I've written about online gaming before. More than once.
But really, the golden era of online gaming was when Flash was still alive. When boredom met its match in a buffet of pixelated adventures served up by websites like Newgrounds, Kongregate, and Miniclip. In those glory days, you didn't need next-gen consoles or sophisticated PC rigs to get gaming; all you needed was a computer that just barely ran Internet Explorer and you were set for hours of play procrastination.
Flash games were the epitome of instant gratification - no downloads, no payments, just click and play. Whether you were catapulting angry birds at rickety towers, playing the game that inspired it, navigating a stick figure through absurdly lethal obstacle courses, or running a virtual lemonade stand, the excitement was real. The graphics, not so much. In that janky, lag-filled universe, every high score achieved and every level conquered felt like a monumental victory, and for casual gamers, Flash was the rollercoaster that never had a long queue.
But then, Flash died a well-deserved death and gaming became more hardware-dependent.
Not any more. Thanks to Ruffle.
What is Ruffle, you ask? An open-source Flash emulator that makes it possible to once again play all those amazing games and not-so-amazing games without any of the security bugbears.
And if it is a list of Flash games you're after, why Internet Archive has the most massive collection. As does 9o3o. Maybe Cool Math Games is more your vibe. Or maybe you want to do your bit for internet history and play at Armor Games.
Go ahead. Unleash your inner James Bond. Or Flo-Jo. Or maybe just tear down a castle or two. I guarantee you'll have fun.
Baaa.