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If you grew up in the 2000s, you probably know that it was a beautiful era for free internet games. Club Penguin, Foopets, Howrse, Stardoll, MyScene.com, Cool Math Games, and Azalea.com were just some of the websites I spent my childhood playing games on, as a kid with probably a bit too much free reign on the internet.
Many of these games, unfortunately, haven’t stood the test of time (or survived the discontinuation of Flash) – but others have! When I’m feeling particularly down or overwhelmed, booting up a nostalgic online game can make me feel better.
One game that’s still up and running, and actually still has a dedicated following, is Webkinz. Sadly, the website purged many accounts that hadn’t been logged into for a certain period of time, so RIP to those pets – and all the other abandoned virtual pets from the aughts (this is a reminder to check on your Nintendogs if you still can).
But! There’s good news. You can log onto the og Webkinz game and pick a free (!!!) pet to venture back into Kinzville with, and there’s still an abundance of things to do. There have also been a lot of changes made; for example, Dr. Quack is no longer a practicing doctor, and your pets are now magically immune to all diseases (wish that were me!). Some other less ideal changes include that some formerly free-to-play areas of the game are now locked behind paid memberships, pets constantly have annoying and inconvenient demands (no, I will not buy you that random ugly chair), and there’s also the existence of Webkinz’s horrifying cousin, Webkinz Next. Look it up if you dare.
But there’s plenty of nostalgia to be gained from getting back into Webkinz Classic. You can still check out the Curio Shop and hear Arte Fact’s iconic spiel about the legendary Crown of Wonder (which I managed to collect after two years back in the game, thank you very much), and spin the Wheel of WOW, accompanied by the marvelously outdated voiceover. And there’s lots available to buy (with Kinzcash of course) to furnish your pet’s new home.
Arcade games are an easy and (mostly) relaxing way to earn Kinzcash to spoil your virtual pet, without spending any real money. Some games are Deluxe exclusive, but the Game of the Day is always available to all players, so there’s at least an occasional opportunity to play these paywalled games for free.
Since I got back into Webkinz, I’ve gone through cycles of different arcade games that I get especially fixated on. I’m impressed that these games, initially made for children, can be so entertaining. Some of the faster-paced, multi-level games are seriously challenging! So below, I’ve ranked some Webkinz arcade games in my rotation.
12. Cash Cow/Cash Cow 2
These are technically different games, but I dislike them for similar reasons, so I’m counting them as one. There’s not much to either game. You click on groups of brightly colored bottle caps, adding either cash to a truck or milk to a milk meter to level up, depending on the game. It’s a bit too slow-moving for my taste, and paired with how repetitive it is, it’s really not my favorite. Still, I come back to it every so often because the game’s sound effects are super duper nostalgic. The clink sound from clicking on each bottle cap group is great.
11. Lunch letters
On the other hand, this game is ranked pretty low because it’s a bit too fast-paced for me, and it makes me feel bad about my typing skills. As a Y2K kid, I basically learned to type by myself on the ~family computer~, supplemented by some very formulaic typing lessons at school – and I like to think I’m pretty fast at typing! But even on the easier modes, this game gets me struggling pretty fast. Words and letters fall from the top of the screen and you have to type them before they hit the ground – each letter or word to hit the ground is a strike; too many and you lose. I can’t imagine getting very far as a child! Still, I think the game concept is fun, and on an educational level, genuinely useful for anyone who needs typing practice.
10. Polar Plunge
This was probably the first game that I played when I first logged back into the game two years ago. It’s a pretty simple jump-over-obstacles game, which meant I got really fixated on playing it over and over until I could complete it without hitting any obstacles. At some point, I started to feel like I was losing my marbles when I kept hitting invisible obstacles until I saw an online discussion acknowledging that it was a glitchy game. I think this one is fun, but its age and lack of upkeep literally impede gameplay, so I can’t place it too high on my list.
9. Ms. Cowaline’s Roll Call
I don’t play this game super often, but I think it’s a fun one. You’re presented with a series of animals and with each new one, have to determine if it’s the same as the previously shown animal. I have absolutely no evidence to back this up, but I feel like it’s a good cognitive exercise. You need to respond quickly, but also stay focused enough on what you’re seeing to not impulsively click the wrong answer. This might rank lower for me because it’s a harder game to multitask with, and with my deteriorated Gen Z attention span, I prefer to be at least watching/listening to a video essay while I play games.
8. Quizzy’s Word Challenge (Deluxe)
This is the only deluxe game on my list. Because of that, I don’t play it often, but I’m happy when it is the Game of the Day. The game features a bunch of letters nested in three layers, and you have to work your way in – that is, you can start with letters from the outer layer and move inward, but not the other way around. I love a good word game, so I find this one pretty entertaining. My main complaint is that the score threshold you have to reach to move on to the next level is pretty high, so it feels like this game can go on forever sometimes, I hate to quit prematurely, so I find myself bored and unenthused the longer I play.
7. Tile Towers
This game got me through some tough times, so I have to give it that, first and foremost. It’s also just a fun game. Inspired by mahjong, you’ve got stacks of tiles, which are stacked highest towards the center. You can only remove tiles by finding two matching tiles that are both unobstructed on at least one side. If you get stuck or there are no matches left, you get one chance to shuffle the tiles. Unfortunately, even with strategizing both tile matches and the timing of shuffling, sometimes you’ll lose because your final two matching tiles are stacked on top of one another. It’s notoriously difficult to get past the first few levels (though they do exist). I think it’s a fun challenge, but it gets frustrating when advancing past a certain point feels virtually impossible.
6. WackyER Zingoz
There are many Zingoz games. Wacky Zingoz, Wacky Zingoz Extreme, Zingoz Bounce n Burst, Zingoz Bounce, Zingoz Pie Throw, Zingoz Pop, and Zingoz Zangoz are all the ones I don’t play. Zingoz are yellow tear-drop-shaped creatures often subject to being attacked in some form. Tossed around with a bat, dunked into a dunk tank, pied in the face – these things can’t catch a break. I’m really not a fan of most of the Zingoz/Wacky games (Wacky is a Zingoz frequently featured in the games), or I haven’t played them, but I think WackyER Zingoz is the best iteration. You play as a Zangoz, a toothy orange monster that chucks Wacky into the air and hits him with a bat to make it past a certain distance and over different obstacles. The premise is as wacky as the name suggests, but I enjoy this goofy little game. The levels are a good length and only get noticeably harder once you’ve made it past a few, and there’s not really a time limit, which is nice. This is a game I can commit to playing regularly in order to improve my score without getting bored or annoyed.
5. Home Before Dark
This game definitely gets points for the nostalgia factor, but it’s got perks beyond that too. Your goal is to rearrange a maze of tiles to create a path for a series of pets to get back home before the sun goes down. With each level, the number of pets that you need to get home increases. I enjoy trying to figure out how to create the most effective path to link as many houses as possible, meaning more pets can get home in one go. As the levels advance, more obstacles are introduced, and the number of houses decreases. The gameplay is fun and the music is comforting, so I’d safely say this ranks among my favorites.
4. Scrambled
Two restaurant-themed games make it to the top of my list, with Scrambled being one of them. Customers will appear to give you their omelet order, and you must manage mixing their ingredients, taking new orders, restocking eggs, cooking the omelets, and giving the cooked omelets to the right customer. Incoming customers don’t necessarily stand in order, so it becomes increasingly difficult to remember who you’re supposed to serve next, or who ordered which omelet. If you take too long, customers may get frustrated and leave. I love this sort of chaotic game and the mental gymnastics of keeping track of everything, and I like that this game has a realistically attainable final level that feels satisfying to achieve.
3. Color Storm
The first few times I played this game I was completely lost, but once I figured it out, it quickly became one of my favorites. A storm cloud drops one colored raindrop at a time, and you have to move it as it reaches the bottom of the existing color blocks, where it will become a block itself. The goal is to create matching groups of at least four in order to remove them; if you get a block of six or more, all blocks of that color are removed. The raindrops fall down faster with each level, making it more and more difficult to place it where you intend to, and in the higher levels, new colors are introduced. For me, it’s the perfect combination of mindless enough in the earlier levels but genuinely difficult and chaotic as you advance. I’ve also played it enough to know approximately how long one game typically takes me, so I can sit and play for a predictable amount of time without wasting too much time away or quitting before I lose.
2. Atlantiles
This game is like a more chill, less evil version of Tile Towers. All of the tiles are on a single level, and you eliminate tiles by finding a pair that can be linked by a line that makes only two right angles. So, if two tiles are right next to each other, they can be matched, or if two matching tiles are both on the same edge, they can be eliminated. It might be the most difficult game to explain, but it’s easily one of my favorites. I can still get stuck and lose because there are no more possible moves, like Tile Towers, but it’s easier to avoid and simpler to strategize. I’ve actually reached the end of this game, and while I haven’t done it often, it makes it more playable to know that it’s possible. It’s an easygoing game that requires a little bit of critical thinking while leaving room for me to listen to something else, so I’m a big fan.
1. Pizza Palace
I almost gave this second place, but I just love this game so darn much. It’s not one I play often because it requires more of my focus and a decent chunk of my time, but the dopamine I get from playing this game is unmatched. This game is very similar to Scrambled. You work at a pizza shop as Berry and manage taking orders, selecting the right sized dough, adding toppings, baking the pizza, and handing it off to the right customer. The goal is to make enough money to advance to the next level – the longer you take, the less customers tip (or they might leave entirely). It differs from Scrambled in that customers stand in order, there’s more variety in the pizza orders, and you can upgrade the machinery for baking, dough-making, and adding toppings as you go. You can also upgrade Berry’s shoes so that she can run faster between tasks! I love the chaos of prepping the pizzas correctly in time before the customers get frustrated, and it’s well-balanced because you get a sizable break between levels where you can take your time to decide what upgrades make the most sense (and step away for a minute to get a snack or something). You also get a second chance the first time that you don’t reach the monetary goal, so you can try out a different strategy in terms of upgrades or the order in which you complete tasks. It’s such a fun combination of challenges and though I usually tap out around level 12, I’m determined to make it past that. I would consider this one of the more challenging free-to-play games, and I love it for that.
I highly recommend making a free Webkinz Classic account, even if just to check out these arcade games and tap into some 2000s nostalgia!