This study explores the experience of Generation X women who play casual video games on mobile devices (e. g., smartphones and tablets), and draws connections to learning and literacy, particularly in the areas of New Literacies, the New Literacy Studies, and semiotic literacy. Data was gathered from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five women born between 1968 and 1971, and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). An additional visual data analysis method was used to analyze photos taken of subjects "in situ." Subjects downloaded and played an unknown to them casual game and then proceeded to play while engaging in a talk aloud methodology. Data from the talk aloud was then compared to five learning principles for video games as developed by learning theorist James Paul Gee. The study found that casual games are a form of learning and the casual game domain is a learning environment. For the women in the study, casual games are a place of agency, control, and empowerment; entering a game world is a retreat to a place of order. Casual games are a feminine realm where the subjects express themselves as creative, feminine people, embrace their intelligence, and socialize with others, in a separate realm that does not intrude upon the rest of their lives. Subjects in the study all demonstrated that their gameplay with casual games does correlate with Gee's learning principles. This study extends Gee's theories and adds to the research available on casual games. The study ends with suggestions for future research directions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]