Game 77: Line Rider

If you haven't played this game, you haven't lived. At face value, Line Rider looks almost too simple, but after playing it for a couple of minutes you'll soon find yourself creating increasingly wacky and impossible courses for the brave -- nay, foolhardy -- tobogganist.

Game 71: Hedgehog Launch

Like the little prickly wonders in the Beatrix Potter books, this hedgehog is cute. Unlike them he is not safety conscious, quite the opposite in fact. The ultimate aim to launch him into space but he is going to crash to earth a good few times before you succeed. In order to gather the right skills and equipment (including funky goggles) to get your chap into space you need to pick up coins and buy upgrades with them. The final achievement is worth it though: so beautiful, so vast.

Use the mouse to drag and release the hedgehog and then use the left and right arrow keys to power the left and right boosters and, once you've got them, the up arrow to fire yourself higher, and the down arrow to release your parachute.

Game 65: Scarygirl

Scarygirl is the sort of game that we dream about. It is enormous. It is hours long. It is at least five games rolled seamlessly into one (and that's before you take into account the eight classic console games you can unlock!). It has amazing graphics. It has an incredible intro. It is easy. It is difficult. It has replayability. It is innovative.

This is a platformer, in which you play the scarygirl of the title. You must jump about the pretty cartoon worlds picking up gems and fish, and beating enemies. You have to find your friends and gather information, build a motorbike, drive it around and all this in some of the most fabulous surroundings you can imagine. Think about if Tim Burton made a game... then make it better - then you have this. Astounding.

Game 61: The Cryptic Canvas

Cryptic Canvas lets you guess the titles of 50 movies from clues sprinkled throughout a handsome illustration by Amie Bolissian, and gathered under the theme of "great movies".

Depending on how well you know your recent Hollywood hits, this could keep you occupied for a very short time, or a very long time indeed. But there are some very clever hints as well, and the interface is pleasant enough (the manual zoom feature is a blessing), and the artist commits herself to each gag, so even the brain-coagulatingly simple ones may satisfy you on the "lol" front!

A Note About the Sign-In: Cryptic Canvas asks you for your email address, as a reference so that you don't lose your progress. However, I gave it a fake address, and I was able to quit and resume my game later from the same computer without having to input the address again. So if you want to remain the anonymous cinephile, you can.

Game 57: The Blue Beanie

The Blue Beanie; A Samorostian, headwear-saving adventure from a new kid on the block.

Daphne Lim has made this adventure game with such a lovely mix of care, delicacy and humour that it's difficult not to fall for it. The plot begins with a happy family of white blob people living in a tree and washing their clothes.

Then the youngest has his beanie hat stolen by a big bird and so begins a quest with some nice interfaces, simple puzzles, cute music and pretty settings. If you liked Samorost, you'll like this. So help the little guy out won't ya?

Game 53: Dolphin Olympics 2

Here we have Dolphin Olympics 2, a sequel with some great new features. Firstly, other sea creatures will now interact with you. In fact, you can earn more points by getting other fish to follow your lead and jump out of the water. Magic rings both above and below the water give you a quick speed boost and can help you reach the dizzy heights of outer-space (complete with 1950's sci-fi-movie-style music). There are some new tricks and secrets to discover as you try to swim, leap and tail-slide yourself onto the high score board. I was a big fan of the original Dolphin Olympics and the sequel does not disappoint. Although the mechanics and aim of the game are pretty much the same, this has a slightly different look to it, with significantly more detail added to the sea bed and background. Once again, the challenge is in chaining together strings of successive tricks to boost your multiplier and amass some massive scores. And the trick to that is ensuring that your re-entry to the water is perfect every time.

Whilst this is a great way to spend your five minute coffee break, this game will reward replay with new moves and ever higher places to explore. I'll leave you to discover most of the secrets that are hidden in this game, but if you run the game at different times of day or night, you will be pleasantly surprised (change your system clock and re-load the page if you don't believe me).

Game 47: El Laberinto Esférico

Barcelona's Nacho Rodríguez puts his award winning flash animated character, Mr. Coo, in his first game, an adventure puzzler called Mr. Coo: El Laberinto Esférico ("The Spherical Labyrinth").

El Laberinto Esférico has a fun animated style like Pink Panther meets Ren and Stimpy, and a surreal imagination along the lines of Bill Plimpton with a bit of Salvador Dali.

The game starts out in an endless labyrinth, where you start the moment Mr. Coo falls to his death—but then he has a dream that turns into a "choose your own" path style of point-and-click adventure. You have several paths you can take, and each path has several different versions you can experience depending on a choice you made earlier. You usually wind up back where you started, and must repeat again. And so the game goes, a bit in circles, but finding a new path, puzzle, or a new ending is part of the fun.

Remember to click "English" at the start if you can't read Spanish!

You only have to watch the first scenes twice, from the 3rd time you die you get a shortcut version.

Also if you enter any correct password, you get this shortcut path.

Game 46: Polcarstva

Polcarstva is a gorgeous piece of interactive art that comes from the amazing talents of Denis Stepkin and U Studio of Russia.

Your goal here is to help a group of children to make their way through a surreal world, using standard point-and-click mechanics, and enjoy the music and scenery along the way. Not too difficult to get through, and yet just the right kind of diversion for an afternoon tea. Open the windows and let the summer air in while you play Polcarstva.

(If the game screen doesn't load properly, just hit F5 to refresh the page)

Game 42: Sunny Day Sky

Here in Madrid the sun is shining, as it is in the twee world of Ferry Halim, home of Orsinalgames, where the sun is always shining brightly.

In Sunny Day Sky, your task is to fly through the air clutching a small umbrella. Opening and closing your brolly shoots your little bear higher and allows him to soar further. Collecting magic apples increases your air time, but watch out for the flying ducks, which will make your teddy plummet to the ground.

The more cars and buses you pass, the more points you collect. And if your umbrella runs out of steam, a well-timed jump onto a passing car will give your bear time to recover - ready for another flight.

Controls are easy; just mouse click to open and close your umbrella.

Remember, longer flights mean higher scores, so aim for the apples to really boost your score.

Game 41: Grow Tower

The latest in one of the greatest series of browser games ever conceived is not a disappointment. This time you have to pick five different items to stack on top of one another, with the ultimate aim being to turn the sun on... a long way up above you. You've got a plant pot, a piece of turf, a sideways cauldron, a box with a button, and some bricks.

All you have to do is pick them in the order you think they should go, and let the game do the rest. There is only one right way, and this will reward you with the most elaborate animation, but each different combination yields an animation of its own that is great in its own right. This is the best visual game I've seen in a while. 

Tip:

Throw logic out the window and just have fun, but make a note of what you have and haven't tried, or you'll be frustrated by repetition.

Note:

The game may not load properly the first time you click, instead you may see a webpage. If this happens, just close the window and try again. Some weird bug I can't figure out, sorry!