Cool Math Games: Difference between revisions

| logo = File:Coolmath Games logo.svg

| type = [[internetInternet|Online]] [[browser game]] [[web portal|portal]]

| location_country = U.S.<ref name="whois">{{Cite web |title=Coolmathgames.com WHOIS lookup |url=https://who.is/whois/coolmathgames.com |url-status=live |access-date=2020-09-05 |website=who.is |archive-date=2023-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404075659/https://who.is/whois/coolmathgames.com }}</ref>

'''Cool Math Games''' (branded as '''Coolmath Games'''){{efn|The name spelling is often alternated between, though this is the name used on company documents.}} is an online [[web portal]] that hosts [[HTML]] and [[Adobe Flash|Flash]] web [[browser game]]s targeted at children and young adults. Cool Math Games is operated by Coolmath LLC and first went online in 1997 with the slogan: "Where logic & thinking meets fun & games.".<ref name="about">{{Cite web|url=https://www.coolmathgames.com/about-us|title=About Us|website=Coolmath Games|access-date=2019-09-13|archive-date=2019-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913203730/https://www.coolmathgames.com/about-us|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uu.nl/onderzoek/freudenthal-instituut|title=Freudenthal Instituut|date=2014-07-09|website=Universiteit Utrecht|language=nl|access-date=2019-09-13|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114224119/https://www.uu.nl/onderzoek/freudenthal-instituut|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Harbison |first=Cammy |date=2019-06-03 |title=No, Cool Math Games Isn't Shutting Down: Company Confirms Adobe Flash 2020 Shutdown Won't Kill The Site |url=https://www.newsweek.com/cool-math-games-shutting-down-players-fear-adobe-flash-2020-shutdown-will-end-favorite-1441919 |access-date=2019-09-13 |website=Newsweek |language=en |archive-date=2021-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104104315/https://www.newsweek.com/cool-math-games-shutting-down-players-fear-adobe-flash-2020-shutdown-will-end-favorite-1441919 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/5/18653689/coolmath-games-shutting-down-hoax-rumor|title=Despite rumors, Cool Math Games is not shutting down in 2020|last=Haasch|first=Palmer|date=2019-06-05|website=Polygon|language=en|access-date=2019-10-06|archive-date=2019-09-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905215340/https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/5/18653689/coolmath-games-shutting-down-hoax-rumor|url-status=live}}</ref> The site maintains a policy that it will only host games that the operators believe are [[non-violent]] and [[education]]al and is partnered with '''coolmath.com''' and '''coolmath4kids.com'''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="about" />

In November 2019, ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' listed Cool Math Games as one of its "50 most important websites" since the internet was created.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/a29666144/favorite-websites/|website=[[Popular Mechanics]]|date=1 November 2019|access-date=22 November 2019|title=The Sites That Mean the Most to Us|archive-date=12 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212003651/https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/a29666144/favorite-websites/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2022, Coolmath Coding<ref>{{Cite web |last=Co |first=Sandbox & |date=2022-09-20 |title=Sandbox Launches Coolmath Coding to Teach Kids How to Code |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/09/20/2519278/0/en/Sandbox-Launches-Coolmath-Coding-to-Teach-Kids-How-to-Code.html |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=GlobeNewswire News Room |language=en |archive-date=2022-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172922/https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/09/20/2519278/0/en/Sandbox-Launches-Coolmath-Coding-to-Teach-Kids-How-to-Code.html |url-status=live }}</ref> was launched to teach kids how to code in [[Roblox]] and [[Minecraft]].

[[Rumors]] began spreading in mid-2019 that Cool Math Games was to shut down in 2020 due to the discontinuation of [[Adobe Flash Player]]. In light of these rumors, a petition was created on [[Change.org]] to stop it from shutting down and gained 100,000 signatures.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Abby |date=June 6, 2020 |title=Cool Math Games' shut down is a hoax |url=https://uhsarrow.org/15577/news/cool-math-games-to-shut-down/ |access-date=2019-10-06 |website=Arrow |archive-date=2019-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006143906/https://uhsarrow.org/15577/news/cool-math-games-to-shut-down/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/06/05/cool-math-games-shutting-down-2020-everything-you-need-to-know/|title=Is Cool Math Games shutting down in 2020? Everything you need to know|last=Smith|first=Callum|date=2019-06-05|website=HITC|language=en|access-date=2019-10-06|archive-date=2019-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006143903/https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/06/05/cool-math-games-shutting-down-2020-everything-you-need-to-know/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Cool Math Games confirmed that it would not be shutting down and was focusing on getting new HTML5 games and converting old Flash games to HTML5 after [[Adobe Flash]] reached its [[End-of-life product|end-of-life]] in 2020.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> The website opted to use [[Emulator|emulation]] technologies like [[Ruffle (software)|Ruffle]] to continue using and viewing legacy flash content.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coolmath Games and Flash |url=https://www.coolmathgames.com/coolmath-games-and-flash |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223203931/https://www.coolmathgames.com/coolmath-games-and-flash |archive-date=February 23, 2020 |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=www.coolmathgames.com |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Cool Math Games' popularity has drastically increased, being played by students whilst in [[COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns|lockdown]] and [[selfIsolation (health care)#Self-isolation|self-isolating]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-21 |title=School Support March: Enriching Our Children's Minds Amidst Social Distancing |url=https://portwashington-news.com/school-support-march-enriching-our-childrens-minds-amidst-social-distancing/ |access-date=2020-09-05 |website=Port Washington News |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111190247/https://portwashington-news.com/school-support-march-enriching-our-childrens-minds-amidst-social-distancing/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Wilton |title=Virtual Senior Night: Celebrating spring sports athletes in Rankin County |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/high-school/2020/05/19/virtual-senior-night-rankin-county-mississippi/5208613002/ |access-date=2020-09-05 |website=The Clarion-Ledger |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718001230/https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/high-school/2020/05/19/virtual-senior-night-rankin-county-mississippi/5208613002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> CoolThe Math Gamessite's [[Alexa Internet|Alexa]] ranking went up drastically.<ref name="alexa">{{Cite web |title=coolmathgames.com Competitive Analysis, Marketing Mix and Traffic |url=https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/coolmathgames.com |access-date=2020-09-05 |website=[[Alexa Internet]] |archive-date=2020-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117035850/https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/coolmathgames.com |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Coolmath Games has received generally positive reception. ''[[The Daily Dot]]'' called the website's library of content “impressive”"impressive" in a run-down of the best games on the site.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/cool-math-games/|title=The 5 best Cool Math Games for kids to play in 2020|website=The Daily Dot|last1=Maria|first1=Anna|date=June 10, 2020|access-date=July 6, 2020|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030081823/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/cool-math-games/|url-status=live}}</ref>