That’s right folks. Since I no longer own fingermonkey.net, I always felt disenfranchised writing on a blog whose url contained that same title. So I decided to move the entire blog to a new WordPress.com url. It’s www.sly5.wordpress.com or click on the image below! Nothing has changed except the location of the blog. All the content is still there. I have changed the template in honor of this shift. But that’s about it. So if you want to keep reading my schtick, head on over to the new blog now and bookmark or subscribe to the new rss feed. My apologies for the 5 or 5 folks who already subscribe here. Thanks.

The following is a personal selection of some of the best flash games for 2008. Follow the link beneath each game to play or simply click on the graphic banners. All games are featured on my arcade website sly5.net. Leave a comment here on this blog and let me know what your favourite games of 2008 are. Enjoy!

1. DogFight 2

This is an shooter game which takes place in the skies, where you assume control of a fighter plane engaged in a series of missions for the German side during World War I.

Play DogFight 2 Now »

2. Devil Run

Devil Run is an amazing zombie shooter game with superb animation and amazing graphics. It’s quite challenging killing the zombies, shoot fast and remember to reload. Aim for the head and try to reload away from the zombies.

Play Devil Run Now »

3. Vinnie’s Shooting Yard 4

This is the latest installment of the great Vinnie’s Shooting Yard game series. In this game you get to choose your weapons, choose the number of enemies in each round and then get immersed in some awesome sniper action game play!

Play Vinnie’s Shooting Yard 4 Now »

4. Warfare 1917

Lead the British or German army through the trenches of Europe in this First World War strategy game. Use infantry, armor and fire support to take control of the ground or bombard your foes into submission. Choose between 2 Campaigns. British and German. Custom battle mode. Setup skirmishes the way you want!

Play Warfare 1917 Now »

5. Shadez

Shadez: The Black operations is the first in a series of strategy defense games by Sean Cooper. You take the role of General of a Mercenary force. This force has been hired by the governments around the world to fight the wars they do not want to fight, keeping it top secret and out of the hands of the press. Have you got what it takes to lead your squadrom to victory?

Play Shadez Now »

6. The Last Stand 2

This is probably the best flash game ever. If you’re any bit of a 28 Days Later fan or you love the old Romero Zombie movies then this game is for you. One surviving human out to save the world from endless zombie hordes. TLS2 boasts great new game play, graphics, weapons, scenarios and most amazing of all are the realistic sound effects. Play now people! Play now!

Play The Last Stand 2 Now »

7. Flatliner

Flatiner is your very own track designing game! Each track you build can be submitted to an online list where users can play and vote on your track, each track will also record the fastest world time. Place bombs, magnets boosters and even things that change gravity, turn your vehicle into a helicopter a motocross bike and many others. What are you waiting for, start building your dream track today.

Play Flatliner Now »

8. Dice Wars

Dice Wars is a fun turn based strategy game based on the popular Risk board game. Play against 4 computer opponents to occupy the most territory. Battle it out by the throw of the dice. This is simple gaming at its best, fast, fierce and a whole lot of fun!

Play Dice Wars Now »

9. Bomb Bot 2

Here comes the second part of the physics engine puzzle game BoomBot. Once again you have to get the Bomberman to the exits by placing bombs and destroying your enemies. It’s far more difficult than it looks!

Play Bomb Bot 2 Now »

10. Punkomatic

Punk-O-Matic is an awesome music making game. Mix bass, drums and shredding guitar and come up with your own hard core tracks. Rock on!

Play Punkomatic Now »

Dear fellow arcaders,

So it’s been aeons since I updated this blog, but there’s been good reason too. If you read any of the previous posts here you’ll know that I used to run fingermonkey.net, littleloki.net and craverz.com, 3 pretty cool arcade sites. I’m pleased to say that those are now in the hands of a new owner and while I didn’t reach the $6000 mark that I initially set out for, I think $2500 is a very reasonable deal given the current market climate.

Craverz was the arcade I built from the bottom up and in just a short amount of time it gained fairly decent traction. At its first google page ranking it got a PR4. This just confirms my points about WordPress as a superior platform for a games arcade in terms of SEO and google friendliness.

After the sale of those sites I kicked back and took some time away from the arcade scene. However, I decided to give it one last try, this time only focusing on one site. I launched Sly5.net a couple of months back and have since been fine tuning it to maximise on SEO and usability. I moved away from the FingerMonkey pseudonym while the sale of the other sites was going on, but I will keep it going here for the sake of this blog.

Over the coming months I’ll be updating this blog with more tips and tricks for arcade webmasters and I’ll be giving feedback on traffic exchange strategies and monetization. I also intend to reinstate the usability review section, but more on that later on. For now I wish you all a happy end to the summer.

Ok so I but the bullet and put my arcades up for sale on SitePoint.com. Follow the link via the box below. There’s a Buy it Now price that is considerably lower than before so this is a prime opportunity to get in on some great arcade action! Check it out.

Ok so I’ve decided to completely opt out of the arcade business once and for all. I’m leaving nothing behind which means everything must go. Bad news for me maybe but great news for you, becuase this is a unique opportunity to get your hands on 3 high class arcade sites. Each one lovingly handcrafted with great branding and excellent content. I considered doing this on digital point or sitepoint or some other auction site, but I really can’t be bothered. I’d much prefer to have direct contact via email with interested parties and I’m also working on a fixed price basis. Anyone who has followed this blog will know that I’m genuine and not in the business of scams or rip offs. This is a one time deal only. Everything goes to the buyer.

• First up is Fingermonkey.net: this was my first arcade. It’s powered by Arcadem Pro with a custom theme, hand picked games, hand made thumbnails, a unique game review section, an average of 500 uniques per day. Along side the fingermonkey arcade is this fingermonkey blog. If you buy this package you will also receive the blog too. It has some top quality content which you can claim as your own and reuse on other sites.

• Second in line is littleloki.net: this was my second arcade. Powered by the excellent ProArcadeScript. Again, this comes with a custom theme and all content is hand picked. The site has been growing steadily over the past year. It gets around 600 uniques per day.

• Last but by no means least is my baby craverz.com: this was a project I built entirely from scratch and you can see the creation process in 5 parts starting here. This arcade is unique. There are literally no others like it. For that reason alone it is a treasure. In addition it comes with a unique logo, it has an attached blog called Crave! and you will receive not only the .com domain name but also a dot.mobi for a mobile version of the site. Now that kids are on summer break, traffic has dropped, but during term times it was averaging 2000 uniques a day. It does not yet have a Google PR but at the next ranking I’m certiain it will rack up at least a PR4. The site is currently running with buysellads selling at $15 each.

Each of these sites is top quality and would give anyone looking to get into the gaming industry a huge head start.

I’m selling these sites as one package. Take it or leave it. So let’s just do a visual recap and then finish with the price and contact details. Comments are welcome and I will try to answer any queries as best I can. Serious buyers only please. Good luck!

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TOTAL PRICE: $6000 o.n.o

Up for grabs is a very special arcade, it’s called LittleLoki.net, it has a unique design and logo and a quality selection of games. The design is very popular and I’ve had several offers in the past for this arcade. Traffic is growing at a steady rate and currently reaches an average of 800 uniques per day. This is your chance to own a beautiful arcade, don’t let it slip! Email me with serious offers only please. Thanks.

That’s right folks, you read it correctly, i’m selling one kickass PR2 arcade, custom theme, custom logo, a recognizable brand name and this PR4 blog comes with it. Send me your offers. Serious buyers only. This is a prime opportunity for someone starting out in the Arcade industry to buy an established arcade. It’s slick, dark and sexy and it could be yours!

If you have a Twitter account let’s hook up, follow me and I’ll follow you back that way we can keep track of what’s happening in the Arcade world. If you don’t have an account then get one now!

My Twitter name is: craverz

This is a review of www.omglaserspewpew.com an arcade with the wackiest name I’ve seen to date, but does the site live up to the wild image that its name suggests? How important is it to match the name of your site with the content and form? This is a site that offers a good case study when it comes to balancing these aspects.