It has been more than a year already since the country has been declared in lockdown, and boredom has been haunting the family like a ghost. Every week though, my husband and I go out to buy groceries, so somehow we still have an excuse to get a breath of fresh, different air. What I am worried about are the kids. When they’re not doing online classes, they’re gaming. My eldest says her biggest blessing right now is the PS4 because of the updating game catalog. Even my youngest, who barely plays video games, is now also addicted to Mortal Kombat.
However, this is not new to me. Ever since they were toddlers, they already loved playing online games. This hobby of theirs started when I bought a PC. When I’m not using it, the sisters would take turns playing online games. Some of the games they’d play include Boowa and Kwala, Delicious Emily’s (which I also love to play up until now), and WorldCraft. Every now and then they still like to play these kinds of games because they really like role-playing games and doing character quests. It gives them a sense of accomplishment that’s both fun and fulfilling.
The sad thing is, most of the games they played back then as a kid is already gone. The websites they used to visit were now either broken or replaced by another site. To be honest, I barely see any kids play Internet games nowadays, because most of the games they play can already be found on the mobile app store. Most of these games however aren’t that educational because a lot of them require multiplayer, so they tend to talk to strangers who aren’t even their same age.
It was a surprise for me when I found this website that lets you play a variety of family-friendly Internet games for free. Plays.org lets you play a bunch of games that range from simulation games to arcade classics. The best thing about this is that it automatically saves your progress on your browser, with no need to create an account. I tried out a few games that looked appealing to me, and I’m surprised that I was easily able to play the games with ease even though it’s been so long that I’ve played an actual game.
Open Restaurant
I did not expect to get addicted to this game. At first, I had to click around and explore to see how the game works. It’s simple actually, you just direct the waiter to accommodate customers to their seats, get their orders, serve their food, and give the bill out. It amazes me that you just use your mouse to play this game. What’s addicting about this game is that you want to beat the enemy here, which is the time limit. There’s target money you have to reach per day, and it gets bigger the day after. The customers also increase, so you have to carefully pick where to seat them, because some customers go by themselves, by pairs, or by fours. I was honestly surprised that I only made it to Day 5.
8-bit Dungeon Knight
This game allowed me to finally put my rusting mathematical skills to use. In this game, you play as a cute little knight that has to fight slimes of different sizes. There are various power-ups that you can pick up throughout the journey to increase your attack power or health points. I love how you have to analyze each step you take here, because each opponent you attack has different difficulties. For example, to attack a green slime, you have to sacrifice 2 health points. You have to pick up a potion to increase your HP before attacking another one. To attack a blue slime, you have to pick up a round ring first because you cannot defeat it with a low ATK. This game is the perfect mix of combat and cuteness. I haven’t played a game like this before and I’m thankful it’s online for free.
The Sorcerer
This game is inspired by the famous Zuma game, wherein you have to shoot balls of the same color 3 in a row. This game really fuelled my nostalgia for PopCap. It’s also easy to play, and I love how the stages get more complex as you level up.
I could spend hours playing one game, and I haven’t even explored the whole catalog. These games are so simple yet so addicting, and they’re definitely suitable for all ages. I’m glad that there are still people who make games like these.
