For the next few days I will be posting a countdown of the best Web games of 2004, from the perspective of this humble Web site. There were a lot of games posted here during 2004, too many for me to go through and count them all—I will leave that as an exercise for the reader. =)

Disclaimer: I do not profess to be an expert on anything, but I do know good gameplay when I experience it. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough time to play every game out there.

So, I want to thank everyone who helped make the selection a bit easier for me by voting for your favorite games. This countdown is as much your voice as it is my own, possibly even more so.

With that said, I also want to give a nod to all the fantastic Web games out there with which I have not yet been acquainted. You know who you are. I will hunt you down sooner or later and give you the praise you so rightly deserve.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for—ok, so maybe not, but play along with me, hmm?—Following are the games that did not quite make the Top 10 list this year, yet for one reason or another I feel they deserve more attention than they received...

PixelField: an action puzzle strategy game, this game shines from its intuitive gameplay, immersive physics, soothing soundtrack, and excellent replay value. The 3 red pixels that dangle and stretch as the base is moved around each level create a sensation in which you can almost feel the physics of the game. PixelField is one of my favorite Flash games ever, and one that I keep coming back to again and again. Click.

Saltacol: also an action puzzle strategy game, it became an instant favorite when I found it earlier this month. Saltacol features excellent level design and gameplay, and just finishing the game (or even a level) is such sweet success. Infinite lives allows you to keep trying, yet the level design ensures that you won't soon put this game down. Excellence in design, physics, graphics, and replay value. Flash games don't get much better than this. Click.

Bubbles: an action arcade game that excels in fun. This is one of those games that comes along every once in a while that you just know will be a classic the first time you play. And it's easy to see why: simple gameplay makes it accessible to anyone, awesome power-ups keep the pace frantic, and the arcade action keeps you coming back for more. Instant classic, major league fun. Click.

Warthog Launch: another action strategy game, and one with an explosive fun factor. And who doesn't like to blow things up once in a while? The best part is that Warthog Launch provides a gratifying stress-relieving experience allthewhile exercising the analytical portions of the brain. The sound effects alone make the experience worthwhile, and thus worthy of being included in this year's honorable mention. Click.

Mudcraft: a real-time strategy game created in Flash, and quite a remarkable accomplishment. And while this game offers familiar gameplay mechanics to anyone who has played any of the Blizzard *craft games, it offers a non-violent approach instead. And it works. Mudcraft features adorable mud people graphics and animation, voices, and a delightful soundtrack, packaged together with gameplay that is engaging and that will keep you busy for hours. Click.

Honorable honorable mention: Squares2, and DR3I.

In the comments to the previous post, Charles pointed out that it was gameLab's Loop that was first to incorporate the innovative gameplay core mechanic of drawing 'loops' around animated sprites to collect them for points (in a browser game). And since the two games are indeed similar, I decided to post an entry about Loop, the game that quite possibly inspired Ferry Halim's Floats.

gameLab was founded in 2000 by Peter Lee and Eric Zimmerman, and Loop followed about a year later in 2001. In the book Design Research, edited by Brenda Laurel, Eric Zimmerman discusses gameLab's approach to game design and offers some insight to the impetus behind Loop:

"LOOP grew out of a desire at gameLab to invent a new core mechanic. There are ultimately not very many ways to interact with a computer game: the player can express herself through the mouse and keyboard, and the game can express itself through the screen and speakers. Deciding to intervene on the level of player input, we had a notion to cast aside point-and-click or click-and-drag mouse interaction in favor of sweeping, fluid gestures.

...In the end, LOOP managed to achieve the fluid interaction we had first envisioned, an entire game evolving from a simple idea about mouse control."

"My name is Ada. I'm going to show you how to catch butterflies."

So begins the game of Loop. There is a short tutorial that introduces you to the concept of catching butterflies: draw a loop around two or more of the same color; or, draw a loop around 3 or more butterflies of different colors to catch them. There is a sun that travels as time passes. You must collect enough butterflies before the sun sets or the game is over. Even the menus use the innovative control to select whether to skip the intro, play the game, ask for help, see the credits, or view the high scores.

Inside, the game offers a full-featured game playing experience complete with multiple levels of varying difficulty, and additional bonus rounds. There are three (3) types of butterfly: small, medium and large. The size of the butterfly determines their relative speed, and therefore how difficult they are to catch. There is a special cocoon that falls and hatches every 5th level. Catching this special butterfly awards the player with a dream sequence where Ada falls asleep and dreams of butterflies while the player is free to catch as many as she can before the moon sets.

From Eric's discussion of the game design process we know that a lot of thought went into designing the game of Loop, and it shows. The erratic behavior and flight of the butterflies is represented in the whimsical graphic style of the game. The ever changing butterflies, fluctuating soundtrack, and increasing number of enemies serve to keep the action appearing and sounding fresh with each new level; and by increasing the required number of butterflies to be caught in each level keeps the pace moving forward. The bonus dream sequences offer the player a reprieve from the frenetic pace, and a chance to simply rack up the points without fear of losing or running up against more enemies.

There are special powerups that drift at random adding spice to the mix when caught with the butterflies: freeze, longer line, more time, score multiplier, and flock. While most are self-describing, longer line allows you to draw a longer line and thus a larger loop; and flock makes butterflies of a color fly with each other. Very cool. Flocking is good fun.

There is a lot to like about Loop, and now if you will excuse me, I have some butterflies to catch.

Play Loop

Thank you, Charles, for introducing me to this wonderful game. Incidently, gameLab also produced Blix, one of my all-time favorite Web games.

Floats is another Orisinal game that I would like to play on my Nintendo DS.

Created by Ferry Halim, this wonderful and innovative Flash game makes use of the mouse for drawing circles and shapes around floats of the same color to capture them and score points. The more floats you capture at once the higher the score. You have a limited time within which to collect all the floats of each color. Capture them all within the time limit for a bonus and a new level.

Floats features the same beautiful graphics and soundtrack that we've come to expect from Orisinal games. And the simple and elegant gameplay mechanics serve to showcase Ferry's exceptional talent for expressing fresh new ideas with Flash.

Play Floats

A while back I posted a DHTML version of the classic meditative strategy game, Mahjong Solitaire, as it was the nicest version of the game I was able to find. Until now. Enter bijvoorbeeld multimedia's rendition of the game, and it's done in Flash.

From Amsterdam, this version of Mahjong Solitaire is clearly one of the best I have seen for one very significant reason: the symbols are large and very easy to differentiate from one another. As much as I love the cultural beauty of authentic Mahjongg tiles, they can drive my eyes to fatigue from just telling them apart. In addition to the large contrasting symbols and requisite single player mode, this game offers a two player game: One person plays through the game, the other then tries to better the first player's score.

If you are new to this game, the object is to remove all 144 tiles from the play field. To remove tiles, you must match up like tiles, and they both must be free to slide off the pile to the right or to the left. Generally, there are four (4) of each tile, except for two special tile types: flowers and seasons. Both of these special types have four (4) tiles each that match with each other, yet the face of each tile is different. In this game the flowers are gold in color, and the seasons are blue with red decoration.

A classic that has been remade into a more usable, and more accessible, game. Click.

This rich media Flash game, designed by the folks at Preloaded, is from the website of the BBC drama Spooks, a weekly spy series in the UK. The well-designed and immersive game features narrative by "Harry", head of the MI5 counter-terrorism department, who provides much of the story behind the game via live captured video segments.

Spy Academy offers a variety of training modules that help you learn the necessary spy skills needed to become an MI5 operative and to move on to the game's more advanced assignments. There is a total of 10 training modules in which Harry will put you through your paces testing skills in various areas: Defuse, Intercept, Identify, Codebreak, Gas, Profiler, Bugging, Sniper, Polygraph, and Range. Participation in these drills will assist MI5 command in ascertaining S.R.L. (speed, reaction, logic) levels in a controlled environment.

Each of the training modules is in the form of a mini-game, most of which will be familiar game concepts. For example, Defuse is a game of Simon that begins with a 3-code sequence that builds to 12 under a time limit of just over a minute and a half. Upon successfully parroting back each incremental code, you must then cut the appropriate wire to defuse the bomb.

A separate module keeps track of your scores, charting the relative progress in each of the training modules and assignments. Site registration is required to save your scores between sessions. There is also a chart averaging all registered player scores for each of the modules.

The overall interface to the game and to each of the modules is consistent, reflects the theme of the game, and is very well done. The featured "gridOS" resembles a standard GUI operating system desktop with movable windows, and icons that open with a double-click. The desktop interface is instantly familiar with icons representing folders and documents that serve to organize the game's various modules. The video introduction and narratives by Harry add a special immersive quality to the game by addressing the player directly and driving the story forward. The module-based training games allows the player freedom to select the games in any order, and to repeat any at will. And text files accompany each video segment for accessibility to deaf and hard-of-hearing gamers.

There are a couple of interface bugs I uncovered whilst playing. Most were minor annoyances like a help window popping up at a very small fraction of the size it should have been. Although resetting the game seemed to fix the problem, if I hadn't been registered I would have lost my scores.

All things considered, I would still highly recommend this game due to the variety of games it offers, as well as its engaging theme and well designed interface. Click.

Just a quick update to wish everyone and their loved ones a very happy holiday. Thank you kindly for your visits and for your comments, it makes maintaining the site so very worthwhile to me. =)

Today I removed the "best of 2004" banner from all of the individual pages as it was hogging the CPU and leaving little to play the games with. If you experienced any inconvenience from that, I apologize. My Flash skills are improving, but I still have a ways to go. Thank you, Grant, for making me aware of the problem.

I also want to thank everyone who has participated so far in voting for the Best of 2004. Response has been better than I expected and your votes will help make the selection easier. There have been a lot of great games posted to this site this year, and narrowing it down to just the top 10 is rather difficult. If you haven't yet voted, you still have a couple more days to get your votes in for your favorite games. Voting is easy, just go to the Voting page. Click.

And speaking of favorites, I have modified the Favorites page to make it easier for those whose browser does not support the Drag-and-Drop feature. Clicking on a game icon will move it to your favorites, and Shift-Clicking on an icon in your favorites will remove it. Also, the Favorites dock now scrolls with the page since there have been many new games added to the list to choose from. To save your favorite games for easy access, just go to the Favorites page. Click.

I have 10 invitations for free Google email accounts to give away. If you still don't have one of these, you should get one now. Just send me a valid email address with which to receive it.

And finally, I have just one question to ask: jayis.net or jayisgames.com?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, or whatever it is that your religion or your culture celebrates. Have a safe, warm, and soulful holiday season. Peace. =)

A delightful holiday Flash game to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, from marketing and advertising firm Bellman, in the UK.

Decorate the trees by dropping stars from above and landing them on the tree tops. Simply click on a star at just the right moment for it to fall onto a tree or a present. The shorter the tree the farther the star must fall, and the higher the points you will score. Hit a present for more time to play. When the timer runs out, the game is over.

Play Bellman Stars

Can you torque the talk? In this unusual Flash adventure game from 2002, your spacecraft crash lands on an alien planet. To escape, you must observe the culture and learn a new language to communicate with the inhabitants of this alien world.

Tork is remarkable in its originality and design, as well as its gameplay. While the game is not very long, it may take a while to get a grasp of what to do. Observe what the natives are doing, and immitate them. Find the leader and ask for help. The cursor keys are used for moving, and the mouse can be used for selecting words to speak. There is a built-in hint system in case you get stuck.

Tork was created with high production values as evidenced by the art work, the soundtrack, and the easy-to-use communication interface. The art is true to the theme of the game, and reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss book. The sounds in the game are quite fitting to the environment.

Play Tork

Tork was produced by Nectarine and published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on their website as part of their Game On initiative. Game On is also behind Chasm and OgOg Alive.

Thanks to Steve for suggesting this excellent game.

This game just popped onto the Flash point-and-click scene Tuesday, and people were all over it. The Museum is a brand new adventure from French design team Anode & Cathode, and is one part mystery and one part figure out what the object of the game is.

To save you from the little frustration I experienced with the game, your task is to collect the objects you find while exploring the museum and, well, put them back where they belong. Some of the puzzles are logical, and others are a bit odd. In other words, rely on your common sense most of the time, and when that fails use your imagination.

All things considered, the game was fairly well designed, yet the execution of it suffers from inconsistencies and a lack of cohesion. For example, some items to collect in your inventory are to be placed, while others to be acted upon, and still others combined. While this may seem logical in an adventure game of this sort, the interface made it a little confusing to me. There is a story—though somewhat of an afterthought it seems—that is revealed at the end, and yet the game play could have existed in an entirely different game altogether. Much of the 'art' in the museum is nicely done and fits the mood and theme of the game well, and yet it is mixed with various out-of-character additions from the design team. While these deviances may inject some style and humor into the game, they also serve to disrupt any immersion the authors were attempting to create. These are somewhat minor issues, though, and if you enjoy point-and-click Flash adventures, then it is likely you will enjoy playing this one as well.

Play The Museum

Another create-your-own snowflake maker Flash for all you creative types out there, and it's similar to the previously posted Make-a-Flake, only better.

Relive the grammar school days of yesteryear with this Flash make-a-flake snowflake maker. Simply make several cuts in a folded paper with a pair of scissors, the way you may remember doing, and then unfold to reveal your stunning creation. A cheerful seasonal activity to wile away the hours during the cold indoor months.

Created by Popular Front, new media and interactive communications specialists, SnowDays presents a preview of your flake in real-time so you can see exactly what each tiny cut adds to—or takes away from—your winter wonder. The cutting interface is much better as well, simply click where you want to cut and drag the mouse. A tiny dotted line will be drawn along the line you drag. Very nice.

Play SnowDays

Well, it's almost the end of the year, and when looking back we see there were quite a few impressive and memorable games released this year for every platform imaginable. And the Web game category is no exception.

To help make sense of all the Web games that are available to play, I am compiling a "Best of 2004" feature, which will be put up online here very soon, counting down the top Web games of 2004. In fact, over the course of the next 10 days, you can help me decide which games were the very best by casting your votes for the "Best of 2004". Vote for up to 10 games that you thought were a cut above the rest, or for the ones you keep coming back to time and time again. You will only be able to vote once, so make your votes count. And, I thank you kindly for participating. Click.

A clone of the classic Loopz game for the Atari ST computer, Double is a Java applet, written by Martin Koerwien and Michael Kraus, that brings to the browser the same addictive and challenging gameplay.

The object of the game is to place random pieces on the play field to form closed 'loops' which then disappear to make room for more. You may rotate each piece before placing it, much the same as in the game Tetris. Scoring is one point for each tile of the closed loop built. Your points are doubled if you clear the board, hence the name of the game.

Move the mouse to position each piece, click the left mouse button to drop it. Click the right mouse button to rotate the piece before dropping. You may erase one piece from the board for every 100 points you accumulate, but only if the current piece you are holding is the same as the one to be deleted.

Each new piece is delivered rather quickly, and if you don't place the piece by the time another one is ready, the piece will be dropped for you. The game is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, and yet it is quite easy to pick up and get started playing.

Play Double

A very kind thanks to Seb for sending me the link to this game.

Wow. The Dark Room is an absolutely brilliant Flash puzzle game that is as gorgeous as it is enjoyable. Using only the mouse, point, click and solve the mystery of the dark room in this amazing and remarkable hi-tech themed puzzle game. I do not want to say much about it since figuring out the game is part of the fun. Let it suffice to say the game is non-violent and universally accessible to people of all ages. All you need is a bit of common sense, some memory, and a little logic to play; however, people who are colorblind may experience some difficulty. It is one of the best Flash games I've seen, and I have played many excellent Flash games. Trust me on this, do it now.

Play The Dark Room

Created by Jonathan May of Woolythinking, who is also the author of Archipelago.

If you enjoyed this game, then be sure to play
the 27-room sequel: The Dark Complex

From German transport and logistics company, Dachser, comes this sorting game in... well, German. And while you may not speak German, the gameplay is easy enough to understand for most anyone to have fun—see note below. Global Player is a Flash game designed to test your skills at sorting packages and routing them to their proper destinations. Everything in the game is color coded, which is great unless you are colorblind as there is no provision for colorblindness in this game.

So, provided that you can indeed tell the difference between the colored packages, each level consists of a system of conveyor belts and switches, giving way to multiple destinations where transportation awaits to receive each package and send it on its way. The key is to route each colored package to the vehicle indicated by the same color. Click on the large arrow switches where the conveyor belts intersect to change the direction the packages pass through.

The gameplay starts out easy in the early levels with a rather simple layout and a small number of destinations. Each new level presents a more elaborate design, and more destinations. Add to that more packages that must be sorted and a time limit for each level, and you have a well-designed and challenging game.

Play Global Player

Update: If you enjoyed this, give the Global Player Reloaded game a try.

It is beginning to look and feel a lot like Chrismahanukwanzakah up here in the northeast, with temperatures dipping well below freezing today for the first time this season. And with all the snow we've been getting, it would be an excellent time to build a snowman, or simply stay indoors and play this charming Flash game instead. The Snowrider is another classic game from Ferry Halim's wonderful collection at Orisinal.com.

The object of the game is simple: using the mouse, click on the snowball to jump over rocks, click outside the snowball to increase speed. The faster you make it to the bottom, the higher your score. Simply beautiful. Elegantly simple. Click.

Boston.com is hosting this Flash Snow Plow game in which the city of Boston has been hit by a Nor-easter and it's your job to plow the streets clean. Take control of the city plow using the arrow keys for movement: up is forward, down is reverse, while left and right turn the vehicle. Steering the plow is a challenge, as well it should be, while driving on snow-covered streets. There is even an occasional ice patch where steering is near impossible, therefore the game physics make the game challenging and fun.

Collect all the snowflakes to move on to the next level, packages offer additional time or bonus score, candy increases the bonus awarded once you complete a level. A cute and fun little seasonal Flash game. Click.

Escort, scout and fight your way through enemy territory in an armed reconnaissance helicopter, the Tiger. This Flash game is also from the Australian military's website, and it offers up similar challenge difficulty as that found in Thunderbolt and Seahawk.

Operation Tiger features richer and deeper gameplay than the others, yet the controls are a bit more complicated. Movement of the helicopter is controlled with W (forward), A (left), S (back), and D (right) keys. Pressing Ctrl switches weapons between cannons, rockets, and hellfire missiles. Aim with the mouse and fire by clicking. Pressing space performs a defensive roll maneuver.

There is a lot to do in this game. You must escort a transport, protect it while clearing a path to the village, rescue civilians and escort them to the checkpoint, allthewhile being fired upon from all angles. If you're up to the task, that's only your first mission.

Play Operation Tiger

More military training Flash from the Australian government's website. The game Operation Seahawk has you piloting a navy Seahawk helicopter to fire torpedoes at enemy submarines and patrol boats, and to rescue stranded military personnel. The arrow keys control the craft, while the space bar fires torpedoes, picks up personnel, and is used to land on the ship as well.

Not a bad game, though the interface could be improved a bit. While I was trying to land on the frigate after the first mission was over, pressing the space bar launched torpedoes at it instead. One of the problems, I suppose, of using the same key for offensive and defensive maneuvers. Still, the suite of games offers serious challenges that mimick real-world scenarios.

For all those who just have to blow something up once in a while, these military games from Australia are just the ticket.

Play Operation Seahawk

If you like this type of game, check out Operation Thunderbolt, which I am happy to report is now back online.

Often it seems I come across a Flash game that is so very simple in design, and yet offers a remarkable gameplay experience. And by remarkable I mean gameplay that is easy to pick up, difficult to master, and compels you to play again and again. These types of games are the holy grail of game design: Simple, straightforward, accessible, with universal appeal. Probably not the next Halo or Doom, but they sure do engage people in astounding number.

Enter Hamure-su. A very simple game from Japan in which you guide the little hamster around the track by clicking the mouse. For as long as you hold the mouse button down, the hamster will turn to the left. Run off the course and the game is over. How far can you make the little bugger go?

Play Hamure-su (Hamster Race)

Update: I am now mirroring Hamure-su due to the original author taking the game down and disappearing without a trace. Doing so has allowed me to implement a high score table for the game. It does not however work with Internet Explorer. But then you really shouldn't be using that unsafe browser anyway, if you can help it.

It shouldn't be surprising that from the world's smallest website comes the world's smallest games. From British game and Web designer Alan Outten comes this very tiny website, only 18 pixels wide by 18 pixels high, yet it is packed full with games such as Pong, Pacman, Footy, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pinball, and others. These teeny tiny games are surprisingly challenging and fun to play, if only a bit difficult to see on a high resolution monitor.

There is certainly more here than meets the eye. While at first glance it may seem incredibly simple to make a game as small as these are, and yet it is likely just the opposite is true: Making very small games requires just as much attention to gameplay as full-sized games do.

For example, Pacman (shown here) features only one 'ghost' but the AI is designed to come directly at you using a shortest path algorithm. This makes the inner 'dots' much more difficult to get to. And to pull off a game like Asteroids in such a small area requires some thoughtfully designed pixel graphic manipulations to accomplish believable animation.

The entire site is an amazing accomplishment, and a fascinating exercise in game design and development discipline, even if just for the novelty of it.

Play World's smallest games

Panic strikes in Tobby Crisis when Bull ties Jelly to a rocket and lights the fuse. Your job is to put out the fuse by aiming the water hose with the mouse and clicking the mouse button. The longer you hold the button down the farther the hose will spray. With the fuse always on the move, it becomes a challenge to douse the fuse before it reaches Jelly and sends her into space.

Another simple game in Toshiba's series of Tobby Flash games, yet one that employs unique gameplay mechanics and a simple backstory to create a fun little game. Click.

Update: It seems that Toshiba has taken the Tobby games offline. =(

Another game in the Toshiba series of Tobby Flash games, Tobby Crane puts you in control of the release switch of a factory crane trying to fill the pipes below with gifts for your girlfriend, Jelly. Simply click the mouse as the crane moves over the pipes to release the item, and try not to let Bull get his grimey hands on it. If Bull catches it, he will throw it anywhere he pleases. Toss a heart in the pipe where Jelly appears to increase your lives. Miss all the pipes and have your lives reduced by one.

For anyone fascinated with pachinko machines, this game mixes an element of chance with a little timing strategy for yet another cute Yoshio Ishii Flash game. Click.

Update: It seems that Toshiba has taken the Tobby games offline. =(

Toshiba Corp offers a series of Flash games on their Japanese website, and Tobby Sling Shot is one of them. While that may not be a very accurate translation of the name, it does describe well the primary gameplay mechanics. Use the mouse to click and drag the platform Tobby stands on like a sling shot to catapult him into the air. Aim him to catch gems and to reach higher platforms. Make your way up to the top of the level to save your girlfriend, Jelly Tobby from the clutches of Bull Tobby. A charming platform game with unique gameplay mechanics. Click.

The art style and game physics lead me to believe it's another creation by Yoshio Ishii. This game would also translate well to the Nintendo DS touch screen interface.

Update: It seems that Toshiba has taken the Tobby games offline. =(

Who hasn't enjoyed the simple pleasures of cutting paper into snowflakes on a cold winter day? With Make-a-Flake there is no mess to clean-up and you can even undo cuts gone wrong. This Flash toy is a fun way to express your creativity and get into the spirit of the holiday season.

Play Make-a-Flake

Created by lookandfeel new media, now part of Barkley US.

For a thousand years, the prairies of Siberia were plagued with saltacoles, the rarest species of mollusk. But now, only a single male remains and it is trying like a crazy person to reproduce. Fortunately, he learns there is a female that exists, and sets out on a journey through 5 terrible caves to be with his love and save the species.

That is the odd and poorly translated story of Saltacol, a beautiful and original Flash game by Voet Cranf.

You are a snail in this story of saving your species, and you must make your way from entrance to exit in each of the 5 cave levels of the game. At the start of each level you drop into the cave from a hole, and you must find your way to the other hole that looks just like it. Problem is, it is initially closed, so you must first find the little switch that opens the exit hatch. Still with me?

(1) Find the switch, (2) trip the switch, (3) get to the exit.

Your only means of movement is by jumping, swimming or rolling. Using the mouse, point to the snail, then click and drag the mouse in the same direction you want to jump, swim or roll. The farther you drag the farther the snail will travel. Let go. Repeat.

Hint: if you hold the mouse button down for a couple of seconds, you will see the path of an arc drawn that the snail will take when you release the mouse button. This helps considerably when judging where and how far to drag the mouse.

Falling doesn't kill you, but enemies will. Fortunately, you are given infinite lives with which to complete the game. Also, at the end of every cave you will receive a password ('el código de la siguiente fase es...'). It will let you go directly to that cave in future sessions.

The enemies are nasty. There are white anemone-like things that will make you start the level over if you even touch them. And you will touch them, a lot. Yet persevere and be rewarded with a remarkable and wonderful Flash game experience.

Play Saltacol

Swinger is an odd little arcade-style Flash game that offers familiar "clear the board while avoiding the enemies" gameplay in a unique style all its own.

Created by Mark Arenz of Ridiculopathy.com, the object of the game is to swing the bar from post to post to clear all the colored dots from each level—some colors require more than one visit. Clear all 10 levels in the shortest time possible.

Use the arrow keys for swinging left and right, press space to jump, and Ctrl to skip a post. Each of the 10 levels offers a different challenge, with some enemies freezing you for a short time, while others reduce your lives by one.

Getting the hang of movement around the board is tricky, and yet gratifying when done correctly. Some posts can only be visited by jumping, but be careful not to fall off the board and lose a life. The various devices employed in each level make the game fun like a game of mini-golf. It's a cute game with character, if at times a tad frustrating.

Play Swinger

Thanks to Scott Niven's SaltWaterPizza Blog for the link.

Wings of Megaira is an official entry of the 2005 Independent Games Festival in the student showcase, and I couldn't be happier to report that the game was designed and built by four (4) esteemed colleagues here at RIT.

The made-for-Windows game is a classically styled top-down shooter in which you control a fighter ship against fast-moving waves of alien enemies. Along with the standard single-player mode, Wings of Megaira offers two player cooperative play on the same computer using keyboard or joystick.

The game offers up a variety of weapons and special features to keep the action blazing across the screen, or suspended in time. Lasers will light things up with their awesome mind-blowing power, and time shift will slow all enemies to a snail's pace, thus giving you the upper hand in battle. You start off with just a machine gun, and before you can use more powerful weapons you must absorb the soul of the enemy—effectively stealing their weapon. Red enemies carry machine guns, blue enemies carry lasers, and green carry grenades. Other power-ups are also available along the way.

The game is amazing and gorgeous, and I really believe these guys are going to walk away with an award of some kind for it. Michael Clark has outdone himself by designing all the models and in-game art, and it shows just how talented he is with ‘Wings'. Andy Lorino, Eli Tayrien, and Alex Cutting all mastered the art of Direct3D game programming while building other 2D and 3D games for RIT's Andy Phelps. They then got together over the summer and decided to build one for the IGF. Wings of Megaira is what they came up with, and it rocks! Click.

High Wheels is a brand new game from master game designer, Tonypa, and available on his website to play.

This great little Flash game is about collecting red dots for points by jumping from wheel to wheel as they turn. Use the right and left arrow keys for movement, then press the space bar to jump. Each red dot is worth a point, and a random floating blue dot offers bonuses such as: extra points, extra time, no gravity or stopped wheels. Time begins to count down from 5 minutes. Collect as many as you can, or get a bonus for every remaining second by clearing the board. It's a cute little game from a really nice guy.

Play High Wheels

This classic fighter has been around for a couple of years, and yet it is still one of the best Flash fighters I've seen. Stick figures are the characters in the XiaoXiao series of games, and there are plenty of them to challenge you in XiaoXiao 9: Fight Man. Default controls are the arrow keys for movement, the [Z] key for boxing, [X] for jump, and [C] for protect. An options screen before the game begins allows you to configure different keys to suit your taste. If fighters are your thing, then XiaoXiao.

Play XiaoXiao 9: Fight Man

Created by Zhu Zhiqiang. This version hosted on Stickpage.com. Thanks go to Matt for reminding me about this great stick figure fighting game.

Wired has an article up today regarding open virtual worlds, and RIT's Andy Phelps is mentioned along with the MUPPETS project. Click.

File this under: Games as an art form. While I do not often find myself playing Chess (read: I suck at it), I do like to play when I find a game that offers something besides the mere basics. Thinking Machine 4 is just such a game.

In response to each one of your moves, the Java applet creates a breath-taking display of beauty as the AI maps out future potential moves whilst deciding upon the best one to make. As each move is presented by an arc connecting two squares, yellow for black and green for white, a window into the soul of the machine is opened for all to see. And while the computer contemplates the possibilities, some often several moves ahead, a network of color is formed with the brighter arcs drawn representing moves the AI thinks are better for white. It is fascinating to watch the machine think 'out loud' as it determines each move, and those who are astute might even learn something in the process. Click.

Created by Martin Wattenberg, with Marek Walczak. The authors state that the goal of the piece is not to make an expert chess playing program but to lay bare the complex thinking that underlies all strategic thought.

Alien Terminator seems at first to be a mindless click-the-bug shooter, though to play through several levels will reveal a rich and addictive gameplay experience.

Your basic mission is to terminate all the "unknow creatures" by firing missiles at the creepy crawlers. For the first couple of levels this is rather easy since the creatures are barely moving: Simply click on any of the bugs and the missile will eventually land on it, though several direct hits are required to do away with each one.

Things to keep in mind: It takes a couple of seconds for each missile to arrive at the target, therefore during later levels you will have to estimate where you think the bug will be when the missile hits. Save up your missiles, since when you run out the game is over. You get an additional set of missiles with each level completed, and the unused missiles get carried over to the next.

It's a very easy game to get started with, and then ramps up in difficulty with each new level—13 total. There is also a variety of sound tracks (it changes after level 4), and did I mention the gameplay is addictive?

Play Alien Terminator

Created by Dannyspace, who has a site filled with other unusual Flash games to discover. Thanks to Stefan, Moe, and all the good folks over at Flash Gamez for the link.