The casual web game market is really heating up with some of the big money finally realizing that there is a huge audience for this type of content. At the same time there seems to be an explosion in the number of great games that are out there.

Here’s 5 interesting web games that I’ve run across recently. These games all share the following attributes:

• Instant game play. Fast loading, no install required.
• Intuitive controls. Web games can use the mouse, the keyboard or both. Dual mouse + keyboard controls can give a high degree of responsiveness (think Quake).
• Uniqueness. Web games need some kind of unique hook to differentiate themselves from the myriad of other games out there.
• Playability. Ultimately a game has to be fun to play. Playability is an elusive quality that often comes through a large amount of iterative tweaking and trial and error.

99 Bricks

99 Bricks is an ‘anti-Tetris’ puzzler where the aim is to build the tallest tower possible using 99 bricks. Features real-time physics to determine whether your tower will remain upright. Made by the egg-heads at WeirdBeard.

Tasha’s Game

Tasha’s Game is a very friendly and playable game with really nice mouse + keyboard controls and a unique storyline. It’s a little on the easy side and well suited to a lunchtime session. Built by DoubleFine, the game studio behind Psychonauts.

Draw-Play 3

Draw-Play 3 is a unique experience that builds on the Linerider concept where you draw the play-field for your character to walk on. Built by Eggy. Level 15 was as far as I got

Robokill

Robokill is a very slick and playable mouse + keyboard shoot-em-up in the vein of Smash TV that features very nice detailed graphics. Built by Rock Solid Arcade.

Vampire Boy

And just to prove that using the latest technology is not important, Vampire Boy is a 10 year old web game that’s as fun now as when it first came out. Beautifully responsive controls and attention to detail make this a joy to play. Built by Benjamin Pitt of RobotDuck.

Let me know in the comments if you know of some other cool games that deserve a link.