Candystand Online
The Wrigley's Company Integrates Advertising with Free Flash Based Games
If you’re looking for a good way to spend some time online, Wrigley’s Candystand (http://www.candystand.com) is an excellent site that has 60 flash games (with more being added all the time) of all types. At Candystand there is something for practically anybody, unless you only like first person shooter and/or RPG type games. The premise for Wrigley’s Candystand is advertising through entertainment, each of the games has a particular product integrated into it. You might play a game “sponsored” by a certain type of Wrigley’s gum and so the label appears on the background or the equipment you play with in the game.The great thing about this is that there aren’t really distracting flashing pop up ads and you know that they want to make the game play good. The better the game, the longer you stare at their brand, right? Absolutely! So what you’ll find is that most of the games are completely worth the ad built into them. The best part of course, is that it’s absolutely free! You don’t even have to register with Candystand to be able to play the free games.
Candystand often gives away prizes for top scorers on some of the games, and only registered players are eligible. The prizes on the games vary, but it’s often a game system or a brand new game for a system. There are also a lot of sweepstakes to enter, for the various Wrigley products.
Another neat feature of registering on Candystand is the ability to challenge friends to a private high score contest on many of the games. You log-in and click on the “Challenge a Friend” button on any game. After you do that, you enter up to 9 e-mail addresses and Candystand will send your friends an invite. If they’re willing to register for free and play, Candystand will keep track of their scores and yours in this private battle. Even if you’re playing by yourself, Candystand makes it easy to keep track of your best scores. A good percentage of the newer games are what they call “Trophy Games” for achieving some level of proficiency at a game you will be awarded a virtual trophy.
These trophies will be stored in your customizable Trophy Room. Other players can see your Trophy Room on Candystand, simply by clicking on your name if you score high enough to be listed on the high score list for a game. Probably the most convenient reason to register is that you are able to build a list of favorite games, and these links will appear on the side of the screen once you log in. By registering at Candystand and filling out this list, you can jump from favorite to favorite easily. The Menus are easy to navigate, but this means you don’t have to search for your favorites every time you visit.
Of the 60 free games on Candystand there are 22 Sports games, 21 arcade games, 6 card games, 7 puzzle games and 4 multiplayer games. All youreally need to enjoy them is macromedia flash player, which you can find at http://www.macromedia.com and a good mouse.
Free Sports Games
The 22 sports games at Candystand are very diverse and there is something for just about anybody who enjoys a good simple sports game.
My favorites include:
Mini-Golf Classic - A challenging set of Candy Themed miniature golf holes. Practice the front nine, the back nine, or take on the full eighteen holes all at once.
Out of Bounds- Out of bounds is a one person version of Tennis, where you bounce the ball off of a wall collecting as many points as you can while repetitive hits help you to advance to the next level. Each level is a different view, such as the Great Wall of China or under the sea. The sounds and music change with each level for a nice change of pace, or you can turn the sound off. Getting the rhythm of the game and learning to control where the ball bounces can be challenging, but it’s quite entertaining. Mini games allow you to unlock new things for the game, such as a new racket.
Sweet Shot- Sweet Shot is like one of those games you find in an arcade where you put in a few quarters (or tokens) into the machine and shoot the basketballs into the hoop as the board gradually gets further and further away. Complete as many shots as possible in the allotted time and get a high score. The various distances are good for either 2 or 3 points.
Home Run Rally - Your standard game based on the sort of Home Run Derby you get from an All-Star game. You get 20 pitches, and you do your best to hit them as far as you can. Hits that bounce off of the scoreboard, completely out of the park, and off the billboards will earn you extra swings.
Lacrosse Shootout -Scoot your player into position to catch the ball from a teammate and then do your best to score a goal. Try to accumulate as many goals as possible over four periods of play. This Game has a helpful walk through at the beginning (which you may skip by clicking on Menu if you’ve already seen it).
Slapshot Shootout -This game is basically a hockey shootout between a player and a goalie. Make as many shots into the net as you can in three 60 second periods. This free game is available for play in practice mode and one and two player mode (with two people at the same computer taking turns). There are lots of different techniques you can use to try and score like adding loft to your swing or sliding the puck into position to take an angled shot.
H.O.R.S.E. -A virtual version of the freestyle basketball favorite H.O.R.S.E. make shots to avoid getting a letter that spells out Horse. The first player to spell out Horse loses the game. This game has a practice and a mode against the computer, and also features some pretty interesting trick shots, including one with your eyes closed.
Bowling - This game can be a little difficult to get the hang of, but once you do it can be quite addiction forming. The game follows the same scoring and rules of regular bowling, and in the non-multiplayer version you can alternate turns with somebody else on the same computer.
The other sports games include: 3D Snowboarding, Big Air Challenge, Bullpen Blast, Downhill Skiing, Rock & Skate, Skate Rage, Stunt Bike, Super Slalom, Tennis Open, Ultimate Bobsled, Everyone’s Hero, Field Goal: 3D, Figure Skating, & Foul Shot Shootout
Free Arcade Games
The free arcade games at Candystand are an excellent mix of games that are found in an arcade. Some of my favorites include:
Billiards – This flash based version of the classic game of pool comes in 8 ball, 9 ball and straight pool. You can play against the computer, in a high score challenge or against another player at your computer. It also has three tables so you can play on red, green or blue felt.
Air Hockey – Just like the game you’d find in an arcade. In this flash based version you’ll play as a country of your choice, against another country of your choice. You can play in a practice mode or a real mode.
Boardwalk Bowling – In my family we’ve always called this Skee-Ball, I’m not sure if that’s a brand of the type of machine or just some sort of colloquial name for it. Basically you roll the balls up a long ramp with a bump at the end which propels the ball towards a series of rings ranging from 10 to 100 points. The ball goes into a corresponding hole and points are awarded. You get 9 balls to try to get the highest score possible. It’s better in person, but this online version isn’t too bad.
Cool Darts – Play the dart games of Cricket, 501 or Baseball in one, two or high score formats. This game even includes a crowd to share in your joy or agony.
Other Arcade games at Candystand include: 4-wheel Blitz, Cool Darts, Crash Nitro Mini Golf, Dodgeball, Egg Hunt, Gummi Grab, Gummies Getaway, Gummies March!, Waterpark Pinball, Shuffle Bowl, RC Rally, Rally Racing, Pineapple Treasure Hunt, Photo Expedition, Motocross, Monster Trucks, Mixing Factory Pinball, & Mini Arcade.
Free Card games
The six card games offered at Candystand are pretty self-explanatory. There are basically 5 versions of Solitaire and a version of the game video poker. The five versions of Solitaire are:
Calculation Solitaire- This version of the game of Solitaire changes the sequence in which the cards have to be stacked after you deal them out. There are four piles and each pile advances by a different amount dictating the sequence you have to replace the cards in. The first pile advances by one, the second pile by two, the third pile by three, and the last pile by four.
Free Cell Solitaire- This version of Solitaire requires that you “free” the cards and stack them in ascending order by suit. While you do this, you may stack the cards you’ve moved around in descending order alternating colors.
Golf Solitaire- You start this game of Solitaire with seven columns of five overlapping cards. The remaining cards in the deck are placed on the side, and one of the cards is turned over to start the build pile. You then move cards from the overlapping piles in sequential order. Move as many cards as you possibly can at a time, because if you move all the cards in the overlapping rows before you finish the deck, you win.
Klondike Solitaire- The goal of this Solitaire version is to move all the cards from the deck and the 7 rows into the four piles at the top in ascending order by suit.
Pyramid Solitaire- The object of this version of solitaire is to clear all of the cards in the pyramid. You do this by double clicking on cards or pairs of cards that equal 13 using both the Pyramid cards and the remaining cards in the deck. Clear all the cards and win!
Free Puzzles
The Puzzle Category of games at Candystand varies from Trivia to an assortment of match games. In the Trivia Category players at Candystand can play 80s, 90s and Classic Trivia games in one and two player versions. With games like Mah Jongg, Match Maker you pair up corresponding tiles to make a match. With the game Candy Drops you slide candy up and down rows and columns to make a set. Finally, Poker Puzzler is a poker inspired puzzle where you try to build as many winning poker hands as possible. Each puzzle is unique and challenging in its own way, and you can waste hours playing these free games.
Free Multiplayer games
Although all of the free games are great, my favorite element of Candystand is their free multiplayer games. You can play these flash games with a friend or stranger over the internet. There are only four multiplayer games, but they’re the sort of game that you almost never play by yourself. There are the three versions of pool, and a multiplayer version of bowling.
All you have to do is have both players go to Candystand, and click on “multiplayer” games on the menu. Then you have to select the game you plan on playing. Then you create a private room by having one of you create a private room using a password and room name. For pool there can only be two players at a time, but bowling can take up to four. When you’re all there, verify that all of you are there and you will be taken into your own private room to play the game.
There’s a chat also, so that you can talk to the people you’re playing with. The Candystand Multiplayer chat has a feature on it which will display at signs over swear words and various other inappropriate words to make the environment friendlier to people of all ages. This can be some what inconvenient, as some of the censored words include words like, “like”. This sometimes makes a completely normal question impossible to read to other people trying to chat.
If you don’t have a buddy online, you can still play in the multiplayer mode by joining an open room. Although this can be fun, as with any online open forum you should exercise caution when dealing with people on the internet.
As you can see Wrigley’s Candystand at http://www.candystand.com offers a variety of flash based game play for free, and they have a game for just about anybody. This is why I would recommend it for anybody who is looking for something a little bit different to waste a few minutes or hours on the internet. With the free challenges and free multiplayer, you can even get your friends hooked on it too.
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