Every year, around the holidays and start of the New Year, your favorite TV shows decide to take a much-needed hiatus. The break is like a winter recess in high school, except instead of getting one or two weeks off, TV shows get one or two months off. Most shows start their break right after Thanksgiving, and they don't return until Martin Luther King Day - if you're lucky. Vacation life is good for TV. But, what about the loyal fans who are now on vacation and stuck without a show turn to? Watching reruns mid-season reruns is a let down. And, for those of us in colder climates, going outside for a stroll just isn't happening. So, how do you go about do to get your TV fix when the Turkey's been eaten, the holiday gifts have been unwrapped and the New Years' champagne has stopped flowing? Is there a cure for the Holiday Hiatus Blues?

The answer is yes. Step inside the world of television-based casual gaming. Sure, it's nothing like watching your favorite characters deliver clever quips or action-packed scenes, but it's a nice reminder that in just a few short weeks the characters you know and love will soon return. I've checked out a handful of television-based games, several of which are right here on the USA Network Character Arcade.

Character Mahjong

You may have played Mahjong before, but Character Mahjong offers you an emotional attachment you won't find in any other Mahjong game on the planet. Trust me, I've checked. In Character Mahjong, you'll find several of your favorite USA Network characters, from Burn Notice to the WWE, on Mahjong tiles. You'll also find logo tiles and objects from your favorite shows (like the WWE Chair, the Psych Pineapple or the Burn Notice Sun Glasses). I'm a big Burn Notice fan, as well as an occasional dabbler in Psych and the WWE. Seeing my favorite characters on as Mahjong tiles changes up the way I play. I find that my eyes always dart to character favorites like Michael Weston, Fiona and Vince McMahon. Everyone else tends to fall into the periphery. The problem is: most of the initial connections are always the supporting cast members from the shows I don't follow as much. Or, maybe that's just me trying to keep the Fiona tile in play as long as possible. What I end up doing is always targeting the USA Network tiles first - no offense to the network, there just a lot of USA Network logos floating about.

The Tudors Game

Showtime recently released a Tudors' game. This game pulls you into the different settings from the Tudors era, some of which you appear to be taken from the actual show. The goal of the game is to help Henry uncover threats against his rule by finding different hidden objects. When you complete a board, you will uncover a clue into the duplicitous conspiracies surrounding Henry's rule. This is a typical object search game, but fun nonetheless. With the series finale on the way in 2010, Tudors' fans will definitely want to check this one out. There is a demo of the game on Sho.com, while the full version is a downloadable application for Windows.

Character Smash

Meanwhile, back at the Character Arcade, I'm having a blast smashing away at several characters from WWE, Psych and more. Character Smash is just like Wacky Gator, the arcade game where you take a hammer and bash the heads of gators. In this game, you're set in an office area armed with a stapler. Different characters will pop out from time-to-time, and your job is to smash-em. I found that Vince McMahon was my go to target in this game. Something about him just makes me angry. And, when I'm angry - Hulk Smash!

Dexter

The Dexter iPhone application was released last year from Marc Ecko Entertainment to help build on the world of Dexter. Although Rita and Deb didn't match up to their real-life counterparts, the graphics were some of the best ever on the iPhone. Michael C. Hall did the Voice Acting for the character, so you'll hear the same chilling voice from Dexter's Dark Passenger. The game's story took you back to Dexter Season 1 and the infamous Ice Truck Killer. After seeing John Lithgow's performance this past year in Season 4, one can only hope that Marc Ecko cranks out a Trinity Killer chapter.

Character Solitaire and Character Sudoku

Character Solitaire, on Character Arcade is your plain vanilla solitaire game. However, the Jacks, Queens and Kings have been have been replaced by characters from USA shows. You'll see John Cena and Sam (Burn Notice) as Jacks. While, Fiona (Burn Notice) is, of course, one of the Queens. Character Sudoku replaces the numbers one through six with six USA Network Characters. John Cena, Michael Weston, Fiona and Shawn Spencer (Psych) once again show up to remind you that, "Yes, you are on vacation and yes, you have to wait a few more weeks for TV to come back on.

So, there you have it: a few games to help you get by during the mid-season TV break and a quick panacea to the Holiday Hiatus Blues. If you spot any other good games, be sure to share!