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With bad guys vanquished, puzzles solved, allowances and wages spent, it is time to say goodbye and thanks for all the fish to 2006. It was a transition year for video games and the people who make and play them, but the bubbling, multiheaded pastime showed few signs of slowing down.

The ultimate proof of gaming's growth, besides the now expected year-on-year increase in sales, is that even the most media-allergic Luddite probably ended up hearing more about games in 2006 than in any previous year. People learned about them from nieces and nephews who spent weekends in online worlds such as World of Warcraft or at parties playing Guitar Hero; someone at school or work may have showed off their DS Lite, the Nintendo portable that sold millions of people on the health benefits of playing mind games such as Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day; conversations about watching movies in high-definition -- HD-DVD versus Blu-ray Disc -- led inevitably to a comparison of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 as home-entertainment hubs; and there were those plentiful news reports last month with images of people lining up to get one of the year's console debutantes, Nintendo's Wii or the even rarer PS3.

In a variety of ways, on a variety of platforms, video games reached ever more people this year. What this means is still a matter of some debate -- several studies told us games are good for our brains while another said they are directly responsible for declining vocabulary totals in young people -- but 2006 further cemented interactive experiences as legitimate contenders for free time, right up there with movies and TV shows. (You may note that The Globe's style committee has decided to italicize game titles, as it does other entertainment works.)

Beyond its continually creeping relevance, gaming's story of the year was the arrival of the next-generation consoles. The Xbox 360, after shortages early in the year, established itself as the machine to beat on the back of best-selling games such as the sprawling fantasy title Oblivion and the gut-wrenching shooter Gears of War. Sony's year, by contrast, was one to forget outside of another strong term for its venerable PlayStation 2. The release of its successor, the PS3, was pushed back until November in North America and Japan (and to 2007 for the rest of the world), and when it did arrive supplies were as scarce as good reviews. It will rebound, but might not truly shine until 2008 or until there's a price cut, whichever comes first.

The Japanese play experts at Nintendo spent the year saying they would sign up converts using new control schemes -- the DS's touch screen and the Wii's motion-sensing wands -- and did just that. The Wii got players off the couch -- not to mention breaking wrist straps, scratching TV screens and thwacking grandkids -- and took home the Tickle-Me-Elmo award as most wanted holiday gift in the process.

As for what failed to arrive, the video-game world did not welcome its Citizen Kane or even Birth of a Nation, a work of art that could establish the medium as a meaningful delivery system for ideas. There were fun games and there were beautiful games, but fantasy and escapism still dominated. Perhaps such sound and fury are all gamers can ever expect, and there is something to be said for the lasting appeal of pure play. But there is a growing feeling, and not just among game reviewers attempting to justify their existence, that the activity has to add up to something more than profits and fleeting tugs at the baser emotions.

With capable machines and word spreading to a broader audience, at least that breakthrough seems closer now than it did 365 days ago.

THE YEAR'S BEST GAMES

10. Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (Rated: Teen, PC). This tech-and-magic strategy game in a wonderfully realized world launches the Top 10. Computer generals should also try Company of Heroes, which breathed new life into the Second World War genre.

9. Guitar Hero II (Everyone, PlayStation 2) and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Everyone, multiple) -- tie. These sequels share the slot because they build upon excellent games from 2005. The first is a rock 'n' roll rhythm game that includes a guitar-shaped controller and hours of party fun; the second charmingly recreates the seventies and eighties films using building blocks.

8. Daxter (Everyone, PlayStation Portable). A standout that gives the starring role to the sidekick of the Jak series, the ottsel Daxter, and easily tops the short list of quality PSP games.

7. New Super Mario Bros. (Everyone, DS). The reborn classic featuring the pudgy, ever-jumping plumber is still tough to put down. Honourable mentions to the quirky Elite Beat Agents and Brain Age.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Teen, Wii, GameCube). The series needs a new infusion of ideas, but Twilight Princess is still a must-play game. It rings in the new (the Wii), but works best as a fond farewell to the now abandoned GameCube.

5. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Mature, Xbox 360, PC). A fantasy game that is epic in every way. It proved that PC-style environments, in this case a gigantic medieval land, could be transported to next-gen consoles.

4. Final Fantasy XII (Teen, PlayStation 2). An engaging story with Shakespearean overtones, amazing visuals, and game play that will test adherents of this never-ending role-playing franchise.

3. Half-Life 2: Episode One (Mature, PC). The gripping first instalment in a series of sequels to Valve Software's seminal first-person shooter, Half-Life 2. It was short, but it was great, too, and left you wanting more in all the right ways.

2. Okami (Everyone, PS2). The best art game of the year lets the player draw and explore in a world inspired by Japanese paintings. It is a vibrant experience that is full of life -- how novel.

1. Gears of War (Mature, Xbox 360). I hate myself for loving this gory but exhilarating shooter. Online and off, the Epic Games hit set new standards for graphics and coding, and it had the biggest impact on the video-game scene in 2006.