Game Tunnel's 2006 RPG of the Year

FastCrawl is what the name suggests: a quick-playing dungeon crawler, perfect for a way to kill your lunch hour. One of the parameters you set at game-start, in fact, is whether you want a short, medium, or long game; short ones last about 30 minutes, while long ones last perhaps an hour.

The gameplay is Rogue-like, except that this is, of course, a game with an intuitive 2D interface with decent graphics, playable almost entirely with a mouse--almost like a NetHack designed for the casual game crowd. Dungeons, opponents, and items are randomly generated each time; each turn consumes a unit of supply, and while you can find more in the dungeon, the net effect is to limit the length of gameplay. And unlike most Rogue-likes, you control a party of characters instead of a single one. All in all, a nice, fast-playing hack'n'slash experience.

You can think of Flatspace II as a sort of shmuppy Elite by way of NetHack. Like NetHack, the universe is randomly generated each time you start a new game; like shmups, starship combat is fast and intense; like Elite, you're a starship captain exploring a huge universe--and there are a whole slew of different roles you can take (trader, mercenary, bounty hunter, assassin, police officer, or scavenger).

Cheerful, Fast-Playing Farm Tycoon

Little sheep wander around going 'baa,' you shear them when they grow wool; pigs snort around and you butcher them when they're fat--but if you don't provide enough slops, they turn the grass the sheep eat into mud.

Funky Farm is a fast-playing, light little sim/tycoon game that's surprisingly fun given its simplicity. And simple it is; your eight year-old will probably enjoy it as much as you (some reading is required). Don't expect a challenging simulation, but if a light-hearted, fast-playing little tycoon game sounds like a good way to kill some time, it's up your alley.