Fish Tales

Fish Tales was one of those simple Flash games you'd find in the early 2000s. It came out in 2003, made by a developer named Jonathan Howe. You'd play it in a browser window, a small distraction between other tasks, with its basic graphics and straightforward goal.

You control a small fish with your mouse, guiding it through a side-scrolling ocean. Your immediate job is to eat the smaller fish swimming around you. Each one you consume makes your own fish grow a little larger. This growth is the core mechanic; as you get bigger, you can start to eat fish that were previously dangerous to you. You must avoid the bigger fish, though, because a collision ends the game. The pace is steady, with more and different fish appearing as you progress. It feels like a continuous, cautious hunt where your own size constantly changes the rules.