Your Guide to Free Online Games

"Free Online Games" is the term frequently being used to describe browser-based games. They are also called Web-based games, Web games, online games, Flash games and Internet games.

These types of games use a browser plug-in, such as Flash, Shockwave or Java to display the game inside a Web page. The user must have this plug-in installed in their browser in order to play. Some games use only JavaScript, a scripting language controlling text and images in a Web browser, and do not require a plug-in.

Free

Most free online games are small and developed quickly by one person or a small team. They are so inexpensive to develop, that they are usually distributed free in order to attract traffic to Web site. The site then supported by advertising. Some sites require you to register to play, but rarely charge a fee.

Online

The term online is used in the gaming industry to describe many different types of games, including massively multiplayer persistent game worlds and games where you can challenge a friend over the Internet. But the actual games themselves are not online, they are installed on the player's machine. In the case of free online games, the game code and artwork actually exist on a Web server and are downloaded in whole or in part only when the player chooses to play a game.

Games

The computer game market, both for PC games and console games, is more accurately described as the hard-core game market. Very few, perhaps as little as five percent of the population, play hard-core games like first-person shooters. Many forget that the world of games includes family board games, card games, newspaper word puzzles and sports.

Free online games usually fit into the idea of casual games. These are games that are easy to learn, quick to play, and have a wide appeal.

More Information

The audience for free online games are casual gamers looking to the Web for quick, fun games to play. This site is to be a guide for those interested in finding out more about these games: what they are, who makes them, where to find them, how to download these Web-browser plug-ins, a history, and why they are made. Click on a link to the left to find out more.