Back to School Stress Relievers

Bored in class? Stressed at work? Check out our collection of 11 of the most addictive Flash games the Web has to offer. You can play them in your browser, with no downloading or installing needed -- and they're all 100 percent free.

(NB: The author is not responsible for lost jobs, failed classes, destroyed relationships or other damages that may result from overconsumption of the following games.)

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Flash Element Tower Defense

Inspired by, of all things, a mod for popular real-time strategy game Warcraft III, Tower Defense is set in a maze that's periodically filled with hordes of angry beasties. They make their way from the entrance to the exit, whereupon you lose - that is, unless you can construct a network of defenses they can't pierce. To do that, you're armed with a number of different defensive towers to build, upgrade and sell. Do well, and you'll be able to research extra powerful elemental towers that'll make short work of most foes. How long will you be able to survive?

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Boxhead

Be warned: In true zombie movie style, Boxhead has blood. Lots of it. But it's just zombie blood, which doesn't count, and it's all very cartoony anyway. Assuming that hasn't put you off, Boxhead is some of the finest Flash-based stress relief you'll find on the Web. Equipped with an increasingly destructive array of weaponry, your task is simply to hold back the zombie hordes for as long as possible. Extra points go to players who can maintain high killing rates, thanks to a pinball-like bonus multiplier feature. Kick back, enjoy the carnage, and feel the stress disappear.

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Mini Golf

Click your way through nine increasingly fiendish and irritating holes of mini-golf in this adaptation of a classic theme. Sure, it might start off easy, but by the end you'll be tearing your hair out as the ball rolls down that damn slope the wrong way... again. Simple to control but oh-so-hard to master, it's the perfect way to while away those dull classes undetected -- at least until your howls of frustration are overheard by your teacher.

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Rick Dangerous

Waaaah! Although he's not as dangerous as certain other Ricks we could mention, the star of this 1989 platform classic certainly comes in for his share of adversity. Set in a decidedly Indiana Jones-like 1940s environment, you might spot somewhere in Rick's platform-hoppin', gun-shootin' antics the roots of his creator Core Design's more recent (and more famous) heroine Lara Croft. It's also a welcome reminder of the days when games were really, really, hard. Don't go looking for the "save game" function: it's not there.

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Skyroads

Another remake of a classic, Skyroads is a little like a cross between Super Monkey Ball and F-Zero. In short, you pilot a spaceship down a colored road, steering left and right and jumping to avoid chasms, walls and other hazards. Sounds simple, right? It's not. Different levels have different gravity, causing you to either leap tall buildings in a single bounce (and, most likely, into a chasm) or barely be able to lift yourself off the ground. Different road colors have a variety of unpleasant effects on your craft, too.

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String Avoider

How much fun can be had guiding a string round a maze? Quite a bit, as it happens. Give this fiendish puzzler a try, and watch as your troubles disappear in a haze of mild frustration. It's a little like those old fairground steady-hand games you might have played, except here you have to contend not only with the winding maze, but the tendency of your string to straighten out behind you. For once, you don't think ahead so much as think about an inch and a half behind. Give it a try.

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Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

With a name like that, how can it be bad? Taking its inspiration from downloadable hit Every Extend, Pretty Pretty Bang Bang has you deliberately killing yourself in order to set off chain reactions that destroy huge numbers of enemies. Trust us, it's much easier to play than it is to explain -- plus it has bosses that sport awesome names like "Bumbershoot Evangelist". You can't go wrong.

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3rd World Farmer

3rd World Farmer provides a break from the usual Flash game staples of zombies, ninjas and pirates by attempting to give its players some insight into the trials and tribulations of raising a family on a small Third World plantation. Not only must you wrangle with the whims of local warlords, large chemical firms and corrupt officials, but you must balance the need for livestock and seeds against the medical and educational needs of your family. It's a bit on the easy side -- if it was this straightforward to make money running a farm in Africa, we'd knock this writing gig on the head and be out there planting corn tomorrow -- but it'll at least provide you with the illusion that you're learning something insightful about the world while you goof off in Chemistry class.

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Dolphin Olympics 2

Take your regular skateboarding game, remove the aging stubbly star, the skate parks and, er, just about everything else except the tricks, and add a dolphin. What have you got? No, not an environmentally irresponsible sushi recipe -- you have Dolphin Olympics 2, of course. It's a top Flash game starring everyone's favorite aquatic mammal with a propensity for fish snacks, tricks and saving small children from poachers. Only the middle of those characteristics appears in Dolphin Olympics, which is probably for the best. If you're hankering for browser-based Tony Hawk-style action with a relaxing underwater twist, it's perfect.

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Glider

Another remake, this time of an old favorite Mac game (yes, the Apple Mac had games), Glider lets you find out what it's like to be a paper airplane, flying through a series of common-place rooms. If you hit the floor or a wall, you're confetti, but hot air vents and candles offer useful updrafts that'll extend your flight. This version, like the Mac original, lets you build your own houses, and check out and rate ones others have designed. You know how relaxing those flying dreams are? This is the next best thing.

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Detective Grimoire

Looking for something with an easier pace? Try Detective Grimoire, a modern-day whodunit set in an appropriately creepy fairground populated with clowns, funhouses and odd little girls. You'll question suspects, hunt for clues and collect evidence, playing the role of a raincoat-clad, stubbly footpad (although one who's inexplicably missing a hat). Headgear issues aside, this is a charming and well-presented brain-teaser that's sure to fill in an hour or so.