Video games that a single-player can access online are the focus of topics in this category.
Online games, of course, are those that do not have to be downloaded or installed on the player's computer, but which can be played through a web browser or through a browser plugin. Browser games have been created for all genres of video games and can be single-player or multiplayer. This category is for those which are single-player.
Single-player browser games are most often free to play or can be accessed through an inexpensive subscription that includes several titles. They do not require client software other than a web browser or a browser plugin.
Advantages to browser games is that they can be accessed from multiple devices, web browsers, and operating systems. Because they are isolated from the hardware, they can be run on several different operating systems without having to be ported to each platform. Thus, a browser game created by someone using a Windows machine can usually be played online by someone accessing the Internet through a Mac or Linux machine.
One of the first methods used to create online games was through FutureWave, which became Macromedia Flash, and is now known as Adobe Flash. Although there are several Flash games online, and new ones being created, Adobe Flash is considered to be a deprecated platform, replaced by HTML 5. Adobe has announced the discontinuance of Flash in 2020. Nevertheless, thousands of Flash games have been archived, and they will continue to be available long past that date.
Another early method, still in use, are Java multiplayer games. Browser games in other format continue to be produced, and are popular, such as HTML 5, WebGL, and WebAssembly. Additionally, HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript can be used to create browser games, although these methods are rarely used due to issues with browser incompatibility.
Whatever method used, single-player video games that can be played online are the focus of this category.
Recommended Resources
Owned by Bigwig Media, the site presents several 2D games, most of which are Flash games, but including other Internet games, mobile games, and freely downloadable desktop games. Given that most of its games are Flash games, users will have to enable Flash on their computers in order to play the games. The available games include several versions of Penguin Diner, Building Blaster, Bike Champ, HotDog HotShot, Crazy Pool, and Rapid Fire.
http://www.2dplay.com/
Available in several languages, the site allows users to choose from several HTML 5 games, including action games, adventure games, board games, card games, puzzle games, racing games, sports games, and others, for one-player and for multi-players, although most are one-player games. A selection of mobile apps is also available. Owned by SPIL Games, free memberships are available, as well as advertising opportunities. New games may be submitted to the site.
http://www.agame.com/
Contributed to by a group of gamers, the Flash game site features free online games that can be played without limitation. The most popular online games and newly added games are featured on the site’s index page, while other games are sorted into game genres, such as action, adventure, arcade, cooking, dress-up, escape, funny, puzzle, shooting, and strategy. Games collections are also listed, along with links to other gamer sites, and a site search.
http://www.ampgames.com/
Featuring more than a thousand Flash games that can be played online, as well as Java games, the site includes several sub-genres within the adventure and action games genre, casino and chance games, missile defender games, mouse and quick-reflex games, obstacle and skill games, puzzle games, racing, and driving games, fly and shoot games, sports games, and Tetris-type games. Those considered to be best are available from the front page, but others are available.
http://andkon.com/
Presented in English and Spanish, the site features games from Digg in one location. Focusing on one-player quick games, mostly using a Flash platform, included games may be sorted by all-time most popular, those most popular this week, or most popular today, or the pages of games may be browsed. Advertising opportunities may be available. Adobe Flash must be installed and enabled, and MySpace users may add games to their profiles.
http://www.giddgames.com/
Developed and published by Rockstar Games, GTA4 is the eleventh title in the Grand Theft Auto action-adventure video game series. Set in Liberty City, a fictional city based on New York City, the single-player game follows a character, Niko Bellic, as he tries to escape his past while under pressure from loan sharks and mob bosses. Using an open-world design, players are free to roam Liberty City, which consists of three main islands, on foot or by vehicle.
https://www.gta4.net/
Affiliated with Highlights for Children, a US-based children’s magazine that began publication in 1946, Highlights Kids is targeted at elementary school students, featuring online activities, jokes, podcasts, and educational articles covering a wide variety of topics, all written at the level of an elementary school student. The site also includes games and puzzles that can be played online, such as hidden clues games, hidden pictures games, and unscramble word games.
https://www.highlightskids.com/
Created in 2006, Line Rider is an Internet game whose chief concept is to draw one or more lines with a mouse or stylet, on which a character on a sled can ride after the player presses the “Play” button. Using simulated physics, the track must be smooth enough to prevent the character from falling off the sled. There is no goal to be accomplished in the game, nor does it have a discernible end. The game has been featured in several websites and publications.
https://www.linerider.com/
Boasting more than three thousand Flash and HTML 5 games in more than a dozen categories of game genres, the site also allows users to play a random game. Its categories include adventure, action, classics, DOS, funny, idle, launch, music, platform, physics, puzzle, point-and-click, role-playing, sports, strategy, and trivia. The forty most popular games are featured on the index page, and a custom site search may be used to find games, as well. OML also sponsors games.
http://www.onemorelevel.com/
Sport Games Arena: Fishing Games
When the weather isn't conducive to going out there, you can fish online. The Sport Game Arena's online fishing games allows players to go fishing online, catching bass, trout, and even sharks. Playing fishing games online, the player teams up with on-screen regular fishermen, pirates, or even animals that love fishing, whose fishing rod you can control like a pro in order to catch as many fish as you can within a given period of time.
http://www.sportgamesarena.com/fishing-games/
