When I was a kid, my ability to buy games was quite limited. So, I spent a lot of my time on free to play games. Among these, flash games had a special status.
Flash games have some unique qualities. Apart from being free, they can be played anywhere there is an internet connection. Whenever the teacher wasn't around, you could finish a level or play a few turns of some turn based game. Generally, they were also short, so they didn't overstay their welcome, didn't have too much grind or forced waiting. Fast to start, fast to finish, flash games is a fitting name for them.
But the best thing about them is the variety. Without publisher oversight, worrying about profit and anybody to tell them their idea wont work, flash game developers were free to experiment with basically anything. The newgrounds.com’s motto "Everything, By Everyone" was a reality. If you describe a game mechanic, odds are there is a flash game that implemented it. Sure, there was a lot of crap to shovel but the gems were worth the effort and some of them went on to become fully fleshed out desktop games.
Now that flash player is no longer supported, you may think that is the end. Fortunately, it is not. Other technologies are replacing it, old games written in flash can be played using unofficial players, you can download a huge database of flash games and play them on your computer, and most importantly - Newgrounds, Armor Games, Kongregate... These websites are still alive.
I didn't log on in years now but my hope is that the younger generation will continue this creative pursuit, no matter what framework it will be based on. And to all of you, who contributed games and animations, no matter how bad or offensive, you have my respect.