Keelhauling

April 23, 2005

Keelhauling Games Hall of Fame

Other game sites worthy of note:
ArcadeTown | eBaum's World | Flashplayer | Little Fluffy Industries | MiniClip | Orisinal | Popcap | Sporkle | Vectorpark | Yeti Sports

NOTE: A couple of games are mentioned at the end, where downloading of a program or file is either required or recommended. Trust me, they're worth it, too.

If you find a broken link, or want to suggest a game for addition to the KGHoF, please leave a comment. Comments are queued for review to prevent spam, and will usually show up within 24 hours.

Posted by John at 03:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (4)

3-D Pong
	Just like the Pong we all know and love, but in 3-D. The quality of the graphics is amazing, giving you a real sense of depth inside the "box".

Bejeweled

Much like Tetris, but different enough in strategy and play to be interesting. Not to mention addictive. An array of jewels descends into a box, and you can swap any two adjacent jewels to make three in a row, which causes them to disappear. Random new jewels are added to the box from the top. Play for points (Level 1) or play against a time clock at higher levels. Much like Tetris, I expect my wife to kick my butt in this game.

Bilbenan
	This one's not in English, but that's OK, because it's so simple you don't need to read the instructions. Remember the Tyco racetracks with the two parallel tracks and the plastic pushbutton accelerator? Well when this game opens up, you've got one track piece -- the electrified one -- on the board, and you simply drag different sized pieces down to make your track. Then click the flag and race!

Bookworm

Another winner from Popcap, this ScrabbleTM variation requires you to find any "hidden words" you can come up with, tracing the path through adjacent letters. The only thing wrong with it is the dictionary, which is somewhat limited. I mean, "Sith" is not a word? Ever go to a movie? Seriously, though, look at the miniaturized screen shot over there on the left, and you'll see the word "alertly" spelled out. Doesn't count, because the built-in dictionary doesn't recognize it.

Bowman
	Bowman is a nifty game where you are an archer in a duel. A trial shot or two to gauge force and distance and you stick him like a pincushion. Unless he sticks you first. Play a couple of rounds, then turn the gauge off. Then put a wall up. Then turn on the wind. It gets interesting.

Bump

No time limits, no "lives", no penalties, just click your mouse on the objects in the game to steer your guy around. If you should happen to stumble into one of the hazards, the game brings you back right where you left off. I like the way it makes you make instant decisions. The game is all in gathering the coins, not finishing a level, so take your time where you can, and strategize. This game has 40 levels to play!

Castlemouse
	Cats scare mice.  Dogs scare cats. Bears scare dogs. Lions scare bears. Elephants scare lions. That's all you need to know to chase the mouse out of the castle. (Just don't forget that mice scare elephants!)

Catapult
	Set the power level and elevation of your catapult to try and hit the castle keep. Watch the windage and don't hit the white knight. Very nice execution and sounds effects.

Chicken Wings
	Chicken wings are not for flying. This cute little Flash game is like Space Invaders with heart. You run back and forth throwing umbrellas up into the air so the baby chicks (really eggs with wings) can catch them and float gently to earth, Mary Poppins-style.

Collapse
	Sort of like Tetris, sort of like Bejeweled (shown below), Collapse requires you to click on groups of three like-colored blocks to eliminate them from the climbing stack. Bejeweled is prettier, but I like the faster pace of Collapse and the satisfying explosions as the building, well... collapses. Save up large groups of blocks for massive explosions and extra points.

De-Animator
	In this shooter, you are the hapless professor facing wave after wave of zombies. You have a pistol and shotgun - the shotgun is more effective but only has four shots and takes longer to reload. Meanwhile the zombies just keep coming. Around level 25, it starts to get *hard*. Be sure and reload the shotgun BEFORE killing the last zombie on each screen.

DemonBalls
	No, it's not a painful medical condition. It's a tricky little exercise in eye-hand coordination and peripheral vision. The wall separating the two halves of the box has a hole in it, which you can move up or down. Just separate the red balls and the blue balls each to their own side of the box, that's all. Oh, and the timer's running...

Electrotank MiniGolf
	Just the cutest little putt-putt golf game you've ever seen. This Flash game has excellent controls and the bounces are true. The only problem with it is that if the hole is far away you can't see it on the screen which makes it hard to aim. But overall this is very well done, very addictive.

Fishy
	Big fish eat little fish to grow bigger. You're a little fish (but not the littlest). Find and eat littler fish, and don't get eaten. The trick to this game is managing the momentum. You're a pretty ponderous fish, and can't exactly turn on a dime. Don't be impatient, there's no time limit!

Fly Guy
	Is this a game?  I'm not sure, but it shares with the other programs on this page at least one significant attribute: it will suck up immense amounts of your time.  Fun and funny adventuring, guiding fly guy through the air.

Gears
	Shockwave game that requires you to use the supplied gears to connect existing turning gears with target gears, and get them to spin in the indicated direction. 15 levels of increasing difficulty. Read the instructions first, as there are some rules (you have to use all the pieces, they only work at right angles, etc.). If you like building things, you'll like this game.

Gridlock
	Did you ever try to get an oversized couch around the landing on the stairs?  Ever try to move a grand piano through a small door?  This game is like that, without the hernias.

Grow
	Another game noteworthy for its new and different user style of play. Simply add the various geegaws to the grow ball and watch what happens. But some things have functions that depend on other things already being there, so sequence is important. And yes, you CAN win this game!

Insaniquarium
	This java game from PopCap has you feeding your fish, which grow progressively larger and drop ever more valuable coins for you to buy more fish food. Pretty simple, right? Then along come these pesky aliens who munch on your fishies, and robot aliens firing guided missiles at your pets, and it gets a little crazy. Engaging and addictive and a perfect "10" on the cute-o-meter.

Kick-ups

Like most excellent games, Kick-ups is very simple in concept and you can "play" it successfully immediately, but getting good at it requires practice. Lots and lots of practice. Just click on the ball to keep it in the air. That's all. Like hackey sack for your computer. This is a good test of eye-hand-mouse coordination. Props to Liam O'Donnell of the UK as the game's designer! Beat my best, if you can.

Kingdom of Loathing
	This game requires email registration, which means it needs to be really good to make the KGHoF list. KoL is, and it does. In the RPG, you navigate through a series of maps, collecting meat, taking on strange quests, improving your Moxie, cooking up some nice menudo, and getting falling-down drunk. Just don't get lost, OK?

Lego Junkbot
	Build a path for the Junkbot to get to the trash cans. He can only climb one Lego high at a time, so it's all about building staircases. There are currently 4 "buildings" and each has about 15 levels, so lots of scenarios. Gold medal award if you can do it in a specified number of moves.

Lemonade Stand

Economics 101. You set the recipe each day for your lemonade, determining the best ratio of lemons, sugar and ice to keep your customers happy. Set the price and try to sell as many as you can. Watch the weather forecast! Customers will pay more when the weather's hot. Deal with bugs in the sugar, lemons going bad and your ice melting. See if you're ahead at the end of the month. Personal best: $174.12.

Levers
	In this game, you balance various items that drop from the sky on your levers. Bowling balls and birdhouses, buckets of water and submarines, you need to hang them from your levers and keep them out of the water. As the number of items grows and the balance gets more delicate, it gets more challenging.

Micro Jet Racers
	Tiny jet powered hovercraft race around the various courses. Single play, tournament, arcade-style, or build your own track. Controls are P to accelerate, L to brake, Q for left turns and W for right turns. The key is mastering the "controlled slide" into the turns.

Mini-Putt
	This one isn't as cute as the ElectroTank Mini-golf game (linked above), but the technical execution is even better. Plus it has a windmill, which is something that always bothered me about the ElectroTank game. How can you call it mini-golf if it doesn't have a windmill? Beat my best score of 23!

Nucleus
	The goal here is to move the charge on the electron from the start to your goal, transferring the electrical charge as electrons pass each other in their orbits around the nucleus. A little esoteric and nerdy, maybe, but a whole lotta fun!

Pellihali Trials

I'm not even sure what language this little jewel was created in, but the controls are simple enough. Use the up and down arrows to control the throttle, and the forward and back arrows to control how the rider is leaning on the motorcycle. You run two short courses against the clock. Simple and addictive fun. (It takes a minute to load the java applet - you'll see "press spacebar to start" when it's ready).

Psychopong
	This pong game is more about mental flexibility than timing, more about your adaptation time to changes than your reaction time. With every new level the controls change, the game behavior changes, and it gets harder to keep the ball in play. Great fun, I found myself laughing out loud at my own incompetence.

Reflections
	Place your mirrors and prisms and lenses just so, and direct the laser beam to light up the light bulbs. Levels get progressively harder. Simple, eh? Just don't shine that thing in your eyes.

Robotube's Gunslinger
	Remember Duck Hunt? If you had the original Mario Brothers for Nintendo it came with Duck Hunt. The infrared pistol was a kick. Robotube has brought it back for the mouse. There are three modes, a gunplay mode like police training, a skeet shooting mode, and a secret mode when you score high enough, which involves a carnival-style shooting gallery. Very nice.

Samorost
	This  surreal point-and-click puzzle adventure is another winner in the "new and different" category. It combines the context-sensitive navigation of classics like Myst with driftwood, industrial design, and space travel for a truly one-of-a-kind experience. If you aren't the patient type, just skip this one as it can be frustrating.

Seven Seas
	Aaaargh! Cute and quick little strategy game where the pirates chase you. Use the mouse to move - that way you can also move diagonally. Get them to crash into each other, fire your cannons, or duck into a whirlpool to escape. One game to figure it out, hours to master. Aaaargh!

Slime Volleyball
	Good games are all about concept and execution in the form of fast, smooth gameplay. This volleyball game has the simplest graphics I've seen since "Pong", but is not only very fun to play, it's tough to beat. You get very tired of seeing "The Pathetic White Slime Wins!" Arrow keys move back and forth, up to jump. "K" to restart the game, "K" to restart the game, "K" to restart the game...

Snow Craft
	Virtual 3-d snowball fight! If you beat the 3 vs. 3 guys against you, in the next round(s) they bring their friends. It gets challenging as you have to maneuver all 3 of your guys for maximum snowball-throwing efficiency and try to keep them out of the line of fire at the same time.

Spaced Penguin
	Launch Kevin, the hapless penguin, back to his ship with the GPS (Giant Penguin Slingshot). If your aim is good, and you compensate for gravity from neighboring stars and planets, your trajectory lands him safety back aboard. Very cute, very addictive. I made the top ten list (for the day), and recorded it for posterity.

Spider Game

I remember playing this when it first came out back in 2001, but that was before we had the "Games Hall of Fame" page, and the link was lost - maybe forever. Until now! This very cool game makes you the spider, trying to catch flying bugs to stay healthy. Very different playing feel from any other game I know. Read the short instructions. Note: PegBall, from the same makers, Titoonic, is worth checking out, too.

Splash Back
	Splash Back is a nice little Flash game where you have a dropper with a limited number of drops in it. You add drops to the bubbles on the screen until one pops, and the spray can pop other bubbles. Not terribly complex, but relaxing to play, like yoga for your mind.

Sveerz
	The Oversveerz sing a short sequence and you match it by clicking on the little guys in their associated colors. Fast-paced game, tons-o-fun.

The Flowering Nose in Slugland
	Welcome, Flowering nose! You wander about, gathering items that take you to different levels, in search of the lost sprout which will open the final gate. Then, and only then, will all your troubles be behind you.

The Way of the Exploding Stick
	Sort of like XiaoXiao, shown below as a recommended download, but this one is clearly designed to run across the internet. Learn your combination moves, for if your kung fu is not strong, you will learn many lessons in pain. Arrow keys to move and jump, letter keys for kicks and jabs and combos.

Theseus and The Minotaur
	Brain-bender mazes. 15 of them, each progressively harder. You -- Theseus, the red dot -- are chased by the Minotaur, the black dot. But... he moves two spaces for every one of yours (Hints: (1) he always goes horizontally before vertically. (2) you must know special keys, e.g. D for "delay" to skip your move.) Pretty simple, eh? Bwahahaha.

Tork
	Your Pinto blew a gasket, and you've crash landed in a subterranean world. You and your computerized assistant need to learn the language and figure out how things work, or you'll never get out alive.

Warthog Launch
	Stack the hand grenades under the Jeep in the right place to launch it into the air, destroying the aliens who hover in a variety of attack formations right over your head. First the alien formations get denser, then they get more complex, then they start moving. Good luck, Earthling!

Whizzball
	You remember the game Mousetrap, right? This is like that, online. You assemble your own Rube Goldberg device to deliver the ball to the target. The fact that it is virtual gives the game designers some flexibility to add fun new things like launchers and punchers to move the ball around.

Yeti Albatross Overload
	[site registration required] NINE different games in which the Yeti abuses the penguins in various entertaining ways. I'd recommend Part 1, Part 4 and Part 7 as exceptional fun.

Zuma
	You spin the stone frog idol of the ancient Zuma around to fire balls out the frog's mouth. Sets of three balls of the same color disappear. Don't let the advancing balls reach the golden skull or you're history. Best part of the game is the sound effects, so turn up your speakers.

Zyrx
	This game tests your visual recall and pattern recognition abilities. You are presented with a 4x4 grid and a pattern is flashed on the screen for about two seconds. Then you have to replicate the pattern. It's so simple, it will drive you crazy.

The following games are also excellent, but you should download a file to play. Read the notes on each for more info.

RED ACE SQUADRON
Pilot your Sopwith Camel around the European countryside, engaging in air-to-air combat with your machine guns or going on bombing runs targeting the enemy's factories. Very smooth and detailed graphics, nice handling on the plane. This game is very fun to play, even when not engaging in battles. {High score tip: to boost your accuracy rating, fire very few bullets from your machine guns and bomb the enemy planes out of the sky from above. My best: 3,250% accuracy.]

SNOOD
Free demo version allows you a fairly good number of games at the highest level, free play at lower levels. Use your snood cannon to fire the little guys into the descending stack above. Get three together and they disintegrate. Try and blow them all up before they come down on top of you. Very cute and addictive little game. "Buy now" pop-ups may actually be the best part of the game, coaxing you to purchase the registered version with little poems.

XIAO-XIAO
These classic stick figure fighting games will run from the web site, but I've run into problems with bandwidth often enough to recommend that you download the file to your own PC. It's written in Flash, so you can put it anywhere and it will run fine. Right-click on the file name with the mouse, and choose "Save As" from the drop-down menu.

PONTIFEX
Pontifex is the official sequel to a freeware game in which you design and test bridges. Pontifex uses a complex physics engine called the Immortal Engine which allows for many different types of bridges to be built. Once the design is completed you can test your bridge by sending a train across and watch as the train either passes over safely or plummets into the river below. The 3D engine lets you view your bridge from any angle including a first-person train view.

Posted by John at 03:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (34)