• war games

    The Air Force Has Video Games Too

    Just like the Army, the U.S. Air Force uses games to help potential recruits connect with their organization. Just not quite as well. More »
    06/12/09
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    Comment by MooglesInMyFace: All that said, the best recruiting tool is probably the new $20,000 sign on bonus they give out now. Or... 13 Responses | Other threads

  • serious games

    2009 Life. Love. Game Design Challenge Winners Unveiled

    Is it possible to educate about teen dating violence through a violence-free video game? More »
    05/28/09
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    Comment by Teancum: Did I miss something? The winning entry was just the ability to direct a bird around with your mouse. weeeee..... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Saturday Timewaster: And We Really Mean It

    Some wit cooked up a HD-version of Tetris - I can't even begin to count the grid here - which makes dying or clearing lines an agonizingly long process. More »
    03/14/09
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    Comment by trogam: ...Wow...Thats all I have to say about that. Wow. 10 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Sunday Timewaster: Zombie Herder

    There's just no quit in the zombie genre. Here's a flash game whose object is to corral a horde of infected, lest one wander off the screen and kill a human. More »
    03/01/09
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    Comment by VladMalice: I didnt find this game too fun. But I am sure somebody else will :D 8 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Sunday Timewaster: Shopping Cart Hero

    Unlockables give this jump-physics Flash game some pretty strong replay value. I spent at least 30 minutes tricking out my cart and practicing midair handstands. More »
    02/22/09
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    Comment by Skyburnbright: How strangely addictive... my best is 621 distance so far :D 18 Responses | Other threads

  • game design

    Prototyping Challenge: Fishing Girl

    Danc of Lost Garden is back with another prototyping challenge; game designer I am not, but I love these things — especially seeing what people come up with. On the plate this cycle? A fishing game that Danc describes as "Frogger using a polar coordinate system, a frog that insists on drifting to the left and only the ability to move forward": More »
    11/02/08
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    5

    Comment by Shin-san: It bites that you have to live in Seattle to enter 2 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Sunday Timewaster: Meat Boy

    Edmund McMillen (of Aether, Gish, and the game that shall not be named) is back with Meat Boy, a challenging little game that involves the titular blob of meat trying to rescue Bandaid Girl in a variety of levels. It took me a while to actually look at the game, since the designer woke me up a few nights in a row via IM asking me to take a look at it — I hold a grudge when it comes to my sleep being interrupted — but I've spent some time with it and it's worth a looksee if you're in the mood for a challenge on a Sunday afternoon. Controls are simple, the game is difficult, but you can skip two levels per group — so if you really get stuck, don't despair. More »
    10/19/08
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    Comment by Krondonian: I love the concept and graphics, but after being spoiled by the likes of Kyntt Stories, I couldn't stand the... 3 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Suicide is Painless, Even Fun

    Here's Karoshi Suicide Salaryman, a frighteningly addictive puzzler in which the object is to kill yourself. Of course, only that part of the game's concept is backward, the actual means to kill yourself are obscured or protected from you, as you are a danger to yourself and others (and you have access to firearms). I made it to level 7 (it counts down from 49) in about 20 minutes. For a flash game, that's a pretty good gameplay experience. The game remembers your progress if you want to come back to it later, so don't delete your cookies. I really dig the soundtrack, but there's no explanation of why you're so desperate to end your own life. My guess is the global financial meltdown armageddon panic has something to do with it. More »
    10/18/08
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    Comment by phat_cobra: I feel like level 7 should be so much easier than it is... 9 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Sunday Timewaster: And We Really Mean It

    Insidious Tuna sent this along. I swear I've seen it somewhere before, but apparently not on Kotaku. This game has a very simple premise and a very difficult opponent — your own patience. My only advice to you is that, after you click to start the level, any movement of your mouse, click, or key strike fires the gun. This game should be used at business leadership conferences, because it would definitely show who was the hypercompetitive, win-everything-at-all-costs guy in the crowd. I got to level 7 before I just had to fool with it and kill the puppy. But I'm thinking I could beat this game if I had a good book to read in the meantime. More »
    10/12/08
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    Comment by SmilingPolitely: Was on level 3 when a popup ad covered the game. I instinctively moved my mouse to the "X" to... 10 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Saturday Timewaster: Fantastic Contraption

    Reader Alex B. sent in this — Fantastic Contraption — a physics flash game where you string together wheels and joints in order to carry an object toward a goal on the screen. It's nice nonviolent trial-and-error fun, indulging both the competitive urge to be as efficient as possible, and the creative impulse to be as outlandish as you can get away with. More »
    10/11/08
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    Comment by Cue2: I was going to recommend this to people I've been spending hours on this thing for about a week ... 7 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Sunday Timewaster: Marshmallow

    This wonderfully adorable (and kind of weird) game is pretty straight forward — guide the marshmallow around a variety of objects just waiting to take a bite out of your head and send you hurtling towards the ground so you can land with a 'splat.' It's cute. It's not terribly taxing. The soundtrack is ... well, something (soothing? Weird? Vaguely Katamari-esque? All of the above?), but the game is really cute and a nice way to waste a couple of minutes or more .... More »
    09/28/08
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    Comment by izzy_k: does anyone know what the song is ? 2 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Saturday Timewaster: Hoshi Saga 3

    Hoshi Saga 3 is a fun little puzzle game — the object is to discover the star(s) in each level through experimentation. The mechanics of each level are different, and while some are familiar, some will require a little more fiddling to get the right answer. Some levels are quite easy, though others may have you scratching your head — overall, a nice, relaxing little collection to spend some time with. More »
    09/27/08
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    Comment by limitbreakerx: 73?!?! please help. 3 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Sunday Timewaster: Bounce Shot

    IndieGames succinctly describes this as 'a cross between Breakout and Space Invaders,' which is pretty accurate — but it's a fun game with a retro feel. I was in the mood for some candy-colored, easy to pick up fun this weekend, and this definitely hit the spot. Boss battles every 10 levels, power ups, and trying not to get hit with your own bullets (so watch out for that trigger finger) — add in some cute alien enemies, and you've got the recipe for how I wasted a good chunk of my Sunday morning. More »
    09/21/08
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    Comment by Big Ups To Atlus: not loading when i go to the site in FF and IE7 4 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Saturday Timewaster: Aether

    We're having a slow weekend here at Kotaku: Owen is off, and I'm holed up in bed trying to stave off the flu; Aether made a nice respite from my headache and general feelings of 'blah.' It's a weird little game — a little abstract and fuzzy around the edges, you control a little guy and his pet who can fly through the air with the greatest of ease, using said pet's tongue as a grappling hook/trapeze .... I actually quite enjoyed zipping through space from planet to planet, trying to solve puzzles and bring the color back to unhappy people (the core of an unhappy planet seen above). It's not the most intuitive game ever — it did take me some time to figure out how to successfully get off the ground and into the atmosphere - and I broke out the mouse because the trackpad wasn't cutting it. Still, it's pretty and soothing (and short) — good for a bit of time on a Saturday afternoon. More »
    09/06/08
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    Comment by Timooo: awsd to move? AWSD TO MOVE? Don't they ever, EVER, stop to think about us poor AZERTY users? EVER? 3 Responses | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Saturday Timewaster: Attention Hog

    From Chris Basmajian comes a darling, piggieful little game called Attention Hog. As the titular attention hog, your job is to capture the attention (and love) of as many people as possible, while avoiding bacon and nabbing power ups to make your job a little easier. Basmajian says the game "reflects some of the social and psychological trends present in social-networking communities, including self-promotion, social anxiety, obsessive need for peer validation, and distraction as entertainment." Heavy stuff. Ian Bogost notes that while he's "happy to see a game that critiques today's attention culture, but I'm not sure Attention Hog reaches the level promised in the description." Still, while I'll admit to being a sucker for cartoonish pigs (my little Monokuro Boo collection is probably a touch unseemly for a 25 year old), it's adorable and worth a few minutes of time on a lazy weekend. More »
    08/16/08
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    Comment by Crawl to China: ermm 1 851 200 on the first go...not gonna try and beat it. more » | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Worlds in Motion with Orbitrunner

    Alright class, time for a flash game. This is "Orbitrunner" and it's reasonably addictive for such a simple concept — place your star on the grid so that the planets (and their satellites) fall into orbit without smashing into you, each other, or going out of the boundary. I'm not sure how realistic the gravity physics are, but it's very challenging, and I like the background music. The collision/explosion sound/animation is lame, however. I was hoping for a Praxis Effect. If they put this in a 3D, rotatable-camera environment, I'd play it for hours. More »
    08/16/08
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    Comment by RPharazonius: I prefer Gravity Simulator. It's not flash, and you have to install it, and it's not graphically exciting... But if you... more » | Other threads

  • games

    Back to the Present with Chronotron

    My favorite part of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" came when they figured out the paradoxes of time travel and, simply by saying "Must remember to bring a trash can!" one appears in Ted's hands and he stuffs it over a bad guy's head. More »
    06/28/08
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    Comment by Zombie_Crunch: This is unbelievable. This game stands up against many downloadable console games. It's interesting that a flash game... more » | Other threads

  • bowja the ninja

    Saturday Timewaster: Bowja the Ninja 2

    It's a Saturday, I'm jetlagged, and the internet seems to be blazing with news of nothing but Diablo III; perfect time for a light and cute flash timewaster. This one is called Bowja the Ninja 2, a point and click puzzler that's nicely illustrated and oh-so-cute. Not terribly challenging, but a good thing to spend a bit with on a lazy Saturday. More »
  • flash games

    The Making Of Puzzle Farter

    You may remember our link regurgitation of Puzzle Farter last week, Pet Tomato's debut platformer featuring a farting mechanic that really resonates. Mike Nowak of The-Inbetween, whom we regularly check in with for interesting things, briefly interviewed half the Puzzle Farter team, providing great insight into the Flash-based freebie. More »
    06/24/08
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    Comment by serotoninzero: Oh man, thanks for the notice. Just played through the 50 levels. Pretty good. I enjoy platform... more » | Other threads

  • timewasters

    Holiday Timewaster: WTF?!

    While I have enough work to kill an ox this weekend, I took some time last night to play with this delightfully silly side-scrolling WoW sendup. Here's one introduction to a quest: "Now that you've begun to get the hang of that most fundamental of skills - killing shit - and started to properly become a bit more class conscious, we can tackle a slightly more disturbing problem." Karl Marx even makes an appearance (never mind the Mario appearance pictured above). It's worth checking out if you've got some extra time to waste this holiday (in the US) weekend. More »
    05/24/08
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    Comment by HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.: Anybody else having problems with the mouse pointer? It just kind of meanders in the direction I move the... more » | Other threads

  • timewasters

    Pleasant Saturday Timewaster: Meet In

    I really love the too cute for words Grow games — nothing complicated, but cute and fun to play. There's a new game from the same creator — while not a grow game, it's a cute and quick little puzzle. And if you haven't experienced such classics as Grow Island, there's even more to go and click. More »
    05/03/08
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    Comment by SOyuncastor: can anyone help me on grow island?!! the max ammount of icons I got were 6 3 from the left and... more » | Other threads

  • indie games

    Interview With Kian Bashiri (You Have To Burn The Rope)

    We posted about the satirical You Have To Burn The Rope a few weeks ago; it's come up again in my reading this week, since I noticed the guys at Hardcasual used it as a launching point to grouse about the state of game journalism, then apologized after some other people like the guys at Rock, Paper, Shotgun offered a response. In any case, with all the talk about satire! And game journalism! And the meaning of the game!, it was nice to read the IndieGames interview with the creator, 21 year old Kian Bashiri, and his explanation of the game that is entirely unfettered with pretentiousness: More »
    04/20/08
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    Comment by Jacktherip: I played it on the weekend and I didn't really get it, now I see what he's trying to do.... more » | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Compelled to Play "Compulse"

    Told you we'd have another Hot Flash. And here's a sweet one right in your hot little hands: Compulse, which excels as only a flash game can: stupid-simple premise, a thought-provoking challenge, addictive replay and best of all, entrancing Asian-theme music. Best of all, it will save your progress (specific to your IP address). And when you start, it tells you "A game has been created in your honour." It's like being pampered at a gamer's day spa. More »
    04/12/08
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    By ogood

    Comment by ArticulacyFTW: @dannyzuko: Nice man, I'm only 4 below pro. more » | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Cool Flash Game Music is Now Yours, Free

    Remember the hand-holding satire "You Have to Burn the Rope" from last week? If the game play was a little ... unsophisticated, then at least the soundtrack got a solid thumbs up from the peanut gallery here. "It's like Still Alive epic!" said commenter Bokusatsu_Tenshi. t0yrobo called it "better than the Portal song." More »
    04/12/08
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    By ogood

    Comment by DeanoTheDino: The difference between this song and Still Alive, however, is Still Alive had a GOOD game preceeding the music. =/ more » | Other threads

  • flash games

    Teen Dating Violence Design Challenge Extended

    The deadline for the Life Love Game Design Challenge, which we first announced back in February, has been extended by a month. More »
    04/09/08
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    Comment by HanClinto: Friends and I have talked long and hard about how to make a game about such a topic. I've made... more » | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Hot Flashes: Magic Pen

    Sure, it may borrow wholesale from Independent Games Festival finalist Crayon Physics by Petri Purho, but Magic Pen is much more multi-platform friendly, requiring but a short download via your web browser of choice. Perfect for those of us not willing to walk from our Macs to our Windows boxes. You'll draw primitive shapes—circles, triangles and rectangles—as well as pins, hinges and swing-arms to move a red ball to each level's flags. It's fun and physics accurate and has a very soothing looping guitar ditty. More »
    04/07/08
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    Comment by RamV10: well it took 2 hours, but I did finish it. yay me. more » | Other threads

  • flash game cookie break

    The Only Game I Ever Beat on the First Try

    OK, time for a flash-game cookie break! Know what I like about this one? Even though you get the joke, even though you follow the instructions, even though you do it right with complete and total hand-holding the first time ... More »
    04/05/08
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    116

    By ogood

    Comment by guy_jin: I've beaten one other game on my first try: Riot Zone. more » | Other threads

  • flash games

    Know Flash? Win Cash. And Maybe a Job

    Flash game coders have a shot at some loot and a developer gig in a contest UGOPlayer.com is running beginning April 8. So if you think you've got the next killer office time waster, it could net up to a $5,000 first-place prize and, potentially, a job writing games. More »
    04/04/08
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    34

    By ogood

    Comment by XWonka: @ISChris: Umm.... right above you, buddy. more » | Other threads

  • timewaster

    Jay is Games Casual Game Competition #5 Is Up

    Jay is Games' Casual Gameplay Design Competition #5 is now up with twenty one entries. I always like spending some time with the contest entries when they're finally up; even though there's always an overarching theme (this go around, it's 'upgrade'), the games are usually a pretty diverse and interesting bunch. More »
    03/22/08
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    7

    Comment by Jayisgames: Thanks, Maggie! ^_^ All of the participants are competing for over $10,000 in cash and prizes. One of the prizes is... more » | Other threads

  • timewaster

    Juvenile Timewaster of the Day: Questionaut

    I don't remember learning modules being this good when I was a munchkin: Samorost creators Amanita have put together a lovely game for the BBC, designed for 11 year olds. Questionaut is point and click, very pretty, and is tripping up adults left and right (that's what happens when you get far removed from your junior high school years and the concepts contained within, I guess). It's short and worth taking for a spin for the lovely environment alone, even if finding 20% of 140 is a bit below your intellectual level. More »
    03/16/08
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    60

    Comment by noisewar: @MBC: 1) There are plenty of other words that could be chosen to avoid all confusion entirely. 2) "Inside of the last... more » | Other threads

  • piracy

    Beijing Olympics Website Pirates Flash Games

    Stolen video games are nothing new in China, but it reaches a disturbing new level when the official website of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games does it. Several of the flash games located on the website seem to have been lifted and modified from already existing games. As Ars Techinca reports, developer Cadin Batrack has noticed that the game resembled a modified version of his own game, Snow Day, as if someone had downloaded the SWF file and modified it. That game has been taken down, but more remain. My favorite flash game creator, Ferry Halim of Orisinal, looks to have been ripped off twice, first with Obstacle Race, which closely mirrors Halim's Arctic Blue, and then Leap and Leap, a modified version of Winter Bells. Batrack has emailed officials in Beijing about the Orisinal copies, but has so far received no response. It's no wonder that piracy is so rampant in the country when incidents like this are allowed to occur. Very bad form indeed. More »
    03/14/08
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    96

    Comment by freespeech: it's different, kind, sorta hmmmmm ok, YEAH, they ripped it off!!!!!!!!!!!!! more » | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Nothing Like Pointing and Clicking Through 18th C. Crime

    It's not everyday that we get to play a flash game set in mid-1700's Georgian London, where early policing tactics were introduced by the Bow Street magistrates. It's not everyday that we get to play a flash game made by Alice over at Wonderland! Dubbed Bow Street Runner, it's set in Covent Garden, which was overrun with prostitutes, booze and crime. (And we're trying to STOP this?!) It's a point and click detective game — and a really great one at that! More »
    02/15/08
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    34

    Comment by Ladders: Thanks for your feedback on our Bow Street Runner game and for helping us dig out all the bugs in... more » | Other threads

  • hot flashes

    Fancy Pants Adventure 2

    Fancy Pants Adventures is one of my favorite flash games of all time, so ever since March of last year when Flynn posted about the demo level for World 2 of Fancy Pants, I've been eagerly awaiting the full release. Now Armor Games has the mostly complete version of World 2 online, featuring Mr. Fancy Pants in a life or death struggle with the vile...bunny thing. Mr. Pants must retrieve the mystical...ice cream cone before the rabbit uses it to fill his stomach with creamy goodness. Okay, so the plot is thin and the music - my favorite part of the first game - doesn't quite exist yet. You can't play music while you're playing flash games on your employer's time anyway. More »
    01/10/08
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    Comment by L_K_M: Sega, explain something to me. How can a free Flash game be the best damn Sonic game of the last... more » | Other threads

  • timewasters

    Holiday Weekend Timewaster: Guest House

    While browsing my feeds during the inevitable mid-holiday news slump, I was pointed to some fascinating little Japanese point-and-click (or 'point-and-kick ass,' as Leigh Alexander described them over at Sexy Videogameland) puzzlers, lumped under the heading of 'room escape games.' Guest House is the latest in the series, and I spent quite a while clicking my way through all the frustrating (but not too sadistic) puzzles. It's a good way to spend a few hours on a lazy weekend. Terminal House [via Sexy Videogameland]
    12/29/07
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    84

    Comment by vrekman32: I think the developers put a lot of love in this game, and it shows it. One of the best flash... more » | Other threads

  • scholastic

    Scholastic Manufactures Book Series, Mentions Games

    Gaming brainiac, and one-time Kotaku Editor fill-in, Ian Bogost points out that Scholastic, now in deep withdrawls from the Harry Potter series, has been casting about looking for new was to make billions of dollars. Their latest idea? A series called The 39 Clues which will feature ten books and be written by different authors including Gordon Korman and Rock Riordan. More »
    12/20/07
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    10

    Comment by d_r_e: Scholastic = Money hungry asshats who are hell bent on taking your hard work and then profiting off of it,... more » | Other threads

  • netdevil

    LEGO Racers Being Remade as Flash Game

    NetDevil, the guys behind Auto Assault and currently working on LEGO Universe MMO, announced today that they are working on a remake of LEGO Racers, based on the toy of the same name. The web-based flash game is being developed under a new Web Games division at the company and will be rolled out with several other casual web-based games in 2008. More »
    12/18/07
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    Comment by Jawajoey: Oh man, Lego Racers was such a great game. It's right up there with Mario Kart, honestly. I don't know why... more » | Other threads

  • flash games

    To Kongregate or not to Kongregate

    Kongregate.com is one of the several companies taking a swing at the "YouTube for Games" idea that makes Silicon Valley VC's grin as they stare into their iPhones. More »
    11/14/07
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    17

    By bogost

    Comment by PratzStrike: Up to level 11 on Kongregate (and a lot of that comes from the time I went back to game... more » | Other threads

  • timewasters

    Timewaster(s) of the Day: Grow Games

    Not that I don't have enough to do setting up in a new city, but I've been cheerfully clicking away at the various Grow Games over at Eyemaze all morning - the games are ridiculously cute, but not in an irritating way, and wonderfully simple and frustratingly complex at the same time. You are given a handful of panels, and you have to select which order to click them in - they will grow or change in relation to/with each other, and the point is to grow each panel to its max. The games are reminiscent of a lot of the game design theory of Danc over at Lost Garden, though they lack the feedback he so frequently discusses. Still, a great waste of half an hour ... or an hour ... or a few hours .... [via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
    09/16/07
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    18

    Comment by TurboSloth: Bolt - Pick - Wood - Smokestack - Steering Wheel - Battery - Chip - Burner. more » | Other threads

  • oh the shark has such teeth, dear

    Timewaster of the Day (Week? Month?): Sharkrunners

    Not really a timewaster thanks to the 'fun factor,' but for the interesting melding of real-life science with online games that slow my browser down to the speed of molasses: perhaps appropriate, since Sharkrunners is a game that's going nowhere fast, as it operates in real time. Going hand in hand with Discovery's annual Shark Week, Sharkrunners let's the player control a virtual ship to track real-life sharks: More »
    07/29/07
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    17

    Comment by ianovich: Guys guys guys, you're missing the real debate here: Bobby Darin or Louis Armstrong? Louis Armstrong is my... more » | Other threads

  • play with your cartoons

    Cartoon Network's MEGA Series

    Cartoon Network is stretching out their digital arms and coming out with flash-based games that will be compatible for the PS3 and the Wii. Called the MEGA Series, it's basically a website in which the consoles (as well as a PC browser) can access: More »
    06/12/07
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    6

    By Kim Phu

    Comment by Psycho Alan: I would prefer another Megas XLR series instead of this MEGA Series. more » | Other threads