Flash games have become a firm fixture on many websites over the past few years, and while there are some excellent games out there, many of them are well below par. If you’re looking for fun free games then look no further, here are 3 of the best Flash games of all time.

1. 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 trebuchet.

The gameplay is very simple, just click the mouse to start the trebuchet’s swing, and once again to release the ammunition. The game starts with only small rocks for ammo, but beating certain levels unlocks bigger rocks, multiple rocks and even bombs. Completing the game takes a good aim, and a certain amount of strategy. You’ll need to carefully choose the right ammo and tactics to crush some of the castles, and beat the entire game. If you love the first game and want more be sure to check out the sequel, and let’s hope for another game in the series soon!

2. Bloons. Once again, one of the most fun and addictive games is incredibly simple. In fact, even though I’ve completed every level more than once, I still go back to play it again! In the game you control a dart throwing monkey, and your goal is to pop all the balloons by throwing your darts. There are 50 levels in the first Bloons game, and loads more in the sequels!

Each level gives you a set number of darts, and you’ll encounter obstacles and special balloons types along the way, but you’ll also pick up special darts and powerups to help you in your quest. Bloons is a great game, but the best thing is that there are a number of great sequels, many of which are just as good as the original.

3. 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 every 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.

Now that might not sound like a lot of fun, but believe me when I say that you really need to play this game to understand how good it is. You see, unlike Crush The Castle and Bloons, this isn’t a game of skill, rather the joy comes from watching how your small inputs affect the cube and everything in it. The cube becomes its own little world, and you’ll love watching it grow and unfold. Its a game that really can’t be adequately described in words, so do yourself a favour and go and play it!

Find thousands of Free Flash Game at Kwikgames.com and Arcade Plazza

There has been a real explosion in the popularity of Flash games in recent years. While demand has shot up, the number of developers on the scene has only risen by a relatively small percentage. Part of the reason for this is that developing games for the Flash platform requires quite a diverse range of skills. A good developer needs to be competent in Flash and Actionscript with solid programming practices, graphical skills, audio skills, a methodical and analytical approach, and the patience of a saint. Here is a guide to how the average developer tackles a games project.

Games are quite complex applications. Not only is the game specific code quite unique (you won’t see path finding algorithms, or collision detection in an office app!) but they tend to have lots of extras like game over screens, and pregame animations which all add to the amount of work and time required to develop them. So the only way to develop a game methodically is to start with a solid written design, and then a list of required assets (graphics, audio etc.) and only then should you consider starting to code.

The first step once the design is completed it to create a mock-up – an outline demo in Flash using placeholder graphics, which can be used to test and develop the game logic. Once that is nearing completion you can begin to start adding graphical assets and audio. It’s a good idea to leave out all extras at this stage however. Things like splash screens and mid-level animations can slow testing down considerably, so leave them for the beta version.

Once the game reaches the later stages of development, when the game engine is mostly complete and tested, the final touches can be added. Introductions, help screens, preloaders and game over screens should all be added at this point. Leaving these until now means that testing is quicker, with less clicks, keypresses or waiting is required to restart levels or replay the game. Then finally you’ll have a completed game, ready for final beta testing. Even though we started with a complex project, by breaking the design and development process down into bite sized chunks it became manageable.

If you’re just getting started with Flash game development then I highly recommend modifying an existing game, and perhaps adding new levels or extra features, before tackling your own entire game from scratch. That will build your confidence and give you the experience needed to take on larger project in the future. Learn the skills one step at a time, and before long you’ll be building the next blockbuster!

Find flash games tutorials and articles at www.ViralFlashGames.com, and download editable Flash game source files at http://www.viralflashgames.com