Hmmmm casual.... for now I know mjnecraft .... erf, all the games I play really are compete time to one another x.x sowwy!

Well, you can play a lot of games casually; most games have a metagame. Even Minecraft has people like a relative of mine who felt it pertinent I know that Diamonds apparently spawn more often on the eighth layer beneath the ground for some reason.

Minecraft is the first that springs to mind, as there are relatively easy monsters to fight (after you spend a night hiding inside of a hut, presumably) and lots of randomly generated fun to be had.

You could also play games like World of Warcraft if you feel your wallet needs to lose some weight very quickly, although I don't recommend it. Don't think WoW is casual? Each class has one optimal ability rotation in the main game, and maybe one game-changing ability at most. It's not a hard game, and pretty much everyone who plays it will tell you that the grind is much more bearable with a friend. Again, I don't recommend it because it's real expensive.

You could even play league of legends. It's harder to be a "casual" league player, but it's possible to just play unranked with friends and have some fun, or actually try out the other game modes like 3v3 on the twisted treeline, or ARAMs (aka you play a random champion for all kinds of crazy team comps and hilarity).

Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more.

I played wow from vanilla to the end of wotlk, do not want to do that again, was top 2v2 and 3v3 ranked team for 2 seasons and in the main raiding guild, Same with Lol was plat before i got burned out, still play arams casually, but have no one else that plays them

Hearthstone is a pretty good game. It's based in wow, but it's a tcg. It's free to play, but is pretty fair... other than buying the "story pack" (which I highly recommend, as it gives you a pretty good deck to start out with on most heroes you can play as).

Do you have consoles or are you all PC? I can probably think of a few more, but I want to avoid recommending for a platform that you don't have access to.

I have a ps1 thats it.

Played hearthstone, but dont really enjoy the randomness, and its not really fun to play with friends imo =c

Ah, I see. Have you considered getting a Playstation Multitap? (is shot)

No, seriously though....

Honestly, I thought a little while about PC only stuff, and I realized a few things. One, not being a PC gamer, I have pretty limited experience on the topic. But more importantly, two, minecraft seems to be the "minecraft" of this year, if anything, but if any type of game has exploded this year, it's the MOBA. Mobas are so rediculously popular, that's all I can think of when I ask myself, "Ok, what games have you heard about most often recently?" Even in real life, I hear people conversing more about league, dota, or smite, than I do minecraft, WoW, or any other multiplayer game I didn't list, haven't heard of, or don't recognize combined. I do occasionally hear about Destiny, but even that has fans at odds because of the DLC being on the disk, and Activision wielding a cleaver while doing their content divvying (i.e. what's in the main game and what's extra) instead of a scalpel. Also, Destiny is console only, so... that one's out.

Maybe Borderlands the Presequel is worth a try? I'm sure there's all kinds of grinning hyperactive fun in there to be had with friends, as long as you can share loot among yourselves without ruining your friendships. Not to mention it's pretty replayable... at least Borderlands 2 is a pretty good replay, and from what I hear, they barely changed anything between games other than adding a few new weapon types, moon gravity, and character classes. Sure the enemies aren't 100% the same, but they are far from all original stuff... I dunno. Might be worth looking into.

A lot of my friends are playing Magic the Gathering on Steam. ARK is also popular

I always hear mixed thing on magic the gather card games, i think there are a few. Ark i hear is kinda grindy like an mmo

Not sure if that true though

Dota2

Hearthstone is pretty big. GTA V probably has a big online community

I've been hearing more people signing up and playing Elder Scrolls Online now that it's free to play. Sadly, I don't do a lot of the online multiplayer games anymore. I played the fudge out of them in my teens and early to mid 20's. Now I kind of just play board games or NES stuffs.

If you're looking for some slow paced turn-based strategy games, I recommend Civilization V. I think it's still on sale on Steam for 50% off. Civilization 5 plus the two expansions Gods and Kings/Brave New World would run about $45 total. Each game can last 6+ hours minimum, and I often play with some friends of mine. You'd be surprised how intricate it is, but also how fun. I currently have 548 hours invested in it, all multi-player.

Besides, if you like history, you'd enjoy it. Nothing like seeing the Pyramids built off the coast in London. :P You'd be welcome in our circle if you decided to do it.

Well, if you feel your relationship is going too well, you could try Portal Co-Op.

If you like blocks and shooty things, I've been playing Robocraft

Guild Wars 2 is good for casual play. Not very grindy for an MMO.

I love Age of Empires II (HD edition). It's just so much fun and can be played very casually to very competitively. It's awesome to play WITH and AGAINST friends :) I usually team up with friends to fight a few computer AIs. It's not really of 'this year' lol but it's still very popular.

I also liked Terraria and Starbound. They're like minecraft but more 2D.

ARK: Survival Evolved is a good call

i still play Terraria and minecraft but Heroes of the Storm has become HUGE with my friends hearthstone too