We have discussed the different styles of casual games that are available, but here we will look at what makes these amazing games challenging, and how they are continuing to develop new and interesting gameplay.

One of the simplest, and yet least often used methods of making a game that little bit harder is to add a timer to any particular level. While this may not seem like a huge impact, placing a limit on how long you have creates a feeling of pressure all of its own.

If you then mix this with the need for a high score, or with a higher than average target suddenly you have a much more challenging level to try and complete. The sense of anticipation especially as the clock is close to finishing can be thrilling, and yet a worry at the same time.

And as just touched upon, making a minimum score requirement for finishing any particular part of a game can also become a challenge. Placing this limit will mean that whatever you do will need to be the best that you can, and one or two mistakes can make that difference between a win or a loss.

On the reverse of that there are some games that give you a maximum number of points in any given level, but ask you to play several of them to reach an overall goal. This reversal of how you score is an interesting one, and not used often but when it is the effect can be huge.

Many games use lots of bright colours, whether this is bubbles or gems that you need to match together. The use of colours in any given level can also be used to adjust the difficulty. If a level has lots of colours, it becomes harder to make any matches.

This increase results in more chance of gems or blocks not fitting together well. If you can’t make the matches you need or blow up the blocks you won’t be able to complete the level easily. Many games use this method to make the later levels more difficult.

Another challenge to games can be the number of moves that you have to finish your tasks. If you have a limited number of bubbles to shoot and you have to remove lots in the way provides a really interesting style of gameplay. In a similar way to if you are matching gems or items together and you have only a certain number of moves to complete your goal.

In many games, across different styles, there are special items that are introduced into levels. Items such as ice around a gem or blocks of wood stopping anything from falling under them. These items can often be gotten around, but they cause you to have to change what you wanted to do.

This change or maneuvering around obstacles can create perhaps the greatest challenge in any casual game especially when combined with any of the above-mentioned options. The more items you have to remove or work around the more difficult a game becomes.

While there may be some challenges that we have missed and there will certainly be something new appearing in a game soon, we feel that these best represent what makes casual games tougher to complete, but also lots and lots of fun to play.