15 Gaming Websites Every '00s Kid Was Obsessed With

Forget butterfly clips, trucker caps, and flip phones: nothing screams the early 2000s like a Neopets or RuneScape-style online PC game. Growing up in the 2000s, the free-to-play landscape was immensely different. Hundreds of thousands of Flash games were available for free online, from the fan-made to the corporate promotional. Mostly short and sweet, these games could run even on a lower-end PC. Microtransactions were nearly unheard of, and many made games for the simple joy of creation (and a healthy dose of ad revenue). They weren’t always good, but they were usually free.

Unfortunately, the browser game landscape changed drastically when Adobe stopped supporting Flash Player in 2020. This was the platform many online games were built on, and without it, many of these sites will never again see the light of day. Browser games can still run on Java, and many still exist, but the popularity of free online browser games has undeniably dwindled. Luckily, over 150,000 Flash games have been preserved by the Flashpoint archive. While some of these games have fallen by the wayside, a few are still available for nostalgic revisiting today.

15 PBS Kids Has Fun Educational Games Based On Beloved Characters

Still Available Today, Though It’s Been Rebranded

Many kids from the 90s grew up on PBS Kids, the children’s programming channel dedicated to bringing wholesome educational content to young children. The channel popularized many characters and shows like Arthur, Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Super Why, and many other shows that taught kids of the 00’s to love learning. The accompanying website to the channel has been available for an incredibly long time, since 2000, and although it’s been through a number of rebrands over the years, it’s still online to this day.

The PBS Kids website may no longer be the popular kids’ hangout it once was, but back in the early 2000s it was a popular choice for both kids and their parents. The website hosted (and still hosts) many games featuring characters from their popular shows, with an emphasis on learning about the world and the people around us. It’s still a wonderful place to visit for much younger kids to visit and play safely online.

14 Webkinz Was Linked To Real-World Plushies

Still Available But Is No Longer Web-Based

The first Webkinz toys from Ganz launched in 2005, amid a market saturated with plushies. These scruffy cute critters had a special feature to help them stand out amid the crowd, though: Each Webkinz toy came with a special code that allowed players to unlock that pet on the website and play with a virtual version of their plushy. The website was ahead of its time and the same concept has been redone by many companies in the years since, most notably Skylanders and Nintendo’s Amiibos.

The website has undergone many changes since its initial launch, the most drastic of which included a complete reworking from the ground up when Flash was discontinued in 2018. Webkinz is still available to play, but it no longer runs in a browser and instead requires players to download a desktop app. Fans who are nostalgic for the good old days before all designs were recreated in 3D will be happy to know that the website gives players the option to play the new designs or enjoy the games in the classic 2000s-era style.

13 Kongregate Was “The YouTube Of Games”

Still Available Today

Kongregate, often referred to simply as Kong, was created in 2006 by sibling duo Emily and Jim Greer. Since then, the website has hosted thousands of games created by developers big and small. A blog on the Kongregate website, states that the mission of the site has always been to give developers a place to show off their games, get feedback on them from real players, and give them a chance not to be overshadowed by larger games companies.

Today, Kongregate still has an incredible amount of free-to-play, browser-based games. It’s also published a few PC games and many mobile games, including the cartoon character trading card game Animation Throwdown, Bit Heroes, and Spellstone.

12 Postopia Hosted Delightfully Delicious Mini-Games

Bedrock Bobsleddin’ Blowout, Oreo O’s Creme Team Journey, & More

In a smart and creative marketing tactic, the Post/Kraft food conglomerate (the same one behind everyone’s favorite sugary cereals and mac and cheese) launched a website in 2001 that had games featuring (and heavily promoting) the brand’s products like Fruity/Cocoa Pebbles, Honeycomb, and Golden Crisp, among others. Games included Bedrock Bobsleddin’ Blowout for Pebbles cereal and Oreo O’s Creme Team Journey themed for Oreo O’s. Starting in 2003, cereal boxes included codes called Postokens that could be used to unlock exclusive games, cheats, and extra levels.

Unfortunately, Postopia shut down in 2011. It was replaced by the Flintstones-themed Pebbles Play, which has also since gone offline. Thankfully, many original Postopia games are preserved and playable via Flashpoint, including Asteroid Avalanche, Be a Popstar, and Berry Pebbles Bumper Pool. Those Postokens probably don’t work anymore, though.

Barbie’s Zoom And Groom, Let’s Babysit Krissy, Superstar Makeover, & More

For the Barbie Girl of the 2000s, Barbie.com was the place to go for online games. On this pink-painted website, users could play a variety of games centered around Barbie, her friends, and her hobbies: makeovers, horse grooming, babysitting, et cetera.

Barbie.com is still up and running today, but it’s mostly been converted to an online shop. But the Barbie brand has had an incredible revival in recent years, mostly due to the Barbie movie, which may cause fond memories of these free-to-play games. For anyone who wants to relive their Y2K Barbie nostalgia, Una Dabiero at Babe.net has compiled some of the games that were available to play on Barbie.com, a few of which are still playable in the post-Flash era.

10 Gaia Online Was A Stylish Social Game

Still Available Today

An online game with an anime-inspired aesthetic, Gaia Online has gone through many changes in its time. Most 2000s gamers will recognize Gaia Online as a social gaming site that had a messaging forum. Players could style their avatars, visit virtual rooms, and chat with others. At its peak, the site was incredibly popular with over 7 million monthly users in 2008, as reported by Virtual World News.

Gaia Online still exists today, but it’s markedly different. Having undergone an expansive graphical overhaul, lost many of its mini-games with the death of Flash, and seen a sharp drop in its player base, Gaia Online is a husk of its former self. Still, it’s one of the few free-to-play social games that’s still around today, so it’s good for a little bit of nostalgia.

9 Stardoll Is The Ultimate Dress-Up Game

Still Available Today

One of the world’s largest online fashion communities, Stardoll was the site to go to for dress-up games. Stardoll lets users design custom avatars, and style themselves according to the latest trends. But back in its heyday, the most popular dolls were the celebrities du jour. This website, along with many others like it, no doubt inspired thousands of kids on the World Wide Web to pursue careers in fashion when they grew up.

8 Poptropica Is An Educational RPG For Kids

Now Fully Free-To-Play

Targeted at kids from ages six to 15, Poptropica is an educational online role-playing game launched in 2007. Players customize avatars, adopt pets, explore virtual islands, and play a wide variety of mini-games. Many of the games on Poptropica are simple – things like sudoku or dots and boxes. However, Poptropica made learning fun through game quest scenarios called “Islands,” in which players would have to demonstrate their problem-solving skills to successfully navigate.

Poptropica is still available in 2024, although it’s now hosted by another site that may be familiar to Flash gamers: Cool Math Games. It’s also available on macOS PC, iOS, and Android devices. Besides the $20 fee paid for its Steam version, Poptropica is now absolutely free. There are no membership requirements for any of its content, so the game is more open than ever.

7 Club Penguin Was A (Literally) Cool Hangout

A Fan-Recreation Is Available Today

Club Penguin was a web-based MMO community created by Disney and New Horizon Interactive. As the name suggests, players assumed cute penguin avatars and played, socialized, and explored a snowy and icy world loosely based on Antarctica. Sadly, after 12 years of being a go-to place for all the “cool” kids, the website and servers were shut down by Disey in 2017.

Fans of the site will be thrilled to know, though, that a fan recreation called New Club Penguin is up and thriving. Although it’s not affiliated with Disney, the developers have faithfully recreated the web hangout and have a thriving community with regular updates and seasonal events.

6 Miniclip Was A Flash Game Paradise

8 Ball Pool, Agar.io, Dune Buggy, & More

With numerous flash games to choose from, it was easy to spend hours on Miniclip. Some popular choices were the GTA-inspired On the Run, the side-scrolling platformer Dune Buggy, and the tactical artillery game Raft Wars. At the time, Miniclip was a website that ensured legitimate and safe games that were easily accessible without much browsing. It played host to a wealth of fun, bite-sized games, and it always seemed to have something new on its front page.

Miniclip has since pivoted to mobile game development, where it’s been just as successful with 8 Ball Pool and Agar.io. While there are few browser games available on Miniclip’s website today, many of the Flash classics it hosted are archived by Flashpoint. Since mobile gaming became the gaming mode of choice, the removal of browser games on Miniclip was bound to happen.

5 Addicting Games Lived Up To Its Name

With Links To Thousands Of Flash Games

With a wide array of games to choose from, it’s no wonder why this website is called Addicting Games. Addicting Games was effectively a database of all the greatest Flash games on the internet. It included several categories to choose from, including action, comedy, and strategy games. The website also offered some multiplayer options, allowing friends to play together.

A great resource for free online games, Addicting Games had a massive hold on the slew of online gamers that was prevalent in the new millennium. While it’s still up and running today, it exists in a very different state. It’s mostly devoted to mobile game clones, things with titles like Big Farm or Daily Quindle, many of which rely on microtransactions.

4 Neopets Is A Vast World Of Virtual Pets

Still Available Today

No list would be complete without this website, which had over 35 million kids exploring Neopia at its height in 2005. The web-based community allowed players to have up to three pets, which they were responsible for taking care of. The Neopets world was vast and had many interactive features, like stores and auctions, quests, seasonal events, and much more.

The highlight for many fans, though, were the many fun minigames that earned players in-game money and spanned across many genres and levels of difficulty (though most were incredibly addictive). Neopets is still going strong today, under new management and a wonderfully nostalgic feel and style. The website just celebrated 25 years and plans to live on for many more years to come.

3 Runescape Is The Ultimate Free Fantasy MMO

Still Available In Old School And Redesigned Versions

Any kid whose parents refused to buy a World of Warcraft subscription inevitably ended up on RuneScape. Released in 2001, RuneScape is a free, fantasy role-playing massively multiplayer online game. RuneScape is set in the world of Gielinor, a medieval fantasy realm where users can cast magical spells, encounter monsters, and go on mythical quests with customizable avatars. RuneScape is still going strong, and there was even a Runescape comic run in 2023. The original version is still playable as Old School RuneScape, a slightly modified version of the game as it was in 2007.

However, players spend most of their time in Gielinor chopping down trees, burning shrimp, or fletching arrows. RuneScape might just be the grindiest game out there: there are fifteen skills to level up, and it can easily take thousands of hours to bring them all up to the maximum. However, with a living, breathing economy and a bustling social scene, RuneScape is far from boring.

2 Habbo Hotel Is The Ultimate Virtual Chat Room

Still Available Today

Habbo Hotel was established in Finland in 2000, but soon expanded to over 150 countries, engaging teens and young adults all over the globe. On Habbo, players create their own avatar, using them to perform a variety of activities. Players can design their own private rooms or public hangout spaces, take care of virtual pets, chat with others, and create or play user-made mini-games.

While Habbo Hotel may have enjoyed its peak in the 2000s, the site is still active. Its 20th anniversary coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing thousands of players flooding back to the site as a substitute for face-to-face interaction. Habbo enjoyed more than 800,000 monthly active users in January 2021, according to Pocket Gamer.

1 Newgrounds Was The Ultimate Source Of All Things Flash

Stick RPG, Dad ‘n’ Me, Alien Hominid, & More

Offering a wealth of cool flash games such Stick RPG, Dad ‘n’ Me and Alien Hominid, along with animations and music, Newgrounds was an entertainment paradise. Often regarded as playing an important part in the internet culture of the 2000s and even 2010s, Newgrounds is a place where animators, musicians, and indie game developers were able to showcase their work and gain a following. Newgrounds is still up and running today, and has gotten a bit of a boost since the popularity of the rhythm game Friday Night Funkin’.

Unlike many of the other sites on this list, Newgrounds hasn’t changed all that much from its original incarnation. There’s less gratuitous stick figure violence on the front page, but the concept is the same: creators submit their work to the site, where fans can enjoy and interact with it for free. Many classic Newgrounds games have been adapted into full releases, like in the case of Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers. Other popular Newgrounds creators have moved onto bigger and better projects, like Smiling Friends or Cult of the Lamb, but still take inspiration from the classic Newgrounds style.

While the internet is undoubtedly different from what it was two decades ago, the spirit of classic 2000s online games is alive and well. Many of these classic games are still around, and for every one that isn’t, there’s a new work that takes inspiration from it. Flashpoint and others have done excellent work in attempting to preserve unique games from the 2000s. Whether it’s their first time or their thousandth time playing a Flash game, there’s something for everyone in this fondly remembered era.

Sources: Flashpoint, Babe.net, Virtual World News, Pocket Gamer, IGN, New Club Penguin, Kongregate