I lay down in my recliner and close my eyes momentarily, allowing the sultry sounds of Dan Hsu and friends to flow into my ears.  My eyelids snap open with full awareness as my television screen flashes and the iconic sound of an Xbox 360 booting (a mix of a subtle “ooooooh-ah!” from the speakers and the jumpstart of its jet engine fans) fills the room.

With a few quick shifts of an analog stick and a couple depressions of that “A” button, the latest episode of the Mobcast now has the soothing strums of a guitar as its score.  Before long, I’m digging deep into the earth with my mining pick, trying to discover the treasure I never could outside the realm of my comfy chair.

As I get older, I begin to appreciate more and more games that don’t require a lot of investment.  A half-hour is easy to spare here and there, but after a long day out of the house sometimes I just want to relax.

As much as I love Fallout 3 or Team Fortress 2, pushing through the remains of nuclear fallout or getting my head repeatedly skewered with arrows isn’t my idea of relaxation.

After hearing Anthony Gallegos and Tyler Barber talk about their time dumped into Civilization 4, taking it easy and pushing their massive nations forward little by little, I was left envious.

I heard something good about Miner Dig Deep long ago from my favorite Minnesotans over at Drunken Gamers Radio and thought to myself, “What the heck? It’s only $2.”  By the end of the day, I was lovingly cradled in its small, simple world.

Miner Dig Deep is an Xbox Live Indie Game brought to us by a community developer Robir.  As the title may suggest, you're given a lantern, mining pick, and full freedom to dive into the earth beneath your feet as soon as the game starts.  When your lantern runs out of fuel, you climb topside, visit the store, buy some new supplies, and maybe save the game.

Clearing out tunnels uncovers different types of crystals and ore that can be sold at the shop to buy new upgrades and materials.  There are a variety of tools available that make the excavation much more efficient and easier to tackle, including ladders, elevators, and an upgradeable hookshot.  If you delve down too far or accidentally dig under a massive boulder that squashes you, you're brought back to the surface, stripped of your loot.

The simplistic art style and subdued soundtrack are clear indicators of Miner Dig Deep's indie background, though these attributes detract little from the experience.  Robir's game gives me a unique feeling that I haven't been able to find very easily elsewhere - relaxation.  Miner Dig Deep doesn't blast Unreal Engine 3 textures in my face, stuff tech trees down my throat, or kick me in the gut with beautiful, powerful cutscenes.

Instead, it allows me to tackle a seemingly insurmountable task a little bit at a time: discovering neat blueprint scraps, finding big caches of valuable minerals, upgrading my tools to make my progress that much smoother, and riding the elevators up and down to the sound of my favorite podcasts.

With my choice obviously out in the open, I pose this question to the community:  What's your favorite "lay down on the recliner" game?  What do you play to relax after a long day's work?