When Microsoft first announced Microsoft Community Games at 2008′s GDC conference, I was amazed by the prospect but doubted whether I would ever see the platform come to fruition.  While not perfect, Microsoft Community Games was released into the world late last year with a wide variety of “home-brewed” games to try and/or purchase.  They ranged from artistic reinterpretations of older games like Groov to downright experimental craziness like Rumble Massage.

The simple fact that the people featured in the Community Games section of Xbox Live have a chance of getting their work seen and bought by gamers around the globe is a amazing in itself.  Because of the suite of product and services provided by Microsoft you also don’t have to be some programming genius to start making your own games.

Thanks to my rekindled love for Community Games I added a Haiku Preview for my standout favorite of the games I’ve downloaded so far:

CarneyVale Showtime

Simple game with charm

galore.  Makes me laugh without

realizing it.

I am not joking about the laugh part.  It escaped on its own as I saw my guy twirled through the air doing cart wheels as he made his way up the level.  CarneyVale Showtime is a simple physics game but can be an awesome time waster that is well worth the couple dollars it’s being sold for on Microsoft Community Games.