A Small Talk at the Back of Beyond is an innovative short story game. In this sci-fi puzzler, you awake in the dark to an unfamiliar voice. About the only game mechanic you have available to you is your ability to talk. Start up a conversation and you might just figure out what the heck is going on here.

 

What kind of person mashes up a Japanese dating sim and dinosaurs? A crazy person, obviously. But that shouldn't stop you from checking out Jurassic Heart, a ridiculous, thunder lizard-themed game that has you trying to pick up on high-school-aged dinos. Of course, being a Japanese dating sim, it’s wordy as hell. But this short taste of the genre is good for a chuckle.

 

You are a monkey and you work for a horrible boss and you get paid peanuts: Now as true in video games as in real life. In the puzzle platformer Super Stock Take you are a simian stockboy working in the warehouse answering to the whims of a blowhard boss. Jump here, grab that, retrieve this. The key here is your ability to pick up and move large boxes, which you'll need to do a lot of to reach your goals. Move quick, though, you make more peanuts the faster you solve the puzzles. Yeah, peanuts!

 

Piranhas are some dangerous fish, man. Particularly if you're a balloon. Or a disco ball. OK, so I can't full explain the concept behind Piranha Pop, but it goes something like this: Use your mouse to aim the piranha, hold down the button to charge it up, and then fire it into the air. The object of this oddball cannon physics game is to bust as many balloons as possible in the air, while still taking down that pesky disco ball. The fewer fish you fire, the better. Chomp away, disco-hating fish, chomp away!

 

Hopagon is a one-button platforming-style game. You play a small, smiling block who must jump (or, in the parlance, "hop") over larger, frowning blocks. Sounds simple, no? Since you've only got one button to mash, though, this game isn't going to make it easy on you. Your jumping must be incredibly precise to get through each fast-paced, seconds-long level. What are you waiting for? Get hopping!

 

Tower defense games are nothing new. Neither, for that matter, is steampunk. But how about putting two great tastes that taste great together together? Steampunk Tower has you fighting off waves of steam-powered tanks and floating dirigibles. Hurry up and build those defenses (including a Tesla-inspired lightning gun). Steampunk Tower's unique system allows you to take your weapons offline for repair and reloading. Just be sure you've got a few big guns in reserve as your tower gets bigger and bigger. Those artfully rusty enemies aren't going to give you any slack!

 

Girls like robots. The cool ones, anyway. This fact is proven by the new Adult Swim game Girls Like Robots: Nerdfest. It's really just a mini version of PopCannibal's popular mobile gaming series. But this cute 'n' cartoony puzzle game is worth checking out in any form. Your object is to seat people at various events. You must follow certain rules, however. Girls, for example, like to sit next to robots. They don't like to sit next to nerds. (Sorry, nerds.) Nerds don't like sitting next to other nerds. Figure out the proper seating chart and it's on to the next puzzle. Nerds!

 

Is Art Game a game, a joke, an experience, a comment on the modern art scene, all of the above? Yes. You start by choosing your artist, a male or a female, and then leaping head-first into the cutthroat world of modern art. First, you must create your minimalist masterpieces. This is accomplished though a mini-game whose mechanics should be familiar to longtime gamers. Next, you've got to choose the paintings for your exhibit. Will it be a success or a failure? Oh, fickle muse!

 

In the innovative, experimental game 400 Years, you play a big-headed, kind-hearted dude who just wants to save the world. But you've only got 400 years in which to pull it off. Sounds pretty easy, huh? Unfortunately, you'll be doing it through the unusual mechanic of time manipulation. You have the ability to speed the clock, forcing the world to race through the seasons, letting years zip by at the touch of a button. Need a lake to freeze over, so you can walk across it? Just wait until winter. Need a tree to grow to climb higher? Just wait a few years. Suddenly 400 years seems kinda short. You'll spend a lot of time standing around waiting in this unusual game, so patience is something of a virtue. What are you waiting for? Get to waiting.

 

Nitrome, one of the Internet's leading developers of awesome free games has released its newest, Plunger. You control a cute robot thing equipped with four directional plungers. Shoot the plungers vertically or horizontally to navigate a maze. Connect various electrical points with your plunger lines and you move on to the next level. This game's unique control scheme makes it a real standout in the platformer category. Just be on the lookout for the game's increasing hazards.