I've never played a game quite like Gold Miner Vegas. The closest I've come is the time my daughter talked me into dropping some coins into one of those "claw" games you see sometimes in stores and restaurants — you know the ones where you guide the claw around the then drop it onto a toy, hoping to pull something to the exit chute to give your little darling? Yeah, I've never won anything at that game either.

In Gold Miner Vegas, I'm a bearded old coot named Gold Miner. Currently, I'm mining away in Australia when I hear about all the gold to be had in Vegas. "Yippee," (or something like that) says Gold Miner and gets to work gathering enough gold to fund this around-the-world relocation.

While my locations and challenges can and do vary, the game itself follows the same basic process. I have a goal of how much gold or other valuables I need to collect to complete the level. Unless I bought myself an upgrade, I have a whopping 60 seconds to complete that goal. As Gold Miner, I am at the top of the screen. Sometimes I can move left to right, sometimes not, and sometimes the movement isn't up to me. I have a small mining claw that swings in an arc like a little pendulum. I can't control the swing, but I can control the release. If my aim is true, my claw grabs on to what I hit, and I get to reel it in. But of course, nothing is quite that simple. Those pesky details are where the challenge comes in to play.

Between each level, in each of the areas, there is a merchant to visit. He offers different things each time, some things being more useful than others. The liquid refreshment helps Gold Miner reel in the winch faster. It's always worth the purchase. Sometimes, there's a little clock to add an extra 15 seconds to the timer. Given that you only have 60 seconds to clear the level, always buy the clock if you can. You can get things to increase your luck with grab bags, enhance the value of miscellaneous objects you collect, make your mining car move faster or even give yourself a stronger rope.

Within the game, almost every area has some sort of grab-bag option. Some are just worth cash. Sometimes, you get a stick of dynamite. The best upgrades, though, in my opinion, are upgrades to the mining claw. The power claw is super strong and super fast. The laser claw is awesome for lining up your shots. The spike claw is probably the best. It's also strong and fast, and it can blast through any obstacle — like annoying rocks or rubble.

I begin my voyage in the outback. I need to work my way across this landscape so I can catch a boat on the coast. From there, I'll be making my way through the Hawaiian islands and then I can finally take a small plane the rest of the way to Vegas. That almost sounds simple.

The outback mines are reasonably straightforward. There are gold, gems and miscellaneous goodies all awaiting the grasp of my precious claw. Sometimes, there are big rocks in my way, as well as some pestilential wildlife. The little gray dudes (kangaroos maybe?) have little wheelbarrows and will steal my gold! The little black demons destroy everything in their path — rocks, gems, gold ... everything. It is kind of fun watching two of them run into each other as they destroy their way across the screen. They get into a wild battle that really gets the dust flying. I can catch them with my claw if I want to pull them out of the scene, and I even get a small bounty for capturing them.

What would a mining game be without explosives? I can buy sticks of dynamite (sometimes), and there are occasional barrels of unexploded TNT in some of the mines. Exploding the barrels can be useful for clearing rocks but will also destroy any gold or gems in range, too — ouch.

Sadly, my ship full of gold sinks as I'm approaching the islands. I have to retrieve my boat (with all the gold onboard) from the bottom of the sea. I'm in a little rubber raft with my mining claw attached. (No, don't think about the physics, and I won't either.)

Most of the island levels are done from the little raft. I can collect the usual gold and gems. There are also pearls if you have good timing (I mostly don't). There are a few unexploded mines on chains. Much like the kegs of TNT, hit the mine, and things go boom.

On the big island, I'm back to underground mining. I have red and blue ghosts to contend with (don't catch the red ghosts unless you buy the red ghost-catching jar) and exploding lava creatures to watch out for. There's always something happening.

I finally, after oh so much work, arrive in Vegas, just in time to see an explosion and the Gold Mine Casino sinking into the earth ... What happens next? You'll have to find out — but rest assured, your game is not yet over.

Gold Miner Vegas, in spite of not being my typical casual game of choice, kept drawing me in. I'd get through a level and think — just one more level. Yeah, and here it is the second day, and I've played through the entire game. Each segment is short enough to work well with a busy mom's schedule, but the levels flow easily enough from one to the next that it's easy (too easy) to get hooked. I played through Story mode at Normal difficulty. I didn't even touch Hard or Expert levels yet. There's also a Gold Rush endless game and an option to let you play against a friend. Yes, the game is going to take a little hand/eye coordination but not enough to keep me from enjoying myself. I always felt like the game was challenging without being impossible. I like finding a game that can keep that balance. If you want to try something a little different from the typical casual game, give Gold Miner Vegas a try. I think you'll enjoy it.