The game that won first prize in the actual competition is the one that won our hearts as well. A game about bouncing, which we have talked about several times here on Big Download, managed to incorporate all the themes of the competition in a way that the developer ended up just making the game he wanted to make with little interference from trying to adhere to the themes. With a clean art style and addictive gameplay, it's a must play for anyone looking for a fun indie arcade game.

The goal of a game about bouncing is simply to latch on to little balls to fling yourself around, destroying them. You can latch on to one ball or multiple, and the more tendrils you have going to one ball will pull you faster to it. You can also dash. You must eliminate as many balls as possible before you lose your three lives. You can only lose a life by being hit by a missile, which are released from level 2 and onwards after you destroy and enemy. There's both a free a timed mode. The simplicity of the gameplay mixed with the simple joy of seeing things explode is a great way to pull players into a game, ad a game about bouncing does it beautifully.


Never underestimate the draw of a good competitive physics arcade game. Cheese is WAR is just that game. Incorporating an excellent use of physics with some wonderful multiplayer gameplay, it's hilarious and heart-pounding all at the same time. The way the levels function, the exaggerated nature of the physics, and the sound effects all make the game incredibly funny and fun to play. It would be even better if there was multiplayer through different computers, but given the nature of the competition, it's understandable that there isn't.

As you are already well-aware, thanks to that introductory paragraph up there, Cheese is WAR is a multiplayer physics the game. The goal of the game is to topple a tower of cheese onto the opposing mouse by shooting it in key places. But the other mouse is doing the same thing! It becomes a frantic "blast everything in sight" as you try and keep the tower from toppling onto you. That's about all there is to the game. It's two-player only, and both players must use the same computer, but it thankfully supports Xbox 360 controllers.


This game is great. There's simply no other way to describe it. A casual browser puzzler, TTC Crowd Control acts much like Dyson did at the last Indiedaze: it's a relaxing game that you can lose yourself in without feeling all that bad about. The art is excellent, it runs smoothly (although the animation could be smoother), and the game itself is addicting and refined to eliminate that every-so-bothersome annoyance and frustration factor. The music is also very relaxing. A great game to play when you just have to blow off some steam. Could use a little more refinement, however

You control passengers getting onto the Toronto Subway. You must place them so that they don't annoy each other as well as giving easy access to let them off. You can either drag the passengers (great for getting them into the subway car) or use WASD to move them (great for putting them into seats and such). If passengers are too close together, you lose points. But not to worry! If you correct the mistake at any time, you instantly get those points back! It's a great way to turn a potentially frustrating game into a relaxing, unassuming one. It would be nice if it was more complex, incorporating things like seat placements and more in-depth thoughts ("I don't like him, he's smelly!" and so on), but it's fun, functional, and relaxing as is.