I thought this game was fun. It's pretty simple, short, and not very challenging but still a nice little game to play. I didn't see any purpose to the goblins - they were there in the open so click and you add to your time. Just give me the time up front and save me a couple of seconds of clicking. Some of the levels are simple to complete at the highest level and others can't be completed until the next level down. It would have been more fun if every level had been a little more challenging and if the game had lasted longer with gradually more challenging levels. Because the game was free, I have no complaints. If I'd paid for it I probably wouldn't be thrilled but with a few adjustments I think it could be better.

.............................Moderator comment......................................

Thank you for your feedback Cathy. what adjustments would you make to make it better? :)

Those having cursor problems might want to change to the system cursor in Options. FYI, I got stuck in level 22 when the game would not do the first step (gather food). I ended the game, and then restarted it and that fixed the problem.

I was stuck in the same loop on level 5 and got the same apparently random Pause repeatedly. I turned off the game cursor and the sound and it seems to be working fine. Good thing the game cursor is defaulted to off when the game starts. This seems like a big flaw in the game, maybe taking out the option to have a game cursor would be good for them.

Otherwise I am enjoying the game. I was treating the Pause screen like another TM task on par with the pointless goblins.
Thanks for the game.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback Gina :)

Enjoying this game! I used to say I didn't like Time Management games, but I've loved the Rescue series, The Ballad of Solar, and this offering (I'm on Level 12). You don't seem to ever get timed-out, but you can challenge yourself to get a better cup for speed if you wish.

Downloaded and extracted (it doesn't install) without problems in Windows 7; and it does play full-screen, Deb(#18)! The only glitch I've had was a lock-up on Level 4, probably because I queued-up too many tasks when I sent my guys off to chop a large log and they got discouraged: had to exit, then restart the game to fix that.

Okay - the music isn't great, the thieves sneaking-in and wrecking buildings you've already fixed is annoying, and sometimes the paths aren't obvious; but I'm sure I'll have it all figured out by the second or third time playing this through --which I will do! And get your guys working, then pick off the goblins.

Big thanks to Alawar, GGOTD; and Whiterabbit for the review. Thanks to games like this, I no longer skip over the TM games category :-)


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback Mac:)

Always good to see another Alawar game, though I'm not sure I can handle the time management. Their 5-in-1 bundle's on sale at steam, 10% off http://store.steampowered.com/app/346140 figured I'd mention it since they're the developer of this feast.

No problems installing or playing on my old Vista system. TM games aren't my favorite (I don't even like my day being scheduled) but they provide some variety in my gaming ...and my vocabulary, after barely missing gold time in one level eight times in a row.

Too many HOGs, TMs, or Match-3 games? Once you have the basic programming it's easy to change the graphics, sounds, and "plot" to create a "new" game; can't blame the developers and marketers for that. Every chess game is played on the same board with the same pieces, and we've yet to tire of that.

.............................Moderator comment...................................

I agree w.r.t. TM's HOG's and match Three's. They have been popular for quite some time now, and the dev's seem to find new combinations of these games where they incorporate cross genre games together. My favorite of these are the Match three with RPG elements where you have two opponents that fight using matches.

I was hoping we'd see more indie games, which have grown in popularity over the last several years. I'd also like to see some more breakouts, though not the 3D type as they always seem too easy. We got an indie game via the Valve corporation back in January. I was hoping we'd see more, but as yet nada. :(

I run win 8.1 x64 and had to go to win 7 compatibility mode to get it to work.

BTW, I meant to mention I'm using Windows 8.1 64 bit. I see that a few others are having the same experience, so I guess it's not just how I'm playing it.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Hi BeBop, I'm also running Win 8.1, but haven't had any problems running the game. Check your event log to see if there are any reports that relate to this problem. :)

My problem is similar to Aroonima's. When I move the cursor to perform some kind of action, the PAUSE window pops up, and I have to hit BACK to continue the game. As soon as the game is returned, and I move the cursor, it PAUSEs again. Very frustrating to try to get anything done before it shuts itself down again. Looks like a reasonably good TM game, but I don't have the time to manage the pauses. I
I'll be deleting this one.

.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback bebop, check Gina's comment below for a possible fix:)

LOL a reply to my own post. I did re download from here and from myplaycity, still had the same problems, tried windows mode same, went back to full screen unchecked sound and game cursor now it works fine, could probably leave sound but I never have volume on anyway.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback Doug :)

Loaded on a windows xp (sp3) platform just fine. Graphics are well done. It would be nice to change the screen resolution to a larger size for the older generation like myself. The screen resolution was changed by the game itself - definitely not a size I would have chosen. There's not much to say about the music as it is the same pretty much throughout the game. I do like the ability to gain time by the use of clicking on goblins. Good TM game, but I still favor Royal Envoy! Thanks!


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback Deb :)

Using win 7/64, had no problems dl-ing/installing/playing the first 9 levels. I had THOUGHT I had remembered playing this before and it was full of glitches, but either I'm remembering the wrong game or it has been fixed remarkably well. It's a Time-management, but it does have some little twists (hidden goblins steal your time unless you find and click on them all... and you WANT that time, because it really is TIME management. In the first nine levels, I'm already working hard to get that gold, and I play a LOT of TM games!). I like that you have to pay attention to your goals - you don't have to complete everything on the level to finish, just complete the goals. The music is rather happy and up-beat, although I'm sure there are a lot of people who will get sick of it rather quickly. I'm enjoying it, and I've played enough TM games that "entry level" ones bore me these days even though I love the genre, and this one isn't boring me.

.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback Stealth Bunny:)

It is an OK game of its type, but there are better ones. I had a problem when I first started, either the tutorial or the game's pointer forced the "pause" with almost any click. Once I was on the next level and I had turned off the game pointer, it worked without the pausing. The fact you can click ahead is great. Some games of this genre do not allow that, or limited number of times.
Will keep the game, even though I have better ones.

Thanks Alawar and Game GAOTD!

.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback :)

Hi there :-),

a great game, I love it!!

Not sure, first Image while loading is question mark, is this intended so?

Thx for this great game!


.............................Moderator comment...................................

:)

I like it. Fantasy plus time management equals a winner for me. The graphics may be small in windowed mode, but it's not that bad for me. (I use a magnifier.)Characters are recognizable and if you find the bad guys too fast, you can (ahem...) always tinker with the configuration file, found in the game directory as a text file.

.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback Therese :)

Don't think I have ever commented here but this game annoyed me enough to. I an not good at time games so thought id give a try, I might actually play if it would let me every few seconds the game pauses on me, by the time i move cursor away from the back to game button it pauses again.
I am going to re download but doubt that will make any differance. Windows 8.1 64 bit if that matters.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Hi Doug, sorry for the late reply. Try using the free Game Booster. It temporarily turns off un needed resources thus freeing them up for the game. Also make sure you have the latest graphic drivers for your graphics card. Gina and Jim-1 (see comments below) may have found a fix for this problem :)

The game keeps pausing itself...very annoying!!! I've re-downloaded it, changed profiles, etc...still have the same issue.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Check the post immediately below yours (Dougs, or Gina's and Jim-1). They have the same issue. Read my reply. :)

Good Day Everyone,

The Game seems to end up "Stuck in a Loop", on Level 5. With or WithOut the "Tutorial" on, it happens every time I choose a task that requires "Multiple Workers". The workers just keep filling the larger hole, or removing the wood. I have restarted the game several times, and it keeps happening. After the "Loop", I went back to the "Main Menu", and started "Level 5" again, but the workers are unable to do anything. I have to "Restart" the game to have the workers do anything. It just happens over and over, so I sure hope you have a fix for this, because this game seems to be a Great Game.

My Computer Specifications are as follows:

Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit,- AMD Six-Core FX-6100 3.30GHz, 32GB DDR3 1600 PC3-12800 RAM, 2x AMD Radeon HD 6670 Graphic Cards.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Hi Gil, computer specs definitely okay for this game. Have you made sure your graphic drivers are up to date. Check the event log immediately after playing the game to see if there is anything related to this issue. Check Gina's and/or Jim-1's comments below for a possible fix :)

Hi there all you wonderful people in the either,
I've played this game before and really loved it, my grandson enjoyed it as well. Between the both of us we get to enjoy all the games that come our way.
So on behalf of us both, Thank you.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Nice one :)

Well, I'M enjoying the game although - WARNING: It is HIGHLY addictive.
Been playing non-stop since I downloaded.
My only confusion is re the timeline bar.
Can't quite figure out when I'm taking too long - where the silver/bronze/deadlines are - etc.
But that's a minor quibble.
It's fun and good practice for time management/prioritizing, which I SUCK at as I suffer from Severe ADD.
So - beyond the fun game-playing, I really find these T.M. games helpful for learning the skills I'm missing in my day to day living.
And as I'm an ADD advocate - and do a lot of talks in schools about ADD - I'll mention:
Other ADDers (especially teen gamers) may also find these T.M. games helpful.
BTW: Parents of ADD gamers - You've probably been told "There is NO ADD in front of a Video Game" (as "The Gift" of ADD - HYPER-FOCUS - kicks in), so you may want to point your kids towards these T.M. games.
They're gonna play video games ANYWAY, so why not steer them towards games that HELP?
Besides, it'll confuse the heck out of them when YOU suggest they play.
Teen: "Let me get this straight ... You WANT me to play video games???"
Regardless - Thanks Alawar. I ALWAYS download your games.
And thank you GAOTD. You're ALWAYS my "first stop of the day."
Keep up the great work.
P.S.: For the record ... I'm 66 years old (going on 18).


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Please excuse the late reply. Thank you for your excellent feedback Glenn :)

Hello, Downloaded and was willing to give it a fair go. However, annoyed by the game randomly switching back to my desktop. When this happens I have to click "BACK" to get back to the game. This was on the "FULL SCREEN" mode . The windowed option is just to small for me to play (too much stress on the eyes).
This does not happen with other games and that leads me to believe that this is a software glitch. I will be glad to be proven wrong.
Agree with Stephen that the graphics are poor but chaining the tasks and the speed at which they are performed helps.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback :)

I like yesterday's lil game a WHOLE LOT more than I like today's even with the cantaloupe girl!

This one didn't captivate me AT ALL.

I've never liked TM or Sims games, and I go all the way back to the original Sim City. They are just toooooo tedious for my liking. Too much WORK in my PLAY, you know?

I've visited the Playrix and Alaware sites many times over the year, but have almost given up on them. Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management. Not a wide variety to choose from.

Now, don't get me wrong. FISHDOM is still the BEST GAME in the history of GAMES going back to when people played with sticks and rock!

But sticks and rocks might be more fun than today's game!

Diversify, people!

I like board games! Give me RISK, Scrabble, or Settlers of Catan.

I like sports games! Let's have a golf or baseball game.

I like little ol' games like the one we got yesterday. FREE FLOW is FUN!

Rant over!

Have a wonderderderful teririrific day, WHITE RABBIT!


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks for your feedback Swampy :)

Stephen,

I'm not able to D/L the game. I couldn't D/L last week, either. The little "Waiting for..." keeps spinning and spinning.

Windows XP is my platform. I use Firefox, but I also tried it in IE... same result. Even turned off my anti-virus for a few minutes, to see if that was the issue... same result.

It's frustrating!

Any advice, please?

Thank you and thank you for surrendering part of your weekends to give us these treats. I look forward to my weekend emails, first thing in the mornings. I don't D/L every game, but I do for most.

Regards,
Subhadhra


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Really sorry for the very late reply. It may be your security software stopping you from downloading the game. Also clear out the giveaway cookies from the internet cache; sometimes these become corrupted and can interfere with downloading:)

Application not found.


.............................Moderator comment...................................

Check my review for the installation path. You should find the game. The installation process doesn't install the usual way, so trying to search for it using windows search engine won't find the game. :)

I have the same problem as John - I can see the objects but no entering story and no streets/ roads. I work with win 8.1.

...............................Moderator comment.........................

Hi Nidda, have you updated your graphics drivers recently, if not, I'd update them, it may sort the problem out. It could also be the resolution of your monitor. Check to see if you get the same issue in windowed mode. Boot up the game, then check the event logs to see if there are any messages relating to this issue. Other possible fixes include turning off the default cursor via options. :)

I don't know what happened but I see everything except the backgrounds, so the paths are not visible. I played the first two levels but I find the game to be no better than the last five TMs that have been offered here, paths and backgrounds visible or not.
I deleted game. Thanks as always Stephen for your hard work.

..........................Moderator comment.............................

Not the best alawar have created or sold. It will probably appeal to newcomers to the genre. Try turning off the defauly cursor via options. :)

@Whiterabbit-uk: Beware of the work - the 3 screenshots says enough...

..........................Moderator comment.............................

:)

Dragon Crossroads:

In Brief:

A fantasy based Time Management game where you balance the use of items like food, wood, stones, gold and more. I scored this 6.6 taking into account the game play, graphics, sound and music, replayability and originality.

Installation:

Dragon Crossroads downloads to a 160 MB zip file and unpacks to a wrapped setup file, a security file (setup.gcd) and a read me doc with the terms and conditions and instructions

The game installs to:

C:\Games\DragonCrossroads_Game

Once installed the game folder is 525 MB in size. There is no shortcut installed to the desktop nor is there an uninstaller. to uninstall go to where the game is installed to and delete manually. There's no Start menu shortcuts either.

Introduction:

Times of great peril give rise to even greater heroes - or so the story goes in Dragon Crossroads, a time management game with a fantasy twist. A baby dragon is stolen when an evil magician invades a peaceful realm and leaves a path of destruction in his wake. Now it’s up to you to help a young man as he sets out to reclaim the kingdom, rescue the newborn and save the day! Ogres, goblins and worse lie ahead, ready to stop you in your tracks, so step carefully into the fray! With more than 50 levels across five gorgeous settings and five stunning comic book-style interludes, Dragon Crossroads will captivate you for hours on end!

Reference accessed HERE 22nd Feb 2015






If you miss todays game, you can get it 24/7 from MyPlayCity and Jenkat Games. Do bear in mind the toolbars etc that you can get if you don't uncheck the check boxes during installation.

You can see some user reviews and comments from Big Fish Games (Towards the bottom of the page) HERE

The Game:

Dragon Crossroads is yet another in an incredibly long line of time management games that take place in a fantasy universe full of goblins, bandits and dragons.

The game takes place in a medieval fantasy setting, once guarded by a powerful dragon. The dragon’s child has been taken, leaving the dragon to fall into a dark depression, and the world to fall into chaos with goblins, bandits, broken roads and much more standing in your way as you attempt to set things right. Each level of this time management experience comes with a set of goals to complete, from fixing roads and buildings to defeating bandits and more, but many tasks are repeated level after level, which makes the game feel a lot less varied than it ultimately could.

Regardless of its final goals, each level will see you balancing the use of items like food, wood, stones, gold and more. Each item is created in a different building, with most being upgradeable over time. Upgrades obviously increase a building’s productivity, but purchasing these upgrades takes resources away from the end goal(s) in each level. This brings about the basic amount of strategy that you’d find in any similar time-management game, as the time limit on each stage offers Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals depending on how quickly you can complete the required tasks.

Thankfully, the workers in Dragon Crossroads move incredibly fast, without the need for special power-ups. Similarly, actions can be queued far into the future, so long as there’s a clear walking path from your worker to whichever item the action is going to be performed on. It’s definitely possible to play the entire game a few seconds into the future, as you wait for your workers to catch up in the background (which is a good thing), but at the same time, some of the level designs are so convoluted, with only one specific path being available for progression, that it makes things more confusing than fun.

Even though fast workers are a huge plus, the rest of Dragon Crossroads starts to fall apart pretty quickly. Early on, goblins are introduced to the game, and they steal 20 seconds each from your overall clock at the beginning of the level. There’s nothing you can do to stop these goblins, so you must instead waste 5-10 second at the beginning of each stage clicking on them to reclaim your lost time. This is a completely unnecessary feature that simply feels unfair, as goblins may be hidden behind trees or other structures. Additionally, the game’s graphics are downright ugly. Animals and trees in each background image are static and have skewed shapes, workers and goblins have ugly character models, and there’s no flash or polish to the game’s text menus or tutorials.

Dragon Crossroads looks and plays like a game that was created with the best of intentions, but lacks an attention to detail that would make the game really pop. The basic gameplay here works, and actually works well with the aforementioned fast workers and task queuing, but everything else feels amateurish at best. With so many other (better) time management games up for grabs on Big Fish and beyond, this is one you can easily skip without a regret.

Edited Reference accessed HERE 22nd Feb 2015

Images & Video:

You can see some videos of Dragon Crossroads HERE, HERE and HERE.



Music:

The only way to change the music is to turn it off via the options menu then play your own via your media player.




Minimum System Specifications:


OS: Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8
CPU: 2.0 GHz
RAM: 512 MB
DirectX: 8.0
Hard Drive: 533 MB

Conclusion:


Dragon Crossroads is a typical Time Management game of the resource collectiing kind. nothing special, but, if you enjoy TM games it'll go well in your game library.


Scoring:

Game play - 7
Graphics - 7
Sound and music - 7
Replayability - 6
Originality - 6

Total 33 out of 50 equates to 6.6 out of 10

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Problems:


If you have any problems installing or getting to work today's game please go HERE for help. I've posted all of the common problems and solutions in a FAQ thread, which you can find in the sticky section of the forums by following the above link.





If you are posting late in the day I would also suggest posting in the main giveaway forums, in the game discussion section because I cannot moderate 24hrs a day over the weekend. I've created a thread HERE for that purpose. If you've installed the game but it won’t work for some reason, it should still be registered, so someone may be able to help at another time. Unfortunately if your problem is actually installing it then once the giveaway period is over there’s nothing that can be done until the game is given away again (though that isn't guaranteed). Sometimes you can still register the game after the giveaway has ended so long as you managed to start the download before the giveaway ends. I've tested this and sometimes the grace period lasts for up to 2 hours, but more often than not 1 hour is the norm.

It’s always worth checking out the free games sites because sometimes the games we get here are also available for free from them. MyPlayCity (MPC) has the most with over 1000 games to choose from. Other sites include Jenkat, Gametop and FreeGamePick. You'll find hundreds of match three games between these sites, including todays giveaway MyPlayCity and Jenkat Games.



If you do download any other games from MyPlayCity or the other free game sites 'do' watch out for toolbars etc. Make sure you un-check the check-boxes during installation, and, in the case of MyPlayCity, every time you boot the game up, (this may have changed now as MPC tend to change the format frequently. .. I've posted links to all of the common free game sites below in the games, games games section. :)

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Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problems:




There are 295 games on sale over on Steam, ranging from 10% to 90% off. You can find a full list HERE.

You'll also find some excellent deals over on the following Game sites.

GreenManGaming
Gamersgate Summer Sale
GOG (DRM free games)
Desura
Gamestop
GameFly (soon to be sold off)


Free Game Sites:

Jenkat Games
MyPlayCity (over a 1000 games to choose from)
Gametop
FreeGamePick



To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price. If like me you prefer Steamworks games, many of the above sites also sell steamwork games.

If that's not enough, check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles (there's over 20 of them - If you purchased all of them you'd be paying around $80 for around a thousand dollars worth of games); or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand. you'll find the indie bundles thread HERE. The thread is outdated, but all of the links will still take you to the latest bundles.

The latest IndieGameStand game is Race The Sun that is inspired by arcade games of the past with a focus on highscores, short game sessions, and a sense of pure fun mingled with a nerve-wracking tension. The rules are simple: don't crash, stay in the light, and don't slow down!


- Race at insane speeds through an infinite procedural world that changes every day

- Complete objectives to unlock upgrades and level-up your ship (25 levels)

- Customize your ship with attachments like faster turning and decals

- Built-in editor that allows you to create your own endless worlds

- "World portals" that transport you to user-created worlds

- Unlockable ultra-hard world called Apocalypse


If you pay over the average, which at the time of writing was $1.36 you also get two more games called Sling It and Perfection. You can pay as little as $1 for the game if you wish. You get a Steam keys for Race the Sun plus the OST and wallpapers if you beat the average price. This bundle ends around 5am (GMT) Tue 3rd March.


The latest Daily Indie game is caled Pixel Puzzles: Japan- combines traditional jigsaw puzzle style gameplay with light video-game interactivity. As you build puzzles your monk will gain higher consciousness states. The higher the level of your monks concentration the bigger the puzzle you can attempt. All hand drawn in a beautiful Japanese aesthetic, Pixel Puzzles: Japan is perfect for puzzlers and gamers alike.
Features:

- Traditional puzzle gameplay.
- Relaxing Japanese atmosphere.
- 26 Steam Achievements.
- 19 puzzles in a range of sizes from 60 to 350 pieces.
- Multiple FREE DLC bonus puzzles
- Beautiful photos taken on site in Japan.
- Interactive play environment.
- Progressive I-ching powers that give insight into puzzles.

You can get two keys if you pay more than the average of $1.19 (at the time of writing); one key to share with a friend or family member perhaps?. You'll find that deal HERE. They also have four bundles of several games that'll cost you less than $1.50 each HERE (DIG Bundles 19, 20, 21 and Desura 2). You get a Steam key with this game. The single game deal ends Midnight Sunday 1st March and will be replaced with a similar new game called Pixel Puzzles: UndeadZ

Most of the bundles retail for around $5 give or take a few dollars (apart from the Daily Indie bundles that only cost $1.49 for six games), but you can pay as little as a dollar for some.
The free game from Origin is still Theme Hospital. i.e.

========================================================

A Request for helpl>:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you’ve checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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