Swords and Souls

What a fun flash game.  This is definitely a great example of how good design can turn a game into more than the sum of its parts, as the individual components (battling, mini-games, skill trees, idle game mechanics, and an item store) pale in comparison to the total product.  There's something fascinating in how the sheer volume of different game mechanics and the different styles of gameplay end up meshing so well together. 

After an engrossing session trying one of the simple to figure out yet complex to master mini-games (which are so simple that I'm embarrassed to describe them), you can go back into battle with some new upgrades and items and quickly destroy the enemies in your path to get your attention back.    I especially love how well-paced the skill/potion/spell cooldowns (which makes watching what is a mostly static battle surprisingly engaging).  This is not super-complicated or well-written gameplay, but the fun atmosphere make this a perfect distraction whether you are waiting for the bus or need something to engage you for an hour or two after a long day of work. 

The mini-game and battle mechanics, while not super-substantive, are also interesting enough that the game has a surprising amount of replay value.  I ended up picking up the game again after a several year absence and was surprised how fun it was to go through the same motions that I had already beaten before.  Overall, highly recommended -- probably the only reason I can imagine re-downloading Flash!