For those interested in casual games and everything about them, the IGDA Casual Games SIG has published the 2008 Casual Games White Paper. (Yes, it is 2009 now, but it has just launched.)
A lot has happened since the 2006 white paper was published, so I am glad that we have an updated resource again.
Dave Rohrl writes:
The white paper is a detailed and thorough overview of the state of casual games. It weighs in at over 200 pages and is the fruit of hundreds of hours of work from several dozen volunteer writers, editors, and project managers.
It gives in-depth coverage on the basics of casual gaming from both business and creative perspectives. It has detailed insights not only on downloadable games, but also on ad-supported web games, advergames, console downloads, and microtransaction-supported web games. It even has a couple of articles on exotic and interesting topics like the state of the casual games market in India and the confluence of casual games and serious games.