Procrastination

Online Flash games are, by their very nature, designed for procrastination, and for casual gaming/gamers. And as an avid gamer I enjoy both the quick romp of an online flash game, just as I enjoy the depth of the full-size large installations such as Mass Effect 2. However, for a bout of procrastination (say at the office, school or any other such venue where you find yourself with a computer, an internet connection and boredom begging for some procrastination, you really can't beat a good flash game.

So, there are numerous sites dedicated to flash games, and I'm going to talk about one of them and point out a couple of brain teasers which I find entertaining to help you sort through the chaff. Because, as with large games, movies or pretty much any form of entertainment, there are bad ones as well as good ones, and there are obviously the ocassional great one.

Here I will talk a little about three highly addictive time sinks that will tax your skill, willpower, patience and resolve. I take no responsibility for any mental strain or psychological trauma resulting from indulging yourself with these little nuggets of flash game brilliance.

1. Perfect Balance 2
If you like brain teasers that test your patience this one is for you. It's a simple little game with a plethora of available levels (5x20 levels), and, as has become quite mandatory, an achievement hierarchy. The game involves stacking different items on top of eachother in a game area where you work against both the clock as well as gravity. Some levels are quite simple, others are tear-the-hairs-from-your-skull aggravating in that their way of testing both your patience as well as your dedication is bordering on sadism. Highly recommended.

Once you get to the fifth tier of levels the difficulty soars rapidly. Stacking a bunch of sqaures on top of a tiny ledge along with two balls is taxing to say the least, and then there's the level where you've got to stack a bunch of angles, triangles and edges on top of a hemisphere. It's good stuff, but it will surely test your patience. And when you've finally managed to get all the game pieces balanced precariously on top of eachother, you've got the option of racking up some bonus points by adding round gems.

2. Super Stacker 2
It's the same basic premise as Perfect Balance 2, however the implementation of gravity isn't quite as good, and the game is simpler get a grasp of. Perfect for a quick bout of casual gaming, though gets repetitive quickly. I list it because I like these kinds of construction games, and I expect the difficulty to ramp up as I get to the upper tiers.

As soon as you get to the medium tier, the game becomes more interesting, and the little bricks and pieces are very cute. Also, completing all tiers gives you the option of unlocking the bonus mode, which is when things get really interesting. Unlocking this mode let's you play through all leves again, except this time all the bricks will be produced randomly. Sometimes this will result in impossible levels, but selecting "try again" gives you another order that might be possible. Also, completing levels in this mode gives you gold stars, adding to replayability in that it rewards your efforts.

3. Red Remover

This is a peculiar little game.

It's another blocky teaser that entails removing the red tiles, but leaving the green ones. This sound simple enough, but after a quick and easy initial 10 levels gravity goes bonkers. You have to consider four planes of gravity, and watch the tiles to see which way they'll fall. You even need to worry about timing some of your removals. It's not as good as the above two games, but certainly worthy of a quick romp.

There's also a bonus mode which unlocks after you've completed all 40 levels. This mode blacks out the game area and provides you with a flashlight that illuminates only a small portion of the screen. Successfully playing through the game in this mode will unlock the final five levels, and it will give you gold stars.

So there you have it. Three good games for when the day just screams out for some serious procrastination. I will continue writing articles about good flash games now and again, but considering the amount of games out there I will have to take time to find some new good ones. Until the next time, enjoy these three small games - I did.