Flash Games - Hall Of Fame

Crush The Castle

As if it wasn't hard enough choosing a handful of great games for a list like this, I had to pick on game to be FIRST on that list! Well, after a lot of deliberation I finally decided... that the order didn't matter so I chose this one at random ;)

Crush the Castle is extremely simple (as most great games are) yet is extremely well executed, highly addictive, and great fun. Your aim, as the title suggests, is to knock down a "castle" (collection of girders, planks and people!) using a trabuchet. Controls couldn't be simpler - just click the mouse one to set the trebuchet swinging, and again to resease. Power and aim are both controlled simultaneously from timing the release.

As you progress through the 24 levels you gain the ability to use more advanced ammo, from small rocks, through larger and multiple rocks, to bombs! You need to choose your ammo carefully to complete the game, and certain levels need specific tactics to beat them. Completion unlocks a level creator which I suspect has been the casue of more lost work hours than the game itself ;)

It's a great little game, well produced, great graphics... I just wish there wer more levels!

Play Crush The Castle

Bloons

I love this game - I really love this game! It's so simple, the graphics are basic, the gameplay is basic, yet even though I've completed it several times I still get the urge to go back and play it again! (Luckily there are several sequels to keep my happy!)

You're a monkey, with darts ;) Well, that's a pretty good start isn't it! So, the idea is simply to throw your darts and burst all the balloons on the level. You need to burst a specific percentage to proceed, and there are 50 well designed levels in totoal.

As you'd expect your darts are limited, and the balloons are positioned in such a way that you need to use carful tactics to complete each level. As the levels progress you'll have to contend with special types of balloon, walls, bouncing walls and more. However you also get some help along the way, with extra darts, boomarangs and even a pacman! Enjoy!

Play Bloons

Bowman 2

Another game which uses trajectories, but rather than darts, in this game (as you probably guessed from the name) you use a bow and arrow. Using the mouse, you click and drag to set power and angle, and send your arrow flying towards your opponent. The aim of course is to kill your opponent.

The graphics are incredibly simple, but stylish and well designed. The gameplay is incredibly simple, but fun and addictive, and there are a number of game options to keep your interest up. Play single player against the computer, or 2 player against a friend, or practice your archery by going bird hunting!

A great little game which totally deserves its place on this list.

Play Bowman 2

PacXon

Two of my favorite arcade games as a kid were Pacman, and Qix, so its no surprise that I love this combination of the two. You take control of pacman, and have to wall off 75% of the board from the ghosts in order to proceed to the next level. It's a nicely produced version of Qix, taking elements of Pacman and using them intelligently, and the later levels get extremely difficult.

An easy choice for including here, Pacxon is fast, furious and fun. It does what so many Flash games fail to do which is keep it simple, but provide hours of great gameplay!

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Blob Wars

Remember the old arcade game Ataxx? Well this is an isometric version of that, the idea being to take over the game board by "converting" pieces of the opposite color. The gameplay, like most great games, seems extremely simple but cunning and tactics are needed to win. Practice will be needed to defeat the computer opponent, or play against a friend in 2 player mode. Multiple board layouts keep the game fresh after several plays.

Blob wars is part of a series of "blob" games, and while others such as Blob Twist are more involved, the simplicity and addictiveness. of Blob Wars is what makes it worthy of this list.

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The Helicopter Game

I'm sorry, but I had to include this. The game has become a legend. It relaly couldn't be simpler, you fly a helicopter through a very blocky low res tunnel, your only control is vertical thrust by clicking the mouse, and your aim is to avoid crashing. Sounds simple and boring, until you try it, and for some reaon this game keeps pulling you back for one more go... because it seems so easy, but yet it's so frustrating when you clip the tunnel walls! Proof if ever it was needed that great games don't need fancy graphics, or involved gameplay to be fun and adictive. Have a go, I dare you, but be warned you won't be able to stop at just one!

No list of Flash games would be complete without this game, have a go and I'm sure you'll agree!

Play The Helicopter Game

Bejewelled

They say that immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's true, then Popcap, the makers of bejwelledm should feel well and truly flattered!

This game has been copied again and again, but the orignal is still the best. You simply swap the posityion of 2 colored gems to form rows of 3 or more gems of the same color. New gems then fall in, and it's possible to set up chain reactions, known as cascades, which increase your score. Whether you play in normal or timed mode it's a fun and challenging game, and well deserving of a place on this list. In fact, accorording to Wikipedia this game has been downloaded more than 150 million times making it one of the most popular Flash games of all time!

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Pingu Throw

Yeti Sports is a collection of games, supposedly inspired by Reinhold Messner's claim to have found yetis. The first game in the series, known as "Pingu Throw" was relased in 2004 and the aim was to simply hit a penguin and make him fly as far as possible by hitting him with a club! The game was released before the popularity of platforms such as Facebook, and so people were emailing each other, or chatting on IM trying to beat each other's scores.

Since then there have been many sequeals, and graphical updates to the original, and Yeti Games have become one of the true icons of online gaming, all started with a Yeti hitting a pengoing with a club!

Play Pingu Throw

Desktop Tower Defense

There are no shortage of tower defense games on the Flash platform, but this one deserves a special mention because it does the genre justice! It features pretty standard tower defense gameplay, you buid towers within your budget, to prevent waves of enemies crossing the screen. The reason this version stands out from the drown however is the well deisgned interface, the great looking graphics, and the fact that the enemies move naturally, rather than following a pre-set path.

This is probably the best free toer defense game online, which is no small task considering the sheer number of these games available today. Know of a better one? Then leave a comment below...

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Grow Cube

OK now this is an odd game, with very little gameplay in fact, but it's so clever, so well produced, and so much fun that I just had to include it.

You start with a large cube, made up of smaller individual cubes, and 10 buttons. Your only interaction with the game is to press these buttons, and eacy time you do it adds something to the cube which has a knock-on effect. Your goal is to click the 10 buttons in the correct order to "grow" the cube.

Doesn't sound like much fun does it? Well believe me, it is! You see the joy of playing this game comes from watching the clever animations of the cube, and how your additions affect the outcome. For example, add a man to the cude and he runs around, digging holes, chopping down trees, moving objects etc. Add water and the little man digs himself a swimming pool, and a river, but add things in the wrong order and it goes horribly wrong!

You'll never appreciate a game like this by reading about it - so go play it, and leave a comment telling me if you think it was worthy of being on this list or not!

Play Grow Cube

Tactical Assassin Substratum

The sniper genre has become more and more popular in recent years, and this game is certainly one of the best. Your objective is to carry out a series of missions, using a scoped rifle, to assasinate "stick men". The gameplay is extremely simple, the graphics are simple, and it's certainly not "high brow" gaming but it's addictive, fun, and a great way of spending a quick 5 minutes online - everything a great Flash game should be!

Play Tactical Assassin Substratum

Vector Runner

Now this is a game I love. It's a true blast from the past, a nod back to the vector arcade games of the late 70's and early 80's like Battlezone, Tempest and Starwars. It's fast, and furious, and very well made. Simply race along, dodging the obstacles, and collecting powerups along the way. Quite simply one of the best Flash games to date!

Play Vector Runner