Hidden Google Games to Play When You’re Bored

Despite wanting to take over the internet and then likely the world, Google does have a sense of humor. Google Doodles and Easter eggs are just two examples of that. There is also a third, a series of hidden Google games are secreted within the platform that can while away a five minutes or five hours depending on what you like to play.

These games come and go and at the time of writing (December 2017), all the games listed here are live and playable. That may change over the coming months and years but they are definitely good to go now. I won’t include the Doodles or Easter eggs as while amusing, they only provide a minute or two of entertainment. Each of these hidden Google games provides a lot more than that!

Hidden Google games

All of these Google games but one are playable in the browser so need no installation, extra software or loading times. They work within most browsers and on most devices.

Atari Breakout

Atari Breakout is a real blast from the past. It is a reproduction of an original Atari game from the 1980s that sees you bounce a ball off a sliding bat at the bottom of the screen. The idea is to keep the ball in play and remove all the boxes on screen by hitting the ball against them. Sounds simple right? Just play it to see how fiendish this game can be!

Type ‘Atari Breakout’ into Google Image Search to play.

Zerg Rush

Zerg Rush is a nod to the original Starcraft that used rush tactics to try to win the game. Obliterate the falling ‘Os’ as they descend the screen before they wipe out your search results. It’s another simple premise that turns into quite the addicting game as you play it.

Type ‘Zerg Rush’ into Google Search to play.

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The T-rex Game

The T-rex Game is another Google game to play when you’re bored that you can only access when you have no internet connection. Referring to being back in the age of dinosaurs for not having internet, the game is a simple side scrolling game where you have to jump over cactus obstacles. Use the space bar to jump, that’s about it.

Hit the space bar if you see the t-rex in Chrome without an internet connection.

Pac Man

Pac Man has to be one of the most famous arcade games of all time. Played by billions of people since the 1980s, the game is still as fun as it was back then. Use the arrow keys to direct Pac Man around the maze to avoid the ghosts and get those fruits. The game window is a little small but plays equally well regardless of the device you use.

Type ‘Pac Man’ into Google Search and select ‘Click to Play’.

Google Earth Flight Simulator

Google Earth Flight Simulator is an exception in this list as it does require you download Google Earth. This is a little more involved than the other games but is also more rewarding. Check it out here. Once downloaded, you access Tools and Enter Flight Simulator. You then get a first person view of the world as you fly across it. While more resource intensive than these other games, it looks and feels much better too.

Download Google Earth and access Google Earth Flight Simulator from there.

Google Sky

While not exactly a game, Google Sky is a great way to waste a little time while you’re bored. Like Google Earth Flight Simulator, Google Sky allows you to explore in ways you cannot do for real only this time it is in outer space. The minisite contains a huge amount of resources including images from Hubble, NASA images, information on celestial objects, planets and just about anything you could ever want to know about our solar system.

Navigate to Google Sky here to begin exploring.

Smarty Pins

Smarty Pins is another addictive game that educates as well as entertains. The game tests your geographical knowledge by asking you questions with geographical answers. A bit like Trivial Pursuit where all answers can be provided by placing a pin on the map. A typical question might be, ‘What city has a tower that leans?’ You need to plan the map pin in the correct city, Pisa in Italy in this case. A simple but very effective game!

Access Smarty Pins directly from this link.

Solitaire

Another oldie but goodie, Solitaire. The classic card game for one may have disappeared from Windows for a while but has always been accessible in Google. The classic card game, also known as Patience has a very simple premise but can be very, very addicting. This version is free to play for as long as you like.

Type ‘Solitaire’ into Google Search and select Click to Play.

Google Guitar

Google Guitar is another Google game to play when you’re bored but this time it has a musical twist. The browser window has a guitar front and center which you can strum using the mouse or play using keys. Place the cursor in the search box and then hit a key that equates to a note like those listed underneath. You can make your own up too if you are musically inclined.

Access Google Guitar from here.

As mentioned at the top, there are lots of Google Doodles and Easter eggs within the search engine and I only know a few of them. While our opinion of Google waxes and wanes, we cannot complain that the search giant doesn’t have a good sense of humor or sense of fun.

There are other games like Snake and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon but I don’t think they are that good. Other games are likely to come along in the future and obsolete ones will likely appear and disappear at regular intervals. All in all, there is a lot more to Google than search if you know where to look.

Do you know of any other hidden Google games to play when you’re bored? Tell us about them below if you do!