Beaned

Beaned was one of those simple, quick games you'd find during the Flash era. It didn't have a complicated story or fancy graphics. You just loaded it up in your browser and started playing. It came out in 2005, a time when a lot of games were built for a few minutes of fun between other tasks.

You control a little character defending a campsite. The goal is straightforward: protect your tent from aliens by hitting them with dodgeballs. You aim and throw with your mouse, and you can jump with the spacebar to avoid their return fire. The aliens come in waves, and the pace picks up as you go. It starts easy, but missing a shot or getting hit yourself makes things tense quickly. The game feels frantic and silly, a test of your clicking speed more than anything else.