Frequently Asked Questions

General Topics

Is this site safe for children?
What is Web Adventures?
Where can I find the Cool Links page that is at the end of the game?
How do I get in touch with you?

Gameplay

How long does it take to play?
Can I stop during a game and come back to the same place later?

Troubleshooting

What are the recommended system requirements for Web Adventures?
What is Flash, and why do you use it?
Is the game supposed to take a long time to download?

This site complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. We neither collect nor publish personal information about site visitors. Feedback from users submitted to the site may be published at our discretion on our comments page, but we do not reveal user names or email addresses.

If you have concerns about child safety on the internet, you may find the following sites useful:

Federal Bureau of Investigation Kid Saftey Tips — Tips for children about the internet and talking to strangers.
Disney.com Online Safety — A parent's guide to talking with children about online safety and privacy.
Cyberbullying — Information about "cyberbullying", abusive behavior on the internet.

Web Adventures is a web site with a collection of Flash games in which you may explore science and health related subjects, including forensic science, microbiology, neuroscience, and body systems.

You can find the Cool Links in the left menu of each game, or under the Teacher Materials menu. Below are all our games' cool links:

CSI: The Experience

MedMyst: Original / Orientation At O.R.B.
MedMyst: Original / Peril in Prokaryon
MedMyst: Original / Nemesis in Neuropolis
MedMyst: Original / Malady in Mabuufo
MedMyst: Original / Zero Hour Zoonoses

MedMyst: Reloaded / Disease Defenders
MedMyst: Reloaded / Animal Alert!

N-Squad: Episode 1
N-Squad: Episode 2
N-Squad: Episode 3

Reconstructors: Uncommon Scents - Episode 1, 2, 3

Reconstructors: A Plaguing Problem - Episode 1
Reconstructors: A Plaguing Problem - Episode 2
Reconstructors: A Plaguing Problem - Episode 3
Reconstructors: A Plaguing Problem - Episode 4
Reconstructors: A Plaguing Problem - Episode 5

Reconstructors: Nothing To Rave About - Episode 1
Reconstructors: Nothing To Rave About - Episode 2
Reconstructors: Nothing To Rave About - Episode 3

Virtual Clinical Trials

As a service to the community, the Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) is now hosting Web Adventures. Unfortunately, RUSMP will not be able to provide technical support for the site. We want you to continue to enjoy exploring the games. We hope to add additional games in the future.

For more information about RUSMP, visit us at https://rusmp.rice.edu.

Each Web Adventure is designed to be played in one sitting, from 30 minutes to an hour in length. Some of the games contain short action arcade segments within the main adventure, but all of them can be played at a pace comfortable to the player and stopped at any time.

Due to Flash no longer being supported, use of the free registration option to create a user name and password is no longer available. You may still access the games by visiting the Web Adventures Game Archive.

For many of the web adventures games, there is a hidden shortcut feature that allows you to jump forward to a particular point in the game. You can access this feature in the MedMyst, N-Squad, and Reconstructors: Nothing to Rave About series by holding down the shift key and the pipe key on your keyboard (see picture below). In some cases, you may need to speak to the first character before the menu becomes accessible.

In Reconstructors: Uncommon Scents, there are two different mechanisms. In episode 1, after you finish the dialogue with Alpha, hold down the shift key and click on the shift key on the keyboard in the game. The pop-ups display what tools and clues were added. In episodes 2 and 3, after you finished the dialogue with Alpha, press 1-1-1-1 and then 1-1-1-2 to add all tools, 1-1-1-3 to add all clues, and 1-1-1-4 to jump to the last activity in the game (in episode 2, go to the art institute and click on the student; in episode 3, go to the City Hall and click on the computer). You can only use the shortcuts when you are in the NEPA office.

Reconstructors: A Plaguing Problem does not have a shortcut feature.

See Technical Specs.

Flash is an Adobe tool used to develop graphics, animation, and rich internet applications. Flash is optimized for fast delivery of graphical and media content, once making it a popular choice for movies (such as you see on YouTube) and interactive multi-media materials. As of January 12th, 2021, the Flash plugin no longer works in browsers, and has been decommissioned by Adobe.

Although each game in our Web Adventures Game Archive is compressed (and hosted on a fast server), the game files can still be quite heavy. If you are connecting to the internet with a modem, it could take several minutes. Hang in there!