Point-and-Click Games

The Point-and-Click section brings together more than 700 adventure games based on cartoon and video game characters: you explore, get through challenges and move the story along. All are free and play in your browser, with nothing to download.

Graphic adventure and adventure: what to expect

A classic graphic adventure is played mostly with the mouse: you talk to characters, pick up objects and use them to solve problems, and the story moves forward as you do. You'll find some of that here, but the section is wider. Next to those adventures are action and platform games with a thread of story, so check what each one is about before you start.

• Adventures with TV characters, like Dexter's Laboratory, Danny Phantom, Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time or El Tigre.
• SpongeBob adventures, like Spongebob Dunces and Dragons or Sponge Bob Dutchmans.
• Exploration, like Franks Adventure 2, Chasm or KOGAMA: Ghost House.
• Classic action and adventure, like Metal Slug 2, Ghosts and Goblins or Commando 2.

Where to start

For kids, or for a relaxed session, the TV ones like Dexter's Laboratory, Danny Phantom or Kim Possible are a good way in: a light tone and characters they already know. If you like classic arcade action, Metal Slug 2 or Ghosts and Goblins go a different way and ask for more reflexes than patience. Franks Adventure 2 is a good choice if you want to explore at your own speed.

The genre began in the 1980s on home computers, with titles like Maniac Mansion and, in 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island, both from LucasArts. That's where the point-and-click formula of combining objects comes from.

Tips

Every game has its own controls, so read the instructions on the start screen. In exploration adventures, go slowly: cover each area before moving on, since what you need is often on an earlier screen. If an item has no use yet, don't toss it. And if the game has dialogue, read it, because it usually tells you where to go next.