August 22, 2003

WE'LL be taking a break from normal service this week (hooray!). I'll still be doing the column (boooo!) but we're leaving reality behind (no change there) and heading over to the online sports. As everyone knows, a good online game consists of a railgun, vantage point and plenty of headshots. Unfortunately, as Quake III isn't regarded as a sport by the International Olympic Committee, I'm restricting this brief look at great ways of wasting time by playing Flash games.

First off, golf. Miniputt is great fun and more addictive than my nan's welshcakes laced with crack cocaine. It challenges you to beat the course par (my record's 37) without going insane due to the looped techno music track. Superb.

For those of you who like your golf with a twist, try Squirrel Golf. Pick a squirrel, put him on your tee, and blast him into the hole. Probably works better after a night of abusing Tipp-Ex, but it's still good for a laugh.

Anyone out there who likes running around woods shooting people with paint but don't like the idea of being hit in the delicates? Try Paintball. Another one that's a doddle to play, it even lets you wash your clothes!

On a more childish level ("more"?), relive your childhood with a good snowball fight. Make a snowball, point, click, and blast the evil kiddies.

Have a go at Road Racing. It starts with an annoying advert, but once you're past that there's no stopping you as you blast down the LA freeway system at 150mph. Great graphics and sound make this one fun enough to waste an entire afternoon at work on. Um. . .

Moving on rapidly, I've saved the best for last. Rally Trophy is, simply put, one of the finest games I've ever played, and that's including Half Life and Naked Tetris. Bearing a resemblance to a certain electric car racing game of the 70s, you can build your own track and then race against the PC or your mates. Make a course that recreates your dining-room efforts when you were a kid, and then watch the Mini Coopers fly off the track when you try taking the chicane at top speed.

To play these games, you'll need the Flash plugin. To get it, go here. Once it's downloaded you're on your way.