Worried about those really hard-to-shop- for people on your holiday gift list? Struggling to play Santa with limited funds and time? Hoping to spend your money on presents rather than driving to the stores? The answer is simple: "casual" Web games.

Available for personal computers, cellphones and PDAs, casual games are now played regularly by over 150 million consumers -- more than half of whom are women and more than 2/3 of whom are 35 or older. Featuring names like Bejeweled, WordWhomp and Zuma, these puzzle, word, trivia and simple action games are suitable for all ages, are inexpensive (usually $20 or less), and can be loaded directly onto a computer or mobile device in a couple of minutes.

Just in time for the holidays, PopCap Games ( www.popcap.com ), the leader in casual games, has added a printable/email-able gift certificate to its website. This gift certificate makes it even easier to give the gift of games to anyone, because

  -- Purchasing the gift certificate takes less than a minute via any major
     credit card.
  -- It can be mailed or emailed quickly and easily, or stuffed in a
     stocking (standard CD jewel cases won't fit in most stockings).
  -- The gift giver doesn't need to know which game would be most enjoyed by

     the recipient -- the gift certificate can be applied to any of the two
     dozen games available on PopCap's website.
  -- Even the recipient of the gift certificate doesn't need to choose a
     game "blindly" -- thanks to PopCap's "try before you buy" policy, any
     and all games on the site can be played by the recipient, after which
     the preferred game can be 'purchased' via the gift certificate
     instantly.

Casual games are simple to learn, easy to play, and offer challenges for every skill level. With a variety of modes in which to play, non-violent graphics and themes, and bonuses including customizable wallpaper and screen savers, downloadable games appeal to the kid in all of us and provide a much- needed break from the day-to-day pressures of life. Forget the neckties, the socks, the fruitcake and the "cheese and crackers" gift baskets. Give someone special a casual game and you'll be giving them a gift that will provide hundreds, perhaps thousands of hours of enjoyment.

  Check out these popular sources of casual games:

   Yahoo Games ( http://get.games.yahoo.com/ )
   PopCap Games (http://www.popcap.com/ )
   AOL Games ( http://games.aol.com/ )
   Real Arcade (http://www.realarcade.com/ )
   Microsoft Games Zone ( http://zone.msn.com/ )

  For more information on PopCap Games, please contact:

   Garth Chouteau
   garth@popcap.com
   415-602-8147

SOURCE: PopCap Games

CONTACT: Garth Chouteau, +1-415-602-8147, or garth@popcap.com

Web site: http://www.popcap.com/