I'm finally discovering what everyone loves about Minecraft through the recently released Xbox 360 Edition: the whimsical soundtrack, pixelated sunrises and sunsets, and surprisingly fun split-screen multiplayer keep drawing me back in. If you haven't tried it yet, the free, time-limited demo may win you over.

On my phone, Waking Mars (iOS) has been a refreshing change of pace. While the conversations between characters can be almost comically awkward at points, figuring out the mechanics of each seed and plant is actually a lot of fun.

I've also been making incremental progress in Hack, Slash, Loot (available on PC/Mac/Linux) which has charming 8-bit inspired art, but an absolutely punishing difficulty level. The latest advice I've gleaned from the forums is to pick the Amazonian and tackle the Mask of the Boy King quest first. Download the free demo here.

Lastly, we recently kicked off our very first NYPLarcade Game Club series featuring the games of Jenova Chen: bit.ly/jenovachen-nypl. I will be playing Flower to brush up for next week's discussion and perhaps pick up some of the remaining Trophies I've missed. If you'd like to join us, we'll be playing and talking about the game on Tuesday, 5/29 starting at 7 p.m. at the Mid-Manhattan Library.

How about you? What games are you playing this Memorial Day Weekend?