Mobile gaming and game dynamics are very much in the marketing zeitgeist. And even companies that might be unlikely players, so to speak, are getting into casual gaming. As a case in point, over the weekend I got an email from United Airllines inviting me to play some casual games on my iPhone or Android device.

It's not entirely clear what the objective is here, given that United already has my email and all my details -- and I'm a loyalty program member. That's how they notified me in fact. 

It may be an effort to more deeply engage certain groups of users or to make them aware of various marketing programs the airline is running. I suspect it's the latter, since the theme of the game is "options," which is part of a larger promotional campaign from United. The prizes (lower right) are also part of the a la carte menu of "upsells" that United is pushing on its economy customers.