Summary

The era of flash games is far from its peak, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a ton of free flash games you can play while you probably should be paying attention to a lecture. Most of us can remember a time when it was so easy to stumble around the internet and find random flash games that could consume our attention for hours on end.

Whether you’re looking to recapture some of that nostalgia or you’re currently in class looking for a game to take your mind off things, this list has you covered. Here are some of the best flash games you can play secretly.

A dirt path in Bloons Tower Defense 3 during a preparation round.

10Bloons Tower Defense 3

Pop, Pop, Pop!

This classic tower defense gameis one of the most popular flash games ever created. In the game, you take on the role of a monkey with a handful of darts and other special abilities, and must stop an onslaught of balloons from passing through a given track. Like most tower defense games, you can buy upgrades, and the longer you progress, the more difficult it becomes to stop the balloons.

This game was so fun for so many reasons, particularly to try to play in class. One, there is a decent amount of strategy involved. It’s not just dumb luck. Two, it’s a relatively slow-paced game, as you have time to build up your defenses between rounds.

The loading screen for the Impossible Quiz, which features the title of the game and several menu options.

9The Impossible Quiz

More Like Improbable

Maybe you were bored with real-life quizzes and wanted to take a fake one instead. If that was your narrative in school, you might remember the Impossible Quiz. The Impossible Quiz was a long series of increasingly complicated questions, some of which were completely nonsensical.

The only way to try to get through it was to basically memorize the correct answers and pay attention to which ones you got wrong. Only then could you successfully make it through the quiz. This one is also great to try in class as it’s just a simple point-and-click game.

The interactive buddy from the game Interactive Buddy, a large gray blob with blob-like arms and legs.

8Interactive Buddy

Embrace Chaos

This flash gameis highly memorable for just how chaotic it can get. Ultimately, there isn’t any point to this flash game except to be incredibly rude to a small gray blob.

In this game, you’re given an interactive buddy that resembles a small human with round gray limbs. From there, you can punch him, kick him, or even hand him hand grenades just to see what he does. Your interactive buddy is invincible, so you don’t have to worry about him dying. All you have to worry about is your dark side.

A small blue cube moving down a large yellow path in Scary Maze.

7Scary Maze

Try Not To Jump

This is a great game to play in class if you’re trying to get kicked out. In this game, you control a small cube, whose only mission is not to touch the walls of the maze. Of course, as you progress through the various levels of the maze, the walls grow smaller and smaller, until it’s nearly impossible to escape.

Some veteran players of this game might remember what happens if you do touch the walls of the maze. If you don’t, you’ll have to discover for yourself, or convince a friend to try it out for you. Try playing with headphones if you can for extra fun.

A small triangle flying through a gay airspace filled with red and yellow cubes in Cubefield.

6Cubefield

Don’t Be A Square

This game is simple and to the point, but endlessly addictive thanks to the fact that it never ends. In the game, you control a small triangle-shaped flying vehicle that’s trying to navigate through an endless field of menacingly large cubes.

This game can become extremely challenging the longer you play it, with more and more cubes popping up everywhere you fly. The other reason this game is great is that the controls are relatively simple. You only have to use the arrow keys to fly, meaning it’s relatively easy to play without drawing too much attention to oneself.

A black stick figure firing a bow-and-arrow in Bowman.

5Bowman

Ouch!

This game is hilarious, as you can play it either soloagainst a computer or co-op(if you can somehow manage to sneakily accomplish this). The premise of this game, like most flash games, is also relatively simple. All you have to do is shoot your opponent with an arrow before they do.

The twist is that, from the start of the game, you’re able to’t tell exactly how far your opponent is from you. So, you’ll have to experiment with various pitches, angles, and pulls to get your arrow flying exactly where you want it to go. However, once you do, the reward of seeing your opponent comically impaled is well worth it.

The first screen for The Idiot Test, which shows a blue square, a red circle, and a yellow triangle.

4The Idiot Test

Take A Test During A Test

Similar to the Impossible Quiz, this is another tough test that you can take that’s more like a logic puzzle than a memory exercise. Plus, unlike the Impossible Quiz, the questions are a little more complex in scale. Ultimately, the premise is the same: see how well you can complete a nearly impossible test.

Questions on this test include minor memory exercises like pressing certain buttons in a certain order, or selecting the correct shape. Like all tests of this nature, the questions get harder and harder you go, making defeat all the more devastating when you do eventually slip up.

A red circle with a speech bubble talking to a classroom full of students, represented by small green circles in The Classroom 2.

3The Classroom 2

Right On Theme

This flash game is the ultimate flash game to play while in class, trying to avoid your teacher’s gaze, as the premise of the game itself is just that: you play as a small circular dot who’s trying to avoid getting caught sneaking around class. This is a great stealth-based flash game that has super solid mechanics, a great score, and memorable, witty dialogue.

In the game, you’ll attempt to sneak around various classroom setups, using other students (your allies) to help you distract the teacher, complete objectives, and more. Ultimately, this game is so perfectly thematic to playing in class that you have to try it at least once just for the novelty of it.

A small avatar riding a bike down a black line in Line Rider.

2Line Rider

Jump!

Similar to Interactive Buddy, this next flash game has less of a goal that you’re meant to accomplish, and is more just about creating haphazard situations for you to plunge a random avatar into. In this game, you are given a suite of artistic tools to draw various lines and shapes before sending a small rider on a bike down your customized track.

Spending minutes or even hours trying to create loops and other complicated track pieces in this way is always a fun time. Plus, the absent-mindedness this game requires creates the perfect distraction in the classroom setting, making it highly nostalgic and fun.

A large metallic cannon preparing to fire a kitten into a grassy field.

1Kitten Cannon

No Real Kittens Harmed

Lastly, Kitten Cannon is one of the darker and more hilarious flash games from the peak era of flash. In this game, you load a large metallic cannon with a kitten, firing it out over a large field of spikes, trampolines, TNT, grass, and more.

This game basically resets every round, so it’s also highly unfocused and doesn’t require much input. However, the goal of the game is to try to aim the kitten towards objects that bounce it farther and farther along, hopefully breaking your record over and over again. The repetitiveness and addictive nature of the gameplay are truly mindboggling, and sometimes knee-slappingly dark.