Good Experience Games
These are online games that, in my opinion, offer a "good experience" - good game design with an overall attention to quality. Unless otherwise noted, they're all free, online, and available right now. -mh
| Sort by: Name | Date added | Duration | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20Q | 11/08/06 | fast | This game of Twenty Questions has been online for awhile, learning (as a neural network) from user input and becoming surprisingly smart. Try it and see. |
| 3D Ping Pong | 09/08/05 | fast | Nicely done interface, including spin and lobs. |
| 50 States in 10 Minutes | 10/17/07 | fast | Very simply: can you name them all? (Thanks, Jonathan) |
| 50 States v2 | 07/13/07 | fast | Place the fifty states on a map. (Thanks, jay) |
| A Dog for All Seasons | 11/21/05 | fast | Inventive gameplay, brilliant execution. Get the four puppies to jump over the red balls. |
| Adventures of Alex | 08/24/07 | fast | A game with cute overload. Avoid those mean clouds and get the happy hearts and gold coins. (Thanks, jay) |
| Age of War | 11/17/07 | fast | Evolve through several technological ages to defeat the enemy. (Thanks, jay) |
| Air Monkey | 10/21/06 | fast | Cute one-button game. Click the mouse to jump onto successive ropes. |
| Air Support | 05/23/06 | fast | Avoid everything. Press z to jump. Nicely done. (Thanks, jay) |
| Amberial | 06/13/07 | varies | Great design. Navigate the ball with left and right arrows only. (Thanks, jay) |
| Angry Faic | 04/29/07 | fast | Bounce your angry Pac-Man onto color-coded balls. Fun. (Thanks, jay) |
| Ant Kendo | 09/17/05 | fast | Simple interface, cute graphics. Also try Luke's Aqua Massaqua and the bizarre Lost Aliens. |
| Applicate vol. 0 | 06/15/08 | fast | Clever puzzle game with apples. (Thanks, jay) |
| Archipelago | 07/08/06 | long | A south-Pacific version of Myst, except much harder. Here's a walkthrough with the answers. (Thanks, jay) |
| Art Games | 12/02/05 | varies | (List) Several games or game-related projects with art themes. |
| Artillery Live | 05/22/07 | fast | Nice scaled-down tank game. Simple multiplayer game - good work. (Thanks, jay) |
| Attractors | 02/02/07 | fast | Fun gravity toy. You can drag the platforms and gravity sources. |
| Avoision | 06/08/06 | fast | A lot like Eskiv, but with better graphics. |
| Avoision XP Pro | 06/08/06 | fast | Sequel to Avoision - with even better graphics and level design. Nicely done. I got to 1064. |
| Babble | 03/14/06 | fast | Nicely done version of Boggle. Only downside - you have to register to play. (Thanks, svn) |
| Battleships | 10/20/06 | fast | Good implementation of the classic board game Battleship. Note that you can only play the computer. (Thanks, jay) |
| Binball Wizard | 06/10/06 | fast | Shoot the soccer ball into the office bin. Elegant and fun. (Thanks, jay) |
| Blix | 11/22/05 | fast | Elegant, fun, addictive, and just plain cool. I played this game for the first time in (I think) 1999, and it's still great. Thanks, gameLab! It's got great tempo. |
| Blockoban | 04/21/08 | varies | Clever and difficult block-sliding puzzle. |
| Bloons | 03/29/07 | fast | Fun balloon-popping game. |
| Bloxorz | 07/06/07 | fast | Clever 3-D block-movement puzzle. (thanks, jj) 524383 |
| Board Dots | 08/25/06 | varies | Elegant and difficult puzzle - click around in the grid and you'll get it. You have to fill all the squares. |
| Bomb Wars | 07/13/07 | fast | Great replay of Tron Deadly Discs, one of my arcade favs from 80s. (Thanks, jay) |
| Bombay Taxi | 08/21/07 | fast | Fun with parallel parking. |
| Boomshine | 03/27/07 | fast | Set off a chain reaction - like Chaos Theory but better graphics and sound. Fun. |
| Boomstick | 03/28/08 | fast | Excellent. Shoot the abstract shapes to get more ammo. |
| Bottom of the Sea | 05/10/05 | long | Frogger meets Donkey Kong, under the sea - kind of. Fun concept, fairly difficult to progress far. |
| Bound Bear | 07/14/07 | fast | Clever, unique bear-head-throwing game. (Thanks, jay) |
| BowMaster Prelude | 12/14/06 | varies | Defend the castle by shooting arrows. Excellent. (Thanks, jay) |
| Box Up | 07/15/05 | fast | Reminiscent of Sokoban. Simple implementation and quickly very difficult puzzles. Nice feature is that you can click to any level you'd like to see at any time. |
| Boxhead More Rooms | 08/06/07 | varies | Sequel to Boxhead Rooms - more rooms, weapons, and baddies. |
| Boxhead Rooms | 07/27/07 | varies | Shoot the zombies. (Thanks, Matt.) P.S. Here's a possible theme song for the game by my friend Andrew. |
| Brain Buster | 05/18/06 | fast | Nicely done reflex-memory game. The music section is a great way to learn intervals - I wish that was its own game. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Brute Wars | 05/17/08 | long | Turn-based combat/adventure game. (Thanks, jay) |
| Bubbles | 06/06/06 | fast | A bouncing-ball version of Asteroids. Left arrow, right arrow, space. (Thanks, jay) |
| Bugs | 01/06/06 | fast | Elegant and soothing. Great design. Click and hold the mouse button, but let it go before the ladybugs touch the bubble. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Bullet Bill | 08/15/06 | fast | Very fast side-scroller where you play the bullet in the Mario games. Cute. (Thanks, jay) Q3TH6 |
| Cannon Bods | 04/12/07 | fast | Cute, fun game with pirates and cannons. (Thanks, jay) |
| Canyon Shooter | 05/25/08 | fast | Surprisingly engaging down-scroller. (Thanks, jay) |
| Castle Draw | 05/30/07 | fast | Draw rocks to drop onto invaders. Don't miss the Shop menu on the right. (Thanks, jay) |
| Castle Smasher | 02/01/07 | fast | Well-designed, fun catapult game. |
| Cat on a Dolphin | 12/27/07 | fast | Strangely compelling cat-tossing game. (Thanks, jay) |
| Cat with Bow Golf | 08/03/07 | fast | Shoot the arrow (cat hanging on happily) toward the bulls-eye. Cute. |
| Catch Thirty-three | 01/17/07 | fast | Mouse over the digits in sequence. Quick and elegant. (Thanks, Matt) |
| Cave 3D | 05/23/05 | fast | Fly in the middle of the cave (or is it the Death Star tunnel?).. Hint: press the space bar. Warning: addictive. My high score: 1031. |
| Chain Factor | 01/29/08 | fast | Drop numbered tiles to form chains. (thanks, kottke) |
| Chain Reaction | 07/12/05 | fast | Really quick game - click to see how many explosions you can set off with one click. A bit of "Missile Command" in this one. My three-round best is 121. |
| Chat Noir | 11/30/07 | fast | Simple - but not easy - puzzle of hemming in an escaping kitteh. (thanks, bb) |
| Click Maze 2 | 11/09/07 | fast | Click the dot through the maze; a bit like mini golf. Fun. (Thanks, jay) |
| Click the Colour | 05/18/06 | fast | ...and not the word. Harder than it sounds. |
| Coign of Vantage | 08/14/08 | fast | Clever concept, nice gameplay: rotate the image until everything clicks. (Thanks, jay) |
| Color Junction | 04/03/08 | fast | Quick and fun. Try to remove all the colors. |
| Comboling | 05/27/05 | fast | Great puzzle. Try it without reading the directions first. |
| Commander Keen | 11/09/06 | long | An old side-scroller now online. A lot like Mario World. |
| Conqueror | 11/13/05 | long | Good Risk-type game. (Thanks, jay) |
| Cosmic Encounter | 09/14/06 | varies | Nice online version of the classic board game. Complex, but fun, once you know the rules. Click "Play as Guest" to avoid registration. |
| Crash | 04/11/05 | fast | Good one from the designers at gameLab: the elegant interface makes for especially good game play. |
| Crazy Ladybugs | 05/18/07 | fast | Elegant and fun one-click game: bring the ladybugs together. (thanks, bb) |
| Crazy Mammoths | 05/25/07 | fast | Neat space bar-only game. Jump your mammoth at the right moment to win. |
| Crossword | 11/15/06 | fast | Good crossword game with no clues. (Thanks, jay) |
| Crypt Raider | 05/17/05 | long | Kind of a 2D Sokoban version of Tomb Raider. Funny soundtrack between levels. |
| Cube | 02/02/06 | fast | Like shuffleboard with a square puck. Well done. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Cube Bugs | 02/10/06 | fast | Cute implementation of the common game of clicking off sets of similar items (bugs, in this case). |
| Cubefield | 01/14/06 | fast | Use the left and right arrow keys to fly around the boxes. Anyone who played "Star Wars" in arcades in the mid-80s will recognize it. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Cursor*10 | 01/13/08 | fast | Clever puzzle of stairs and recordings of past moves. |
| Curveball | 04/05/06 | fast | 3-D pong, looking top-down, with spin. Well done. |
| Cutie Quake | 08/09/06 | fast | Shoot any bouncing thing that moves, don't get shot. |
| Day of the Bobteds | 12/28/07 | fast | Inventive ball-physics game. |
| Desktop TD | 03/20/07 | fast | Cuter, more addictive version of the other TD games. See WSJ profile of the creator from June 20, 2007. (thanks, kottke) |
| Dicewars | 08/01/06 | fast | Very nice scaled-down version of Risk, playing against several computer opponents. |
| Digg Games | 08/26/06 | fast | (List) A couple dozen quick Flash games that have been featured on the home page of Digg. |
| Diner Dash | 07/01/05 | varies | Great game design, as always, from the crew at gameLab. Play free (for awhile) online, but I'd recommend paying the $20 and getting the full downloadable version to play all the levels. Fun and addictive. |
| Dino Run | 05/23/08 | fast | Clever, retro scroller - outrun the volcano. (tx, rene) |
| Dodge | 05/04/07 | fast | Dodge the red balls. So simple... for a few levels. |
| Dodge | 07/13/05 | fast | This is a devilish little game. Just try to keep your red block away from all the floating blue blocks. Worthy of study - how often in a game do you get a good chase sequence? (Thanks to Andrew K.) |
| Doeo | 05/01/08 | fast | Stylish mouse-only game, recalls Katamari. (via) |
| Dolphin Olympics | 08/16/06 | fast | Outstanding. Elegant and fun - just use the arrow keys. Play! (Thanks, jay) |
| Dolphin Olympics 2 | 08/27/07 | fast | New & improved version of the great Dolphin Olympics, listed here a year ago. Play this! (Thanks, jay) |
| Don Pixel | 08/02/05 | varies | (List) A selection of "only the best free online games for all the family." También en español. |
| Don Pixel games | 06/07/05 | varies | (List) Several "free online games for all the family." Nintendo Super MonkeyBall fans will be happy to find a version of MonkeyBall there. |
| Doom Funnel Chasers | 10/21/05 | fast | The long-awaited sequel to Spaced Penguin. |
| Door to Door | 06/15/07 | fast | Cute version of Concentration, especially for kids. (Thanks, April) |
| Double Wires | 11/09/06 | fast | Swing the stick figure, Tarzan-like. (Thanks, jay) |
| Dragger | 07/12/05 | fast | Clever game: drag the pieces into place to reform the picture. One of the several entertaining Games for the Brain. |
| Drifts | 11/29/05 | fast | Elegant gameplay and a nice scrolling background. Unfortunately, the game is much too harsh, often ending abruptly. |
| Dumbolf | 07/05/06 | fast | Cute minigolf with a cartoon elephant. Some of the levels are pretty difficult. |
| Dungeon Escape | 04/13/06 | varies | Outstanding. A tribute to Dragon's Lair and other short-lived laser disc games of the mid 80s. The Web is a perfect platform for this genre, and I want to see more. |
| Egg Way | 08/11/06 | fast | Draw little barriers to help guide the egg yolk into the pan. (Thanks, jay) |
| Eggrun | 10/12/05 | fast | Click the egg and drag the mouse down; let go and watch the egg hit the stick. Repeat as necessary. |
| Eight Letters | 03/16/06 | fast | Similar to Babble, but with a focus on eight-letter words. (Thanks, AL) |
| Ellipsis | 04/02/07 | fast | Nicely executed, simple mouse-clicking game. Like Asteroids without the aim. |
| Entrapment | 08/01/05 | fast | Not exactly a game, but an area for play. Explore the rules and the interface of this environment and see what you think! (Hint: Draw a big "6" or "G" shape to trap most of the critters.) |
| Escape from Rhetundo Island | 10/12/05 | long | Intriguing sequel to Hapland and Hapland 2, both listed here on 13 July 05. |
| Escape from Rhetundo Island | 06/08/06 | fast | From the designer of the Hapland and Avoision series. Click things to remove obstacles and keep the guy running to the right (a bit like the 80s game Pitfall). |
| Escape the room games | 09/01/07 | long | List of "escape the room" games. Click around to find and use objects and solve the puzzle. |
| Escape Vision | 02/12/08 | long | Interesting escape-the-room puzzle. (Thanks, Alberto) |
| Eskiv | 05/18/06 | fast | Call me old-fashioned, but this is one of the best games I've found online. Simple, elegant, fun. Hit the box and avoid the balls. (Thanks, Xeni) |
| ESP Game | 02/15/06 | fast | Sort of a Web version of the old TV game "Password." Try to guess the keywords that another user types when they see a given image. (Use bugmenot.com to get a username and password.) |
| Evito Ball | 07/30/08 | fast | Guide the ball with arrow keys, avoiding obstacles. (Thanks, jay) |
| Excit | 01/03/08 | fast | Puzzles in a spreadsheet world. Workflow |
| Experimental Gameplay Project | 04/29/06 | fast | (List) Many quickly developed, experimental online games. Quality varies. |
| Factory Balls | 10/22/07 | fast | Outstanding puzzle game: clever, fun, and unique. |
| Feed Me | 08/07/06 | varies | A bit like a Mario World side-scroller, starring a venus flytrap. |
| Filler | 01/16/08 | fast | Elegant. Like Qix but with circles. (Thanks, jay) |
| Fingerbilliard | 09/08/06 | fast | Fun Flash game of pool. From the home page, choose Toys, then "fingerbillard" [sic]. |
| Fishy | 08/29/05 | fast | Excellent game design. Just use the arrow keys to eat anything smaller than you; that's the whole game. I've played Fishy on and off for years, and it's still a fav. (This is Fishy Classic; don't bother with the newer version.) |
| Flash Circle TD | 03/20/07 | varies | Great followup to Flash Element TD - even better. Caution: addicting. (Thanks, jay) |
| Flash Element TD | 01/19/07 | fast | Set up towers to shoot incoming waves of monsters. Good stuff. (Thanks, joanne) |
| Flow | 08/21/06 | varies | Outstanding. Explore a strange aquatic world. Mysterious and soothing. (Thanks, all who recommended.) |
| Fly Guy | 09/19/06 | fast | A very old one, in Internet years, but still good. A friendly little world to explore. |
| Food Force | 07/07/05 | long | (Requires big download) Adventure game showing players what it's like to rebuild a poor country hit by the tsunami. 198 megabyte download for Mac or Windows. |
| FoolYoo | 02/16/07 | fast | Cute samurai game: cut up the baddies (and veggies - refer to this). (Thanks, jay) |
| Formation | 03/08/07 | fast | Elegant avoid-the-dots game. Nicely done. (Thanks, jay) |
| Four Second Firestorm | 11/03/06 | fast | Another four-second minigame medley, like Frenzy and Fury before it. (Thanks, jay) |
| Four Second Frenzy | 08/14/06 | fast | Another mini-game medley; the sequel to Four Second Fury listed earlier. |
| Four Second Fury | 07/13/06 | fast | Use the arrow keys and space bar to complete each mini-game within four seconds. (A lot like WarioWare - nicely done.) |
| Free Rice | 10/16/07 | fast | Vocabulary game that donates rice upon a correct answer. Cleverly sets the difficulty level (I got to 45). |
| Free Style | 02/03/06 | fast | A rare game that blends music with game play. Use the arrow keys to turn all the squares green. |
| Frogger | 05/07/05 | fast | The original arcade version. Great soundtrack, and in such a small amount of memory. (Kids, this is what quality looks like under tremendous constraints!) |
| Fulfillment | 04/03/07 | fast | Fun block-fitting game, like a static version of Tetris. (thanks, AudioElf) |
| Funny Farm | 12/05/07 | long | Ingenious word-association puzzle. |
| fuzetsu | 07/25/06 | fast | The closer you get to the flying objects - but don't touch - the more bullets you shoot. No buttons or keys - just move the mouse. Elegant, beautiful, and fun. (Note: Needs this Java thing to play.) (Thanks, jay) |
| Galcon | 06/06/08 | fast | Great multiplayer conquest game (much like Nano War, but Galcon came first). Download for Mac/Windows. |
| game, game and again game | 05/12/07 | varies | Worth trying because it's so unique... abstract poetry in the form of a video game. Don't try to make sense of it, but do try it. (Thanks, jay) |
| Games for Change | 05/11/05 | varies | (Blog) A group creating and advocating for "serious games" that teach about issues around the world, like Food Force. |
| Games for the Brain | 07/13/05 | fast | (List) Several games that require the player to think a bit. Includes Dragger, linked below. |
| Games for toddlers | 11/25/06 | fast | List of sites that link to games appropriate for toddlers. (Thanks, jay) |
| Gamma Bros | 07/08/06 | varies | Outstanding shootemup. Play this and you'll relive (or get schooled in) Asteroids, Galaga, and Robotron 2084. Warning: addictive! (Thanks, Eric at UW) GOLVL2 |
| Geartaker | 07/29/06 | fast | (Find the link near the top of the list.) Click at the right time and advance. Elegant and fun. (Thanks, jay) |
| Geography Challenge | 11/08/06 | fast | Nicely done geography quiz. |
| German cow game | 01/05/06 | fast | Drag the arrows to control the cow. Somehow reminds me of Blix. |
| Glassez | 03/02/07 | fast | Cute game of filling a puzzle with geometric pieces. Too much clicking, though. (Thanks, jay) |
| Globulos | 11/07/06 | fast | Fantastic set of multi-player games featuring yellow and red bouncing balls. Games this good are rare online. (Note: All the games are kid-friendly but there is always a chat window visible, allowing other players to type uncensored messages.) |
| GlobZ Mini Games | 10/13/05 | fast | (List) A dozen tiny games controlled with a mouse click or not much more. Apparently no sound, though. |
| Go Robot | 03/19/08 | fast | Quick game about a robot, made by yours truly. |
| Goggles: Google Maps flight sim | 08/10/06 | fast | A simple addition to Google Maps - a little cartoon airplane - makes a surprisingly good flight simulator. |
| Gravity | 10/25/05 | fast | With an interface similar to Spaced Penguin, fire an atom to orbit - and not touch - several gravity sources. Try not to hit a wall. (Similar game: Orbit) |
| Grid16 | 02/19/08 | fast | Fun collection of two-second games. (Thanks, jim) |
| Gridlock | 12/08/05 | fast | Move the blue block out the right-side exit. I like the organic, torn-paper look. (Thanks, Evan) |
| Grow | 07/25/05 | fast | Drag the items, one by one, into the middle of the circle. Do it in exactly the right order and they'll all achieve their maximum potential and you'll win the game... |
| Grow Cube | 02/01/06 | fast | Third in this outstanding series: first play Grow, then Grow RPG, then this one. (The same designer also made the excellent Tontie.) |
| Grow Island | 09/13/07 | fast | Yet another must-play in the Grow series. (Thanks, jay) |
| Grow RPG | 01/27/06 | varies | Fantastic game. But first play the equally fantastic Grow, if you haven't yet, since this is the sequel. |
| Grow v.1 | 12/12/06 | fast | A quick but welcome addition to the outstanding Grow series. (Thanks, jay) |
| Grow v.2 | 06/12/06 | fast | A delight to play, like the previous Grow games. Click the elements in the right order. (Thanks, jay) |
| Guess the Place | 08/15/06 | fast | Guess the city or country from a photo or part of a map. |
| Guess-the-Google | 07/15/05 | fast | Grant Robinson's clever game of guessing the search query that yielded a set of images. Especially clean execution that reminds me of the outstanding "You Don't Know Jack" from the mid-90s. |
| Gyroball | 07/21/05 | fast | Similar to the 80s coin-op game Marble Madness, but with no sound. A bit clunky with arrow keys instead of the trackball, but then it's not as hard as MM was. |
| Hangman | 09/19/05 | fast | Elegant version of the classic game. Well done. (Thanks to Sean himself for the pointer.) |
| Hapland | 07/13/05 | long | Don't be thrown off by the simple 2-D graphic. This is a well-designed puzzle that challenges players to explore the world, figure out what the question is, then slowly discover the answer (a particular sequence of clicks). There's also a sequel. |
| Hapland 3 | 04/08/06 | varies | The latest sequel in this popular series. Find the proper sequence of clicks to win. |
| Happy Flower Music Time | 08/18/06 | fast | The old handheld game Simon (mimicking tunes) on animated flower petals. Cute. (Thanks, jay) |
| Hedgehog Launch | 07/01/08 | fast | Unique, clever, well-balanced game - with a nice surprise, too. |
| Helicopter | 06/12/05 | fast | Fun quick helicopter game. Use the space bar and arrow keys - it's designed well enough that you don't need instructions. |
| High Delivery | 04/11/06 | fast | Use the fan to blow the balloon near the roses. Keep growing the bouquet. (Thanks, Jonathan) |
| Horsey Racing | 08/07/06 | fast | Simple and fun - move the mouse to the right or left to control speed, click to jump. (Thanks, jay) |
| Hoshi Saga | 05/22/07 | fast | Inventive - find a way to uncover the star in each level. (Thanks, jay) |
| Hot Rocks | 01/24/06 | fast | Great updated version of the 1980s classic Asteroids, including new weapons and a cool soundtrack. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Hot Shot Business | 11/18/05 | long | Created by the Kauffman Foundation and Disney to teach entrepreneurship. Although it's built for younger players (middle- or high-school age), I found myself drawn in. Outstanding. (See The Economist article for background info.) |
| Hotcorn | 10/02/07 | fast | Pop the corn. You're the sun. Some hard levels, but fun. (Thanks, jay) |
| Hungry Spiders | 04/24/05 | fast | Sort of Missile Command meets Little Miss Muffet. (Muffet Command?) Not for arachnophobes. |
| Hyper Sphere | 09/11/06 | fast | Sort of a 2-D version of the 80s classic Marble Madness. |
| I/O | 02/07/08 | fast | Fun geeky puzzle, not too hard. (Thanks, jay) |
| iFiction games | 06/17/06 | long | (List) Many command-line text adventures from the 80s, available for play online. |
| Ignition | 05/12/07 | fast | Stylish, elegant, and quick driving game. Nicely done! (Thanks, jay) |
| Indestruct 2 Tank | 10/29/07 | fast | Clever game where you try to get hit by the baddies. |
| Infocom text games | 09/14/05 | long | (List) Eighteen classic Infocom text adventures, ported to Java in their original from. Straight from the 80s! (Thanks, Phoebe.) |
| Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide TTG | 06/04/05 | long | Yes, it's the original Infocom text adventure from the 80s (linked from Douglas Adams' site). Another reason to love the Web. |
| Insane Orb | 08/15/06 | fast | Outstanding update of Pong. The space bar can shoot the puck. Watch for a 80s arcade celebrity sighting. |
| Invader360 | 05/19/06 | fast | Good old-fashioned shoot-em-up. (Thanks, jay) |
| Iron Sudoku | 07/08/06 | varies | Nice interface to solve a daily puzzle. Free with registration. |
| iSketch | 03/21/06 | fast | Good online version of Pictionary. (Thanks, ze) |
| Jamie Kane | 08/17/05 | long | From the BBC, a whodunit mystery about a fictitious popstar. (Note that I haven't played this game; I'm relying on recommendations from Boing Boing and Jay.) |
| Jay Is | 07/13/05 | varies | (Blog) Jay Bibby has written about his favorite online games for years. Don't miss the "recommended" and "classic" sections on the left side of the page. |
| Jinx | 10/26/06 | fast | Fun kid-friendly adventure game themed for Halloween. This is Part 1, and when you're done, try Part 2. (Thanks, jay) |
| Jungle Crash Land | 11/28/06 | fast | Drop bombs to clear the runway before you land. |
| Just Letters | 07/22/05 | fast | A real-time, communal scratch pad. The "game" is whatever you make it. I challenge you to write something intelligible before someone steals it... |
| Katamari | 02/17/06 | fast | A very low-res version of the excellent Playstation 2 game Katamari Damacy. It's a little like Fishy - with the sense of humor of the PS2 game. |
| Kill Time | 07/21/05 | fast | Very fast game. Don't let him get your mouse cursor! (Just move the mouse; no clicking required.) |
| Kinetikz 2 | 08/13/08 | fast | Souped-up version of billiards, with obstacles and baddies. (Thanks, jay) |
| Kingdom of Loathing | 07/27/05 | long | Adventure game featuring stick figures, cartoon drawings, and silly writing. Well done. |
| Know Your World? | 10/31/07 | fast | Very nicely designed geography quiz. |
| Kumo Neko | 11/28/06 | fast | Swing the cat onto the diamonds. Elegant. (Thanks, jay) |
| Kurnik games | 10/03/05 | fast | (List) Many free multiplayer games here - Chess, Hearts, etc. as well as Pencil Soccer, a new one for me. |
| Lander | 11/06/06 | fast | Quick three-level lunar lander game. Fun. |
| Laser and Bubbles | 12/07/07 | fast | Unique and fun: pop bubbles with lasers. (Thanks, jay) |
| Launchball | 10/15/07 | fast | Fun science-museum-type puzzles. Great visual and sound design. (Thanks, jay) momi12agma |
| Levers | 05/22/05 | fast | One of all-time favorite online puzzles. Brings to mind Myst and other fun puzzle games. |
| Library | 10/13/07 | fast | Still in a rough "beta" version, but unique and fun: choose the best source for library patrons' queries. |
| Lightforce games | 07/15/05 | varies | A couple dozen puzzle and tile games from Lightforce. |
| Lightning Pool | 10/17/05 | fast | Fun one-person billiards game with different challenges. |
| LightSprites | 07/01/07 | fast | Fun game with a cute-bizarre Nintendo feel. Drag and throw the colored balls to grow happy humanoids. (Thanks, jay) |
| Line Rider | 11/03/06 | fast | Draw your own track for the sled to ride on. Then watch this video, and this, to see what others have done. (Thanks, kottke) |
| Loop | 07/12/05 | fast | Another gem from gameLab, it features the unusual interface element of looping the mouse; no clicking or typing needed. Well worth playing. (Brings to mind the old Mac classic Boogaloopers, which is "out of print" now.) |
| Lost Your Marbles? | 06/21/05 | fast | Fun quick game. Use the mouse to avoid walls, but feel free to bump into anything circular. |
| Luminara | 02/14/08 | fast | Outstanding shootemup with great powerups. |
| Magic Pen | 04/14/08 | fast | Fun crayon-physics game. (tx, jim) |
| Magnetism | 10/24/05 | fast | Great little game, somewhat like Spaced Penguin. Levels 1 through 9 are fun; 10 is nearly impossible to beat. |
| Mahjongg Solitaire | 11/29/05 | fast | This version of the tile-matching game can be played offline, once it's loaded up. (Thanks, Thomas Weibel) |
| Maxwell's Demon - Balls | 05/15/05 | fast | Segregate the bouncing balls by red and blue. Simple and addictive. |
| Maze Frenzy | 06/10/06 | fast | Click on the red dot and then guide it through the maze. |
| Micro Pac-Man | 06/18/05 | fast | Just for novelty appeal: the world's smallest Pac-Man clone. It's so small, there's no room for a score, or more than one ghost. Only for those with good eyesight. |
| Milaa mindreader | 06/28/06 | fast | This Flash app created by a designer in Iran appears to read your mind. (Thanks, Shaun) |
| Mindfields 2204 | 08/29/07 | varies | Neat tank puzzle game, reminiscent of the German cow game. (Thanks, Ralp H) UA33 |
| Miners 4K | 04/20/06 | fast | Excellent game in only four kilobytes. Right-click to build tunnels for the workers. Caveat, techie Java-install required. (Thanks, Christoph of Aevum Obscurum) |
| Mini Golf | 12/27/06 | fast | Nicely done mini-golf game. (Thanks, kottke) |
| Mini-putt | 07/19/05 | fast | Good execution with an elegant interface. |
| Missile Command | 05/07/05 | fast | Yes, the original arcade version. Even improved over the original, since you use the mouse (and it knows which of the three bases to shoot from). |
| Missile Game 3D | 11/16/06 | fast | Use the mouse to pilot through the tunnel. Elegant. |
| Mission in Snowdriftland | 12/09/06 | varies | Great winter-themed game, much ilke Mario World. (Thanks, jay) |
| Motherload | 12/27/06 | long | Mine the earth for minerals and money. (Thanks, kottke) (original URL) |
| Mouse Avoider 2 | 10/31/05 | fast | Elegant UI - no clicking, just moving the mouse. I dare you to get past Level 7. |
| Movie Puzzle | 04/18/06 | fast | Clever puzzle: reconstruct the pieces of the bouncing ball's animation. |
| Mr. Mothball 2 | 11/09/07 | fast | Very clever take on the shootemup genre. Friendly and cute; too much clicking, though. Space bar, please! (Thanks, jay) |
| Multiball Madness | 02/01/08 | fast | Quick version of Breakout with many balls. Juggle! (Thanks, jay) |
| Music Bounce | 05/13/08 | varies | Unique, clever, musical, all-around great. (Thanks, jay) |
| Music Catch | 05/26/08 | fast | Nice musical game. Catch the shapes, like Doeo. |
| Mypie | 11/03/05 | fast | Simple game of avoiding the alligators and getting the goodies. I like the cake-eating noise. |
| Mystery of Castle Wildenburg | 08/18/06 | long | Nice point-and-click adventure game with photographic backgrounds. (Thanks, jay) inits0818 |
| N3wton | 11/09/07 | varies | Sumo-wrestling tanks! Nicely designed. (Thanks, jay) |
| Nano War | 05/30/08 | fast | Cool real-time strategy. More levels and multiplayer, please! (Thanks, jay) |
| Nanotube | 03/12/08 | fast | Outstanding. Elegant design, unique gameplay - vaguely Tempest-like. (thanks, jay) |
| Neave Games | 06/08/05 | fast | Classic arcade games free on the Web! Tetris, Asteroids, Pac Man, Simon (remember that?), Space Invaders, and more. |
| neko-juppiki | 11/22/06 | fast | Guide the kittens to safety, like lemmings, by clicking on arrows. (Thanks, jay) |
| Neon 2 | 10/06/06 | fast | Fun shootemup. A bit like Asteroids in the vector-art world of Tempest. (Thanks, jay) |
| Nests of Moai | 02/21/07 | fast | Quick fun: mouse over 100 Easter Island heads each level. (Thanks, jay) |
| Nethack | 11/16/05 | long | (Download) Difficult to set up and difficult to learn to play, but overcome those obstacles and you have the best one-person adventure game ever created. I recommend the text-only version, which is more immersive and compelling than any version of Doom, Halo, or anything else. Also see this. |
| No circles | 06/10/05 | long | Very well done Flash game. Figure out what the visual puzzle is on each level, then solve it. |
| Nucleus | 04/04/05 | fast | Devilishly simple yet addictive online game. |
| Ollie's Dance Experience | 10/10/06 | fast | A keyboard version of Dance Dance Revolution. |
| One on One | 06/07/06 | fast | Dribble past the goalie and shoot. (Thanks to the game designer: jp) |
| Open Doors | 07/16/08 | fast | Clever puzzle of moving around a blueprint. |
| Opniyama | 10/11/06 | fast | A bit like Fly Guy - a cute, fun world to explore. (Thanks, MUG) |
| Orange | 03/08/07 | fast | Followup to the outstanding Red. Nice visuals and sound, and decent game play, but too much mouse clicking. (Thanks, jay) |
| Orangutwang Game | 04/24/06 | fast | Stretch the cute orangutan to grab the bananas. Too much clicking for me, but visually well done. (Also: learn more about these endangered animals) |
| OrbBlaster | 11/28/07 | fast | Excellent shootemup... shades of Asteroids and Red, and new elements, in this outstanding design. |
| Orbox | 07/05/06 | fast | Clever puzzle game. Use the arrow keys to move the ball to the goal. |
| Orisinal | 07/13/05 | varies | A collection of visually beautiful games and puzzles, which include Bottom of the Sea, linked below. Thanks to Marc C. for recommending Floats, which is similar to Loop. (Loop has the superior interface, not requiring clicks; Floats has a better soundtrack.) |
| Pac-Xon | 08/17/06 | fast | A cross between Pac-Man and Qix - very nice. |
| Paddle Ball | 05/26/08 | fast | Very simple concept, well executed. |
| Panda Pang | 06/28/05 | fast | Fun shooter in the style of 80s arcade games. Sort of a cross between Galaga, Space Invaders, and Xevious - starring a panda. Hint: hold the mouse button down, rather than shooting individual shots. |
| Panic | 09/19/06 | fast | Great shootemup. Trick is to shoot the baddies while as high up as possible. (Thanks, jay) |
| Paper-and-pen games | 11/06/06 | varies | List of offline games, like Other Foot, that require only pen and paper. Great for parties. |
| Passage | 01/14/08 | fast | This is a MUST-play. The whole game lasts only five minutes. Just play it. (Download for Mac/Win/Linux.) |
| Paths | 11/15/06 | fast | Clever drawing game: draw the path, hit the space bar, and move the obstacles. (Thanks, jay) |
| Peekaboom | 08/08/05 | fast | You get partnered with an anonymous player elsewhere on the Web to play this image-guessing game. Good design, but too much clicking. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Pel | 08/15/08 | fast | Elegant low-tech paddle game. (Thanks, jay) |
| Pendulumeca | 05/09/06 | fast | Swing, Tarzan-style, along the ceiling. Key is getting the right angle and speed. |
| Phoboris | 02/21/07 | fast | Neat. Clear the grid bugs by bouncing the frisbee-thing around. (Thanks, jay) |
| Picto | 11/19/07 | fast | Very clever memory game: just click the new thing. (thanks, IN) |
| Picture Logic | 12/14/07 | varies | Fun puzzles somewhat like sudoku. Good game UI, though most text is Japanese. (Thanks, jay) |
| Pitch N Put Golf | 08/05/05 | fast | Good mini golf game. (Thanks, kottke) |
| Pixel Blaster | 10/26/06 | fast | Outstanding shootemup except that you have to click to fire. Space bar, please! Be nice to wrists. (Thanks, jay) |
| Planarity | 07/12/05 | varies | Great topology game with an especially clean interface. Addictive, though it gets very difficult by level 4. |
| Plastic Balls | 02/12/06 | fast | A circular version of "Breakout" - nicely done. |
| Pod Panic | 10/25/06 | fast | Nicely done, creative update of Asteroids. (Thanks, jay) |
| Polinko | 08/15/08 | fast | Beautiful and surprisingly fun version of pachinko. (Thanks, jay) |
| PongOut | 04/16/08 | fast | Multitasking fun: play Pong and Breakout at the same time. |
| Poom | 07/13/05 | fast | Inverse of Breakout. The ball is a given; you move the board. Thanks to Jim C. |
| Pretty Pretty Bang Bang | 02/03/06 | fast | Like Chain Reaction but faster paced. Try to get to the Underwear Ventriloquist. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Professor Fizzwizzle | 09/19/05 | long | Very well executed puzzle game. Download the demo for Mac or Windows. |
| ProgramGeek Arcade | 07/19/05 | fast | (List) Use the text links at the bottom of the page to choose any of hundreds of quick Flash games. Varying quality. |
| Proximity | 07/11/05 | fast | A sort of cross between Othello and Go, with a twist. Fun. |
| Puzzle Parlor | 04/30/08 | varies | A dozen jigsaw-like puzzles. |
| PuzzPinball | 10/23/07 | fast | Design a pinball level to solve each puzzle. Really nice. (Thanks, jay) |
| Pyoro | 11/18/05 | fast | Hit the space bar to make the bird eat the seeds. Elegant, fast, with nearly hypnotic gameplay. (Thanks, jay) Also: weirdly-similar movie |
| Race to the Bottom | 04/26/08 | fast | Elegant 1-button game: stay ahead of the caterpillar. (Thanks, jay) |
| Racing game | 07/12/06 | fast | Nice Lunar Landar-type game from my buddy Ze Frank. |
| RaidenX | 09/26/06 | fast | Nice homage to the 1980s top-scrolling shooter. |
| Ramps | 09/19/07 | fast | Elegant and fun. Position the ramps to guide the sphere safely. (Thanks, jay) mallorylikespolkadots |
| Rapid Motion | 01/27/06 | fast | Pinball game with a sleek interface and easy controls (space and left/right arrows). |
| Rapture Capture | 04/17/07 | fast | Unique shootemup, or perhaps a "whipemup" - inventive mouse-only interface. (Thanks, jay) |
| Rat Maze 2 | 07/01/07 | varies | Just explore the look-and-feel of this retro game... much like Adventure, the old Atari 2600 game from a quarter-century ago. (Thanks, jay) |
| RayRay | 06/15/05 | fast | Simple but challenging puzzle: get all the RayRays to stand up. Anywhere you click makes adjacent (not diagonal) RayRays to toggle their sitting/standing. |
| Red | 10/02/06 | fast | Fantastic update of Missile Command. Concept, graphics, music, game play are all excellent. (Thanks, jay) |
| Red Team | 05/12/07 | fast | Navigate two characters separately and simultaneously. Fun. (Thanks, jay) different |
| Reflex | 05/02/05 | fast | Fun geometric puzzle. |
| RGB | 05/22/07 | fast | Shoot the colored targets. Simple & fun. (Thanks, jay) |
| Rhythm | 04/03/07 | fast | Very inventive. A mouse, a pentagon, and some insipiration from Dance Dance Revolution... (thanks, AudioElf) |
| Rigby | 12/29/07 | fast | Elegant, fun bouncing-ball game. (Thanks, jay) |
| Ring Mania 2 | 04/28/06 | fast | Collect and match the colored rings by flying around the screen. Nicely done! triviaaaa |
| Rings and Sticks | 03/02/07 | fast | Clever puzzle game: grow the tree branches through the rings. (Thanks, jay) |
| Roboclaw | 03/24/06 | fast | Move the robot arm to pick up the ball. Clean, simple design. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Robokill | 05/28/08 | varies | Exquisitely executed shooter, an update of Smash TV - a game based on a movie based on a book. (Thanks, jay) |
| Rocket Bob | 01/09/06 | fast | Clever game of jumps: just choose the power and angle. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Roly Poly | 09/21/06 | fast | Inventive interface: move the board, not the character, to finish the level. |
| Runes of Shalak | 08/17/06 | varies | Old-school graphics and music make for a fun Lode Runner-type game. H58K9 |
| Samorost | 08/23/05 | long | Fun find-the-click game. Cute graphics, not too hard to progress. In my Safari Web browser I find that typing Tab is like a hint key, displaying the available click points. (Thanks, Stevan Baird.) |
| Samorost 2 | 12/12/05 | long | The sequel to the well-loved Samorost, listed here back in August. |
| Set - Daily Puzzle | 12/14/05 | fast | A daily online puzzle from the makers of the popular Set card game. (Thanks, Sarah L.) |
| Shooot | 09/14/05 | fast | Quick shooter game - a bit like Galaga. Click Shooot to start, and then just hold down the mouse button. |
| Shooot 2 | 02/11/08 | fast | Elegant shooter - sequel to Shooot. (Thanks, jay) |
| Shuffle | 06/02/07 | fast | Simple, fast, and fun billiards-style game. |
| Shufflebrain | 12/04/05 | fast | Clever ball-rolling puzzle by Scott Kim. |
| Snake | 11/19/06 | fast | Elegant - just left and right arrows. Here a lifelike snake eats mice. (Note: Minor blood and gore.) |
| Snake Classic | 10/20/06 | fast | Well done update of this classic game. Don't eat your tail! (Thanks, jay) |
| Snood | 04/25/05 | varies | The one and only Snood, the beloved PC game. Not online; it requires download onto a Windows or Mac machine. But well worth checking out. |
| Snowcraft | 03/27/05 | fast | Interesting gameplay for a snowball fight. Apparently part of a bygone holiday greetings card. |
| Snowy: The Bear's Adventures | 09/19/06 | fast | Cute bear throws snowballs at baddies. (Thanks, jay) |
| Soccer Challenge | 06/04/06 | fast | Clever design of kicking soccer balls into various goals. (Thanks, jay) |
| Space Pilot | 07/29/07 | fast | Nice twist on Asteroids - just move, never shoot. (Thanks, jay) |
| Spaced Penguin | 10/21/05 | fast | Gravity, a penguin, and one of the most elegant game interfaces anywhere. An oldie but (very) goodie. |
| Speedtest | 11/26/07 | fast | Nicely designed typing test, in one minute. I got 101 correct, 0 wrong (without a bit lever). |
| Spin the Black Circle | 02/05/08 | fast | Rotate the board to guide the ball. Elegant, difficult game. (thanks, waxy) |
| Sproing | 09/14/07 | fast | Clever & elegant: not a shootemup but a "whipemup." I don't get Level 6, though. (Thanks, jay) |
| Stick Remover | 01/25/07 | fast | Click to remove sticks without destroying the structure. (Thanks, jay) |
| Strategic Domination | 12/29/07 | long | Finally, the classic Mac game Strategic Conquest is online and multiplayer. |
| Stretch Bendycoot | 01/03/06 | fast | A side-scroller with a unique interface - when the cursor turns into a pencil, you have to draw the path of the jump. (Thanks, Gordon) |
| Sudoku | 08/14/06 | varies | The standard, except that here you can click the "New" link to instantly generate a new puzzle. |
| Sugar Crash | 07/22/05 | fast | An homage to Breakout, starring a sugar cube (you) and a bouncing baby. Great sound effects. |
| Sumo Sushi Soccer | 05/20/06 | fast | One-on-one soccer with sumo wrestlers. Hint: don't jump too early, and use the up-arrow a lot. |
| Sunny Day Sky | 06/26/08 | fast | Calming bear-in-traffic game from orisinal. (Thanks, jay) |
| Super Mario Sunshine | 04/20/05 | long | (Console only) My favorite recent adventure game - for Nintendo GameCube only. Full review in Uncle Mark 2005. |
| Super Smash Brothers Melee | 04/08/05 | long | (Console only) One of the best multiplayer games ever. For Nintendo GameCube only. The unique handicapping system makes the losing player stronger; why don't more multiplayer games do this? It makes it possible for new and experienced users to compete. Full review in Uncle Mark 2006, and in this blog post. |
| Super Smash Flash | 08/24/06 | fast | An imperfect but spirited attempt at recreating the Nintendo über-classic for online play. (The regular Super Smash Brothers is, I believe, the best multiplayer console game ever created.) |
| Swoop to Nuts | 01/04/06 | fast | Unique interface: just move the mouse left or right - there are no other controls - to get the flying squirrel to pick up nuts. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Tall Stump | 12/27/07 | long | Very nicely designed side-scroller. (Thanks, jay) |
| Tama | 08/20/06 | fast | Neat ball-tossing game. Land in red or blue, avoid black. (Thanks, jay) |
| Tanks V2 | 10/12/07 | fast | Tanks shoot it out - a bit like the old "Worms 2" game. |
| Tea Games | 07/12/05 | fast | (List) A couple dozen quick Flash games. No sound on most of them. Thanks to Mike G. for the pointer. |
| Telephone Pictionary | 08/31/05 | varies | (Offline) This isn't an online game - it's one of those old-fashioned in-person party games... I like it because it's an elegant design, requiring only pen and paper; and as a bonus, the website has some funny examples of past rounds. |
| The Amazing Dare Dozen | 10/13/05 | fast | Move the egg up from bowl to bowl. Elegant design: you control the entire game with the mouse button only. |
| The Blank Card Game | 02/04/06 | varies | (Offline) An in-person party game with markers and blank cards. Haven't tried it but sounds fun and creative. (Also see Telephone Pictionary.) |
| The Bugs Are Coming! | 11/10/05 | fast | Fun mouse-avoider game. (Find the name of the game about halfway down the list.) |
| The Fancy Pants Adventure | 03/25/06 | varies | A Mario Brothers-like scroller with hand-drawn cartoon graphics - nicely done. (Thanks, Jay) |
| The Python Challenge | 01/10/07 | long | "The first programming riddle on the net." Geeky fun. |
| The Way of the Ninja | 10/24/05 | long | A kind of updated Lode Runner with Gumby running the course. (No coincidence that the first level is called "the motherlode".) Elegant controls: just left, right, and jump. |
| Thor Towers | 08/10/07 | fast | Build a tower with space bar only. Elegant. (Thanks, jay) |
| Tilt | 08/16/06 | fast | Elegant. Use the mouse to keep the toy balanced. |
| Tontie | 10/28/05 | fast | A much more interesting version of Whack-a-mole. If you can get past level 9, I salute you. Great design. |
| Tontoko | 02/01/06 | fast | A very fast game. Try to get above 1000 points. |
| Tonypa's Flash games | 04/15/05 | fast | (List) Set of creative, if occasionally bizarre, Flash games. |
| Toon Crisis | 08/17/06 | fast | Shootemup set on the streets of London. |
| Totem Destroyer | 07/08/08 | fast | Click to remove blocks while keeping the sculpture off the ground. (via) |
| Touch the Bubbles 2 | 11/30/07 | fast | Very nicely designed music puzzle. (Thanks, jay) |
| Travian | 03/02/06 | long | Simple browser-based massively multiplayer game - with elements of Settlers of Catan and Risk. We'll see more games like these in the future. This is one to watch. |
| Treasure Box | 11/14/07 | varies | Clever and beautiful little adventure. (thanks, MUG) |
| Treasure of Cutlass Reef | 11/02/07 | fast | Simple game of sailing ship combat. Nicely done. (Thanks, jay) |
| Troyis | 09/28/05 | fast | Puzzle challenging a chess knight to jump onto certain squares. |
| Tube Racer | 08/21/06 | fast | Dizzying game of navigating a series of tubes - that is, the Internet. Just use the arrow keys. |
| Tumbler | 05/18/06 | fast | Touch anything green and avoid everything else. |
| Turbo Tanks | 01/25/06 | fast | Outstanding update of the old early-80s "Combat". Stone! |
| Type Crime: Italics | 09/16/05 | fast | Exceedingly simple game that is worth mentioning because the theme is so unusual: protect your letterforms from being distorted by the flying gremlins that turn them into something that is not italic. In other games you can save curly quotes or watch helplessly as letters get distorted. Ahh, typography. |
| TypeRacer | 04/26/08 | fast | Race other users in typing speed. One problem: it doesn't recognize bit lever-typed text, which is as legit as everychar typing. |
| Typing game | 02/16/06 | fast | Nice, clean interface for this typing game from 2addicted.com. |
| Uchuforce 2 | 04/07/08 | fast | Very old-school shootemup. Elegant. (Thanks, jay) |
| Udder Insanity | 04/15/05 | fast | An oldie-but-goodie, sort of a farmer-remake of the 80s game Tapper. It's rated "R" by the creators for "violent content." (Exploding cows (and imploding, too).) |
| Unique | 06/06/08 | fast | Elegant: click the one that doesn't match. (Thanks, jay) |
| Valo | 01/01/07 | fast | Elegant and simple, with nice music. (Thanks, jay) |
| War of the Hell | 01/24/06 | fast | A truly strange and inventive game. You're trying to rescue poor stick figures dumped on the floor. Trouble is, you only have a bungie cord for them to cling on to - move it too fast as you bring them to "heaven", and they may fall off. |
| Warbears | 02/27/06 | long | Nicely designed all around. A bit like Samorost - find the proper sequence of clicks. (Thanks, Jay) |
| Warthog Launch | 09/20/06 | fast | Launch the jeep in the air to get the floating baddies. Fun. (Thanks, jay) |
| WEBoggle | 11/16/06 | fast | Nicely implemented Web-based Boggle. (Thanks, JA) |
| What Did I Search For? | 12/16/05 | fast | Clever design: fill in the blank on the search resul |
