As a journalist, part of my job is to pitch ideas and features to my editor. Some are good (feature on how video games and playing them can be beneficial to your life) and some, not so much (feature on the rise and fall (pun intended) of the chainmail thong).

I imagine being a video game designer is much the same way.

“Hey, I have this idea for a game, set in the future, where you play as this super-human soldier and go to war against this technologically advanced race of aliens!” Hmm. I like it. Have a big bag of money.

“Hey, I have this idea for a game where you play as a housewife and you get to cook food!” …Security!

And yet there are games out there that sound absolutely coma inducing on paper, but you ended up loving for some reason. You scoffed at their premise, you ridiculed your friends, then you played them yourself and before you knew it you were lining up to pre-order the sequel.

Here’s five of the best:

5. Cooking Mama

Yes, I realize that girls play games too, and maybe they like to pretend to cook and stuff, but the core demographic is still testosterone fueled teenage boys. So how did a game where you have to prepare dinner for some ungrateful family become so popular?

It’s not like Mama is even a hot MILF in a bikini like every other female protagonist out there.

Turns out, gamers are gluttons (heh) for mini-games. It doesn’t matter what the task is. Some degree of skill + Task + Reward = Hours of fun. There’s a reason achievement points keep gamers playing long after they’ve grown bored.

They should just make a game where you have to do Math and some guy times you and congratulates you if you’re fast enough. They could call it Brain… wait a second…

4. Brain Training

Yes, they sell it based on its neurological enhancing capabilities, but you could get the same effect by going back to your school books and doing all the questions in there. Plus, you wouldn’t have to tell some creepy Japanese dude what you ate for breakfast last Tuesday.

But, like Cooking Mama – maybe because as gamers, we never got the attention and recognition we deserved – we’ll happily do basic arithmetic and mundane tasks like naming colors, all for a smile and some encouragement from pretty much anyone, even said creepy Japanese dude.

3. Harvest Moon

If there was a chart that showed jobs that are polar opposites of each other, right next to Hugh Hefner <–> Toilet Cleaner, would be Gamer <–> Farmer.

Farming requires lots of back breaking manual labor in the sun, waking up at 5AM and being able to look after living things. Gaming requires sitting inside in the least amount of natural sunlight you can get, staying up until 5AM and knowing how to kill things.

Harvest Moon lets you play as a farmer, the developers presumably under the impression that gamers will get excited over things other than shooting someone in the head. Things like seeing your first turnips sprouting. And actually, they were right!

Playing like a cute agricultural version of the Sims, running your own little farm, getting married and having kids provides a nice little slice of the laid back life sometimes we all wish we could escape to.

2. Phoenix Wright

Nobody likes lawyers. If you have a meeting with a lawyer you’re probably in trouble. You’re being sued for defamation, you’re being taken to court for unpaid debts, some girl you swear you’ve never seen before claims you’re the father of her child. You know, that kind of stuff.

Phoenix Wright is not a game where you’re a gun toting maniac going on a killing spree; Phoenix Wright is a game where you have to defend the gun toting maniac so he doesn’t go to jail. Presumably so he can go on another killing spree.

(Oh but actually everyone you defend was really innocent all along – where’s my game where I have to weave an elaborate web of lies to get the guy from GTA off the hook?)

Fortunately, the murder mystery and clue hunting elements, along with Phoenix’s adorable loser character kept us entertained and wanting more.

1. Katamari Damacy

Here’s the premise of Katamari Damacy. You roll a big sticky ball over stuff, and if it’s smaller, it sticks to your ball and makes it grows in size so you can pick up other stuff.  Repeat for 20 levels, one sequel and a dozen spin offs.

I suspect the real reason behind why this game is so popular is the sadistic nature of gamers who enjoy rolling over people and seeing their little limbs flaying around as they desperately try to free themselves from a certain and unpleasant orgy of other people, cats, dogs and the occasional cow.