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The Beginner’s Guide to Flash Games
Fri, 1st Jan 2010
FYI, this story is more than a year old

It’s no secret that the Internet is a great place for gamers. MMORPGs and increasingly sophisticated interactive entertainments are growing more popular with gamers every day.

But you don’t have to be a seasoned pro or a sophisticated computer user to get gaming online. There’s a way to get playing without any special software, any downloading or any special knowledge.

Welcome to the world of Flash

A flash game is a particular kind of application that allows you to play right in your browser window. There are thousands of flash games out there; whether you’re an old hand at gaming or have never played a computer game before, you’re bound to be able to find something you’ll enjoy.

The great thing about flash games is that you don’t have to download a new file every time you want to try out a game. You simply click a link, wait a few moments for it to load, and play onscreen.

When you click on a link to a flash game, chances you’ll already have everything you need installed on your computer. If anything is going to be missing it will be some kind of Flash software. Don’t worry. Flash players are small, easily downloaded programs, and if you’re missing one you’ll usually be directed to a download site via some onscreen prompts. If you still have trouble, or just want to be security-conscious, go to get.adobe.com/flashplayer to download the free Adobe version.

Many (but by no means all) flash games feature fairly basic gameplay. But you shouldn’t let that put you off – flash games are all about cheap, lightweight thrills.

The variety of available games is huge and you’re guaranteed, with a little bit of browsing, to find something to suit your taste. Until then, here are some selections from the NetGuide team.