clockwork Man. “I think this beautifully- designed hidden object game is a cut above the rest. In addition to being great to look at thanks to sumptuous scenery and fun characters, the added bonus of fresh new navigation features like scrolling and zooming in on scenes makes it a pleasure to play. A Jules Verne-style adventure story with flying airships and robots contributes to the true uniqueness of the game.”
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John, our product guy and fearless leader, got wrapped up in Freestyle21. “I’ll admit – this game ate into my work productivity a little bit. The concept is simple – make as many 21’s as you can as fast  as you can from a full deck of cards – but the time pressure and ‘winning swimmer’ bonus combine to make this a fun new challenge every time. When Club Shockwave first launched, a co-worker and I got into a heated competition on the leaderboards. I’m proud to say I won that challenge, but still have a long way to go to beat the overall top players.  My best is 2,147 – can you beat it?”
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Justine, the mistress of marketing and resident foodie couldn’t get enough of Youda Sushi Chef . “What starts out as a comfortably paced sushi restaurant, with only a few types of maki on the menu, eventually turns into sushi making mayhem. Don’t get me wrong, the game provides almost enough time to grasp the new recipes introduced as you progress through the levels, but it’s the continuous ordering of supplies, the clearing of the dishes and the take-out orders that will have you repeating levels and if you’re like me, missing hours of required sleep. With tons of decorative upgrades and new kitchen accessories to choose from, this online game will keep you entertained for hours.”
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Dana, our download games producer, fell in love with Aveyond: Lord of Twilight . “It has everything I could want from a game: an engaging story, rounded characters, action, and gameplay that requires a little strategy. It’s a great homage to the classic RPGs I grew up on, and I was so happy to see some overlap between classic action games and the ever-evolving casual games world. As soon as this game launched, I immediately downloaded it at home, along with the previous Aveyond games so I could get caught up! With all the great Aveyond games, as well as the ones yet to come, they’re sure to give you many hours of great gaming entertainment!”

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As for me, it was really hard to choose just one game. Shockwave has the perfect game for
every mood, every time of day, and every weather (can you tell I’m a fan?). But, when it came down to it, my fave for 2009 had to be Hedgehog Launch 2. With roots from the former Soviet Union, I have a special place in my heart for hedgehogs and space exploration. Hedgehog Launch 2 beautifully makes fun of both with great sarcasm, fast-paced action and an adorable hedgehog. Forget about pigs flying, this is about a faster, pricklier hog with ambitions for Mars!

What were your favorites in 2009? Let us know in the comments, we would love to play your favorite free online games and download games! 2010 is almost here and that means we can all look forward to many new game discoveries.

Carrie The Caregiver: Dog Days Of December

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Posted by Carrie on December 22, 2009 – 4:09 pm
Filed under Online Games

When it rains it pours… or should I say snows!

On top of everything else going on right now, Will is digging us out from a huge blizzard. Back in Northwood, we’d pray for a few flurries before Christmas, but this is ridiculous… we could hardly open our front door this morning.

You’d think the wild weather would discourage people from venturing out for jam and fruit and other holiday goodies, but apparently not! Everyone around here has four-wheel drive, so they just plow through the snow and get on with their lives. Good thing we took the time over the weekend to stockpile some jars in anticipation of the rush. The line-ups have been out the door, and we’re short one very important worker: Will.

Did I mention he decided to get the family an early Christmas present this year? A puppy! Not sure how I feel about it just yet… the last thing I need is another responsibility right now, but the kids promised to walk him and Will promised to train him… which is what he’s been up to the past few days. Of course, the kids named him Berry (how cute is that?!?) and Will is such a softie that he refuses to leave the little guy in a crate, and that means he can’t be left alone for a single second, for the sake of our floors, carpets and shoes ;)

Being up all night with a whining puppy has really done a number on my energy level… I swear, Berry is worse than Pearl ever was! And with the recording contract in the back of my mind, I’m feeling pretty distracted overall. I won’t know for sure until next week if the demo album is a go, because everybody’s on holiday ‘til after Christmas, but I’m almost more worried they will want me to do it than if they don’t. Will, Grettle and the kids have pledged their overwhelming support – which makes me adore them more than I could ever articulate – but what would that mean for everything we’ve worked so hard to build here together?

Grettle keeps telling me not to worry, to just relax and let life show me where it wants to take me, but I’m not convinced. It’s all good stuff, sure, but once again our future is up in the air…

Now that our Team Family is finally back on track, do I really want to rock the boat?

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Play Carrie The Caregiver Cross Roads
Become Carrie’s Fan On Facebook
Follow Carrie On Twitter!

Coming Soon: Masters of Mystery - Blood of Betrayal

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Posted by Justine on December 22, 2009 – 10:28 am
Filed under Coming Soon, Download Games

Experience an intense murder mystery! Upon discovering two dead bodies in a penthouse, it’s up to the experienced Carrie Chase to unravel the clues behind these grisly murders in Masters of Mystery: Blood of Betrayal! As Chase progresses through the investigation, startling secrets about her past life begin to immerge. Experience breathtaking scenes, challenging mini games, and an intense story, in this exciting Hidden Object game.

More upcoming releases are coming to Shockwave. Soon, you’ll be able to enjoy this great new game:

Jojo’s Fashion Show World Tour - From Japan to Barcelona, racks full of vibrant clothes and lifelike new male and female models await.

The Treasures of Montezuma 2- Return to the jungle in The Treasures of Montezuma 2, an all-new match-three game with more levels, more challenges and more fun!

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 next week, and we’ll post a response addressing the week’s most commonly requested games.

Carrie The Caregiver: A Star Is Born

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Posted by Carrie on December 15, 2009 – 5:11 pm
Filed under Online Games

Are you sitting down? I’m not… I’m actually jumping up and down as I type this!

Yup – I’ve got some pretty exciting news to share… and it has nothing to do with jam or fruit or kids or husbands or babies or tornadoes or caregiving. For a change, it’s all about me. How weird is that? Okay, so here goes…

Remember that record exec who came by the store a few weeks ago? Well, turns out he’s Peter’s girlfriend’s uncle. He was in town for Thanksgiving and Lisa apparently suggested he come by and listen to me sing and…. well… he loved my voice! I just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago and he wants me to come down to Nashville and record a demo album with some big producer he knows. He really thinks I have a shot at a recording contract.

Wow. I can hardly believe this is happening.

I know it’s a long shot, but my spirits have not only lifted, they’re soaring up through the stratosphere! These last few months, I just assumed I was still feeling down because of the move, and getting adjusted to our new life out here, or maybe that I was worried about the kids growing up and leaving me with an empty nest one day.

But in an instant, it all became clear… I need to do something for me. It may not be this – becoming a country-music star still seems like a bit of a long-shot, recording contract or not – but I do need to find a way to… to find myself, I guess.

Truth is, I’ve been taking care of others for so many years that I think I lost myself a little bit along the way. Not that I don’t love my life and my career, or realize how blessed I am to have the family I have, the husband I have, but I think there comes a time in a woman’s life when she needs to not only stop and smell the roses but plant a few for herself.

Does that sound nuts?

I think I’m just giddy with excitement. Anyway, I better get going… you guys were the first to know… Will and the kids have no idea! They’re waiting for me down at the store….guess I better go and tell them the dream I’ve barely admitted having to myself may be on the verge of coming true…

Oh no… what if they think it’s a terrible idea?

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Play Carrie The Caregiver Cross Roads
Become Carrie’s Fan On Facebook
Follow Carrie On Twitter!

Happy Holidays From Shockwave

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Posted by Justine on December 15, 2009 – 3:11 pm
Filed under Events


A gift-a-day means more ways to play!

Through December 24th, we’re giving away a new gift every day to help you celebrate the season with exclusive deals, premium games and more.

Unwrap yours today!

Coming Soon - Hotel Dash: Suite Success

60
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Posted by Justine on December 15, 2009 – 7:00 am
Filed under Coming Soon, Download Games

When Quinn’s new travel business hits a snag, she needs Flo’s patented elbow grease to help renovate and run hotels all over DinerTown! As Flo, you will deliver guest’s luggage, drop off room service and provide extra towels, blankets and anything else they may need to stay happy and leave big tips! Along the way you will use your tips to decorate and restore each hotel back to its original charm. Watch out for the mysterious mishaps and accidents that threaten your progress! Do you have what it takes to keep everyone happy, or will the mysterious shadow halt your success?

More upcoming releases are coming to Shockwave. Soon, you’ll be able to enjoy these great new games:

Big City Adventure™: New York City- The Big Apple has become home to thousands of hidden items and minigames. Discover fascinating and obscure facts about NYC and its history. Earn magnificent mementos and beautiful postcards as you travel around the huge city, finding Hidden Objects and playing minigames.

Delicious: Emily’s Holiday Season- Warm up your holidays! It’s winter in Snuggford and Emily is preparing for her family’s holiday party at a cozy little lodge. Soon, romance fills the air as two suitors vie for Emily’s attention. Can Emily carefully balance her duties and build a relationship? Whom will she choose? Join Emily in this romantic new adventure through a winter wonderland!

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 next week, and we’ll post a response addressing the week’s most commonly requested games.

Play With Holiday Madness

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Posted by Yelena Kozlova on December 14, 2009 – 6:41 pm
Filed under Uncategorized

Well, the holiday season is officially here.  The turkey and trimmings are behind us, and the craziness of holiday shopping, travel, and the overall mayhem of the last month of the year lies ahead.  I’m getting overwhelmed just thinking about it, since long lines at the mall and the airport are definitely not something I look forward to this time of year.   We all have our holiday coping strategies, and mine is to play free online games at Shockwave.com.

First, I cater to my immediate need to get away from it all and transport myself to places far away with Daily Jigsaw.  The photo used for the puzzle (submitted by our Shockwave members) changes daily, so each day brings an opportunity to travel to a new place without going through airport security.

This usually does the trick, but sometimes I need a little more to see the difference, so I turn to Daily Diff.  The puzzle game changes daily as well, but here I get to look for the subtle differences in gorgeous user-submitted photos.  I love focusing my attention on lovely places far away from the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Next, I combat mall madness with Mall Cop.  Running down thieves on a segway-like “personal transporter” in this flash game totally beats the crowds and lines at the mall.

While I can’t control the craziness at the airport, I make up for it by creating great strategies in Airport Mania: First Flight.  Controlling my virtual airport in an online game (also available as a downloadable game) takes the edge off the holiday travel and the airplanes actually smile here!

When all else fails I take myself to the spa.  Yes, the spa, right from the comfort of my own home.  I get to choose between the tried and true pampering of the Super Spa or the glitz and glamor of Sara’s Super Spa – Vegas Style. It’s remarkable how relaxing playing spa games can be!

I hope these free online games from Shockwave give you the strength to deal with the holidays.  What are your coping strategies?  I’d love to find out what games you’re playing this holiday season, so please let me know in the comments.  And remember, we’re all in it together, at the airport, in the mall, and at Shockwave.com, so let’s find some relief in the madness with fun online games and downloadable games!

MTV Networks is Hiring in San Francisco

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Posted by Ben De Ayora on December 14, 2009 – 1:33 pm
Filed under Community

addicting-game-logo sw

MTV Networks is hiring in San Francisco Offices
We are currently looking to hire for some key positions at MTV Networks in our San Francisco office.
• Front End Web UI Developer (3)
• Director Virtual Goods
• Director Product Development
• Online Media Analyst
• Technical Games Producer
These positions are within the Nickelodeon Kids and Family Games Group:

The Nickelodeon games group serves one of the world’s largest online games audiences, with over 17 million unique users in the US alone (behind only EA and Yahoo Games according to Comscore). Home to leading games sites AddictingGames.com and Shockwave.com, the group also produces games for some of the world’s most beloved animated characters such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer as well as live action TV hits such as iCarly. The group focuses on creating cutting edge game experiences for kids, teens, and their parents with particular focus on online gaming. With over 4,000 games on its sites, the group distributes one of the largest collections of online games in the world and also creates its own IP via a network of independent games developers and studios. Headquartered in San Francisco, the Nick Games Group also has employees in New York and works with developers from all around the world.

Front End Developer - AddictingGames.com
Are you a dynamic, creative, Front End Developer? Can you focus on client side technologies and user facing portions of our AddictingGames site but also understand server side technology? Can you produce flawless code and also research, plan, estimate tasks, quality assure and deploy support? Have you worked in tandem with remote development teams to do this work?
Apply here: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MTVNETWORKS&cws=1&rid=186

Director Virtual Goods
Can you bring depth, passion and talent to our super popular, ground-breaking and huge AddictingGames business? Have you turned ideas into exceptional offerings on consumer facing sites? You will own all aspects of the virtual goods business on AddictingGames.com, including monthly revenue and profit to the business. Our preferred hire has proven experience marketing micro-payments for digital goods and additionally a solid grasp of the social and/or casual games space. You are analytical, with a strong attention to detail, have lead creative teams to success, and built successful online businesses.
Apply here: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MTVNETWORKS&cws=1&rid=187

Director of Product Management - Shockwave.com
Are you an experienced, customer-focused Director of Product Management that can own the consumer experience of the multi-channel Shockwave.com website? Have you defined and driven overall site strategy, determining feature sets and revenue opportunities with a leading entertainment or game company? Have you analyzed the external marketplace, customers, and competitors and driven the business with vision and enthusiasm to success?
Apply here: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MTVNETWORKS&cws=1&rid=55

Online Media Analyst
Have you developed analytics and reports that gain insight into online audiences? Can you be a resource to the business stakeholders for consumer driven web product sites, supporting them with analytics, reports, competitive industry data, and other data-driven information? Do you understand the way people share content online?
Apply here: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MTVNETWORKS&cws=1&rid=175

Technical Games Producer
Can you define and document functional requirements and use cases for flash-based social games, and serve as the technical liaison between Nickelodeon’s server-side engineering team and third-party game developers?
Apply here: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MTVNETWORKS&cws=1&rid=188

Senior Software Engineer

Are you skilled in Java and J2EE having built highly scalable consumer facing websites? Can you take a lead role in the design, implementation and integration of new features into the Shockwave and AddictingGames web sites?
Apply here: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MTVNETWORKS&cws=1&rid=146

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.