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Flash games

Flash games you can still play, and where

Most famous Flash games can still be played. Many have official new versions, like Bloons on Steam or Happy Wheels on its maker’s site; others run in your browser through Ruffle, a Flash emulator; and the Flashpoint Archive has saved more than 200,000 web games to play on your own computer.

By Hayk, who makes the games at 16bit.ink · Updated

What happened to Flash?

Adobe ended support for Flash Player on December 31, 2020, and from January 12, 2021 it blocked Flash content from running. Browsers removed the plugin around the same time, and the games built on it stopped working.

How to play Flash games now

There are three good ways. First, look for an official version: many makers rebuilt their games for today, from Ninja Kiwi’s free archive on Steam to Happy Wheels and QWOP on their makers’ own sites.

Second, Ruffle, a free and open-source Flash emulator, runs many old games right in the browser. Newgrounds, the Internet Archive and XGen Studios use it, so some games still play on their old pages.

Third, Ruffle can’t play everything yet, so for the rest there is the Flashpoint Archive: a non-profit preservation project that has saved more than 200,000 web games and animations, with a free launcher to play them on your own computer.

12 Flash games you can still play

  1. Alien Hominid

    Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin, 2002

    A run-and-gun shooter first put up on Newgrounds: a little yellow alien crash-lands on Earth and blasts its way past FBI agents. It grew into The Behemoth’s console games.

    Play it now: Alien Hominid HD on Steam · Flashpoint Archive

  2. Fishy

    XGen Studios, 2003

    Steer a small fish with the arrow keys, eat the smaller ones and avoid the bigger ones until you are the biggest fish in the pond.

    Play it now: XGen Studios’ own site · iPhone and iPad · Flashpoint Archive

    Our take: play InkFish free, or see more games like Fishy.

  3. Motherload

    XGen Studios, 2004

    Pilot a mining pod down under the surface of Mars, sell what you dig and buy upgrades, and get back up before your fuel runs out.

    Play it now: XGen Studios’ own site · Super Motherload on Steam, with the Goldium Edition · Flashpoint Archive

    Our take: play InkMine free, or see more games like Motherload.

  4. The Fancy Pants Adventures

    Brad Borne, 2006

    A fast, flowing platformer starring a stick figure in triangle-shaped pants, all momentum, slopes and slides.

    Play it now: Classic Pack on Steam (Early Access) · Flashpoint Archive

  5. Line Rider

    Boštjan Čadež, 2006

    Draw a track with your mouse, press play and watch a little sledder ride it: part toy, part physics art.

    Play it now: linerider.com, free in your browser · Flashpoint Archive

  6. Bloons Tower Defense

    Ninja Kiwi, 2007

    Place dart-throwing monkeys along a track to pop wave after wave of balloons. It started the Bloons TD series, which is still going with Bloons TD 6.

    Play it now: Ninja Kiwi Archive on Steam (free) · Bloons TD 6 on Steam · Flashpoint Archive

  7. Papa’s Pizzeria

    Flipline Studios, 2007

    Run a pizza shop: take orders, add the toppings, bake and slice, and earn tips for getting each pizza right.

    Play it now: Papa’s Pizzeria Deluxe on Steam · Flashpoint Archive

  8. The Impossible Quiz

    Splapp-me-do, 2007

    110 trick questions in which the obvious answer is almost always the wrong one.

    Play it now: Flashpoint Archive

  9. QWOP

    Bennett Foddy, 2008

    Run 100 metres by working a sprinter’s thighs and calves with the Q, W, O and P keys, and fall over a lot.

    Play it now: Bennett Foddy’s own site · Flashpoint Archive

  10. Meat Boy

    Edmund McMillen and Jonathan McEntee, 2008

    A brutally hard platformer about a cube of meat, which grew into Super Meat Boy.

    Play it now: Super Meat Boy on Steam · Flashpoint Archive

  11. Happy Wheels

    Jim Bonacci, 2010

    A gory ragdoll physics game, ridden on courses the players built themselves.

    Play it now: Total Jerkface, its maker’s site · Steam

  12. Kingdom Rush

    Ironhide Game Studio, 2011

    A fantasy tower defense game first released in the browser, which went on to be a hit on phones and PC.

    Play it now: Steam · Flashpoint Archive

Questions

Can you still play Flash games?
Yes. Many have official new versions, many run in the browser through the Ruffle emulator, and the Flashpoint Archive has preserved more than 200,000 web games to play on your own computer.
What is Ruffle?
A free, open-source Flash Player emulator written in Rust. It runs in the browser through WebAssembly, so sites can play their old Flash games without the plugin; Newgrounds and the Internet Archive both use it.
What is the Flashpoint Archive?
A non-profit project, started in 2017, that preserves web games and animations: more than 200,000 so far. Its free launcher lets you play them on your own computer.
Are there new games like the old Flash games?
Yes. We make small browser games in a pen-and-ink style, some in the spirit of Flash classics: InkMine plays like Motherload and InkFish like Fishy. They are free to start, with no ads.

Sources

  1. Adobe: Flash Player end of life
  2. Ruffle
  3. Wikipedia: Ruffle
  4. Flashpoint Archive
  5. Wikipedia: Flashpoint Archive
  6. Internet Archive: Flash animations live forever (2020)
  7. Wikipedia: Line Rider
  8. Wikipedia: Bloons Tower Defense
  9. Wikipedia: Happy Wheels
  10. Wikipedia: QWOP
  11. Wikipedia: Alien Hominid
  12. Wikipedia: Super Meat Boy
  13. Wikipedia: Kingdom Rush

Every game named here belongs to its makers. Our own games are not connected to them.