Casual gaming

The term casual gaming refers to video games which do not require a major time investment to play, win, and enjoy. A casual gamer is a player who enjoys any video game without investing significant time to it, playing it spontaneously, irregularly, or infrequently.

The term casual may also be a derogative noun. Describing a player who is not fully committed to playing a video game at a high level. For example, a hardcore gamer may disregard the opinions of someone who doesn't often play the game by calling him or her a "filthy casual."

Casual video games have several distinguishing features. They are often web-based and are usually found on either mobile phones or personal computers. They usually do not have a high learning curve. To achieve this, most casual games have few controls--normally a single button or two that will predominantly control the game. Casual games usually do not require much time to play. They can normally be played in small periods of time. Unlike more "hardcore" games, casual games usually do not require a long time to reach the final stage of the game. Therefore, a casual game often does not contain a save feature.

Microsoft's Solitaire is considered to be the first highly successful casual game on the personal computer and since its release in 1990, has drawn approximately 400 million gamers.

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