Say what you will about Google, but the old search-engine devil has some fine taste and sense of humor in its design department. Over the years Google’s amassed a veritable trove of hidden games, many of which first appeared in connection with anniversaries but continue to be available to play today.
As if Google didn’t already have a great repertoire of secret games, it’s gone and added its most ghoulishly addictive one yet this Halloween. Scroll on to see how to play it and other titles in Google’s gaming dossier.
1. Falling Cloud Game
Remember Flappy Bird? Who doesn’t? The infamously simple and lucrative game where you tapped the screen to keep a fishy-bird thing airbound as it flew across the screen was a one-week sensation, before duly disappearing forever
Well, Google has come up with something similar, except much prettier-looking and with a cloud instead. If you don’t have internet, go to the Google app. Here, you should see a circular icon with a cloud inside it, and a play button underneath. Tap this icon to start the game!
2. Text Adventure (Google Chrome)
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Want to be transported back to the late 70s and get a feel for what gaming used to be like in the days before conveniences like graphics and UIs? Well, you can. Right there in your Google Chrome browser, in fact, where a quirky little text adventure lies in rest, waiting to be uncovered.
To access this well-hidden Google game, open Google in Chrome, then type “text adventure” into the search box.
Next, press Ctrl + Shift + I, then type “yes” in the Console that appears.
The text adventure will then begin. As with every great text adventure, you play simply by typing in commands, which unfold the action and move you through the game world.
3. Halloween 2018 Doodle (Google Doodle Archive)
Google’s got a lot of games in its bottomless box of tricks, but none until now have been full online multiplayer experience. This addictive Doodle game has shades of a hyperactive Pacman, as you and your teammates glide around a moody library, graveyard and other spooky locales, collecting little flames to take back to your base. The team with the most flames wins!
The extra hook is that when you collect the flames, they give your ghost a tail which the opposing team can then glide into, steal, and take back to their own base. You can host games and invite your friends and family to join.
It’s no longer on the Google homepage of course, but you can play it in the Google Doodle archive.
4. Garden Gnomes (Google Doodle Archive)
On 10th June 2018 Google celebrated Garden Day in Germany (nope, we’ve never heard of it either) by releasing a Google Doodle themed around garden gnomes (did you know they originate from 13th-century Anatolia?).
Anyway, clicking this Doodle would start a deviously addictive game where you’d catapult gnomes as far as you could using a sort of trebuchet. Sounds a bit cruel, but it’s a bit like Angry Birds really, and you never heard them complaining.
The Doodle is now gone, but you can find it in the Google Doodle archive and play it whenever you like.
5. Solitaire (Google Search)
The first game many of you will ever have played on a computer, the classic card-matcher, is available to play directly through Google Search.
Just type “solitaire” into the Google Search, and hit Enter. Dilwale dulhania le jayenge full movie download 3gp. It’s the same old game you’ve always remembered – about stacking cards in descending order and in alternating colors. It looks nice, too, with a dash of Google’s design swagger.
6. Smarty Pins (Google Maps)
Once upon a time Google’s in-house geography trivia quiz was accessible directly through Google Maps by typing “smarty pins” into the search box. For whatever reason, this wonderfully designed little quiz game is no longer there, but you can find it at smartypins.withgoogle.com.
The game uses Google Maps to ask you all manner of questions (ranging from moderately easy to super tough), which you answer by placing the Maps pin on the location where you believe the answer is located. Points are collected in the form of “miles,” and if you’re struggling, then it gives you witty little hints. Compelling, yet kind of educational, so you don’t feel too bad about wasting your time with it.
Related: What You Need to Know About Playing Games in Google Chrome
7. Flight Simulator (Google Earth)
It’s been around for years, but Google Earth is still kind of mind-blowing, letting you whiz around the planet and zoom in on just about anything, anywhere in the world (well, apart from military bases, North Korea, and the usual sketchy stuff).
Better still, Google Earth has a built-in flight simulator that lets you travel around the world using an actual plane. You can even choose whether to fly an SR22 or F-16 jet and play using a joystick, if you have one. Our advice is to turn on 3D buildings as well, which means you’ll get to experience cities like San Francisco (pictured) in their murky-textured but nonetheless 3D glory.
To access it, you need to download and install Google Earth on your Windows, Mac or Linux computer, and then from the menu click “Tools -> Enter Flight Simulator” at the top.
8. T-Rex Run (Google Chrome Browser)
Google knows that the absence of the Internet can make people lose their minds. Luckily, Google hopes to stave off violent reactions with this cute and addictive game. One of the more well-known “hidden” games, this one requires Google’s Chrome browser.
Starring a lone T-Rex in 8-bit glory, you jump over cacti and evade flying pterodactyls in this endless runner.
To play, shut off your device’s WiFi or fire up Chrome when you have no access to the Internet. When presented with the “Unable to connect to the Internet” screen (featuring the aforementioned T-Rex), hit the Space bar (or tap on your screen if you’re on a tablet or phone). Get ready because the deceptively-easy game is about to begin. Just keep hitting that space bar to jump.
9. Zerg Rush (Google Search)
Referencing the seminal real-time strategy game Starcraft, Zerg Rush is a little simple than Blizzard’s seminal game. For those who have never played Starcraft, the Zerg are a race of insect-like aliens. Performing a “Zerg Rush” requires a player to quickly amass a large army of weak units and use them to overwhelm an enemy.
Search “Zerg Rush” in Google and prepare yourself as Google Os swarm in from all corners of your screen. Eventually the Os will destroy the search results, but you can eliminate them by clicking on them with your mouse. How long can you last?
10. Pac-Man (Google Search)
This custom Pac-Man game appeared as a Google “doodle” on May 21, 2010. This playable version of Pac-Man was made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the incredibly popular arcade game. To start munching on pac-dots, simply Google “pacman,” and you can get down to the timeless business of avoiding Inky, Pinky, Blinky and Clyde.
11. Android Neko (Android N)
Shamelessly ripping from Japanese cat-collection game Neko Atsume is this charming Easter egg that may not be exactly worth the hours but is a nice background time-waster.
The idea is that you put down bits of food on your screen, keep using your phone as normal, and after a while a cat may come and eat the food. (It will appear as a card in the notification area.) Then it becomes your cat! You can keep doing this to add more cats to your collection, share it on social media, whatever. It’s silly but kind of sweet.
To unlock it, go to “Settings -> About Phone -> Android version.” (This will vary slightly between phones.) When you reach the screen with your Android Software, keeping tapping it until the Android “N” logo appears on you screen.
Next, swipe down the notification menu from the top of the screen, tap the “Edit” icon, then scroll down until you find the Quick Setting called “????” with a cat face next to it. Drag this up from “Hidden items” into your Quick Settings menu and hit “Done.”
In your Notification menu, you’ll now have an option that says “Empty Dish.” Tap it, add some food, and let the strange pseudo-Pokemon begin!
12. Snake (Google Search)
Prepare to feel like Marty McFly and go back in time. The Google Doodle commemorating the 2013 Chinese New Year features a classic game from Nokia-era mobile phone dominance. That’s right, a version of Snake is playable within Google’s search engine. To play, punch in “Google Snake Game,” and click on the top result.
13. Breakout (Google Search)
Breakout is a 1972 arcade game developed by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. Players control a paddle that bounces a ball into bricks arranged at the top of the screen. The goal is to volley the ball back and forth between the paddle and the bricks until all the bricks are knocked out. To access this classic, type “Atari Breakout” into Google’s Image Search. All of the search results will morph into bricks. Control the paddle with the arrow keys or your mouse.
Honorable Mention: Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
In a 1994 interview with Premiere Magazine, actor Kevin Bacon made an offhand comment about how he had worked with everyone in Hollywood or someone who’s worked with them. This spiraled into a game based on the six degrees of separation between him and other actors. This concept suggests that any two people on Earth are six, or fewer, links apart. In Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, a player names any actor and attempts to connect him or her to Bacon in six or fewer people. Google technicians must have a lot of free time on their hands since they integrated the game into the Google search engine. Simply type in any actor’s name followed by “Bacon number” to see how far removed that actor is from Kevin Bacon.
Bonus challenge: can you find an actor with a Bacon number of four or above? If so, post the actor’s name in the comments and revel in your mastery of Kevin Bacon-related movie trivia.
This post was first published in October 2016, but is regularly updated to include the latest Google games.
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RELATED: Facebook is going to merge Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger
We've been doing some super sleuthing to hunt out all of them down – and how you can get them.
If you can't access certain ones, it may be not available in your region, or due to roll out, so watch this space.
Instant Games on Messenger
Facebook
Facebook has finally got the hint and been adding a load of games into the main Messenger app. Although these are regularly updated, there have been two main waves, the first in May 2017 and the second in December 2017. You'll find the 'Games' button down near the camera button on both iOS and Android.
From there you can select any of the following to play against your pals:
First Wave
Words With Friends
Pac-Man
Space Invaders
8-Ball Pool
Snake
Batman's Bat Climb
Cooking Mama
EverWing
Solitaire
Blackjack
Gin Rummy
Sudoku
Second Wave
Sonic The Hedgehog
Tetris
Angry Birds
Disney Tsum Tsum
Puzzles & Dragons
As you can tell from the brand names involved, these aren't all made by Facebook, either – there's a load of new developers getting involved including Disney, Rovio, Sega, Zynga, Taito, Namco, Miniclip, Warner Bros, Blackstorm and GungHo.
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So expect a load more once developers catch a whiff of success, with Facebook claiming up to 50 different playthings were available in the first launch window, with that growing ever since. These turn-based games can be played in the chat and also include leaderboards and tournaments.
Hidden Nokia Snake Real World game
Nokia
Facebook already had a version of the O.G mobile gaming phenomenon, Snake, from when they started adding games early on. But since the addition of Facebook Stories in early 2017, the social media giant has woven in an AR version of Nokia's Snake, especially for Facebook Stories.
You can access Snake via this link, then head to your notifications on your mobile app, click it and the special Snake filter will unlock in your Facebook camera. The game allows your to choose between three settings - slow, normal, fast - then place your pudgy snake on the ground using your front-facing camera, then simply begin gobbling up apples. Ssssssweet.
Hidden Facebook Football Game
Facebook
Want to kick it slightly more old-school? It's time to head for the emojis rather than the menu screen. If your attempts at casual chat are turning into a bit of an own goal, Facebook's hidden football game could help lift the mood, assuming your friend's up for a quick kick-about.
Unearthing the Euro 2016-inspired Facebook football game is pleasingly painless, too. If you've ensured you're running the latest iteration of Messenger, all you have to do is unearth the football emoji and send it to a mate.
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That's it. Well, almost. Click on the soccer emoji you've sent and a keepy-uppy game will emerge before your eyes. Now all you've got to do is tap on the ball to keep it off the ground. Get past 10 points and things will get a bit trickier as.. Well, give it a go and see for yourself.
Hidden Facebook Basketball Game
Digital Spy
For when your chat is anything but a slam dunk, Facebook's hidden basketball game can provide hours of fun – seriously, this thing is ridiculously addictive.
Finding the hidden Facebook basketball game is surprisingly simple too. Once you've ensured you're running the latest version of Messenger, all you have to do is send a friend a basketball emoji. That's it. Now, clicking on that sent b-ball will launch the hidden game. Game on.
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Both you and your friend can play within the chat window, with both players' high scores logged in the message feed – just so bragging rights can be duly appointed. If you hate losing, don't worry. A crafty YouTuber has found a brilliantly simple way to cheat at Facebook's hidden basketball game using nothing but a ruler – you're welcome.
Not everyone's into basic swipe-based ball games. If your gaming tastes are a little more highbrow, Facebook's hidden chess game is going to be more up your street. Finding Facey-B's chess title is a little bit trickier than sending a picture-based word replacement. Instead, typing '@fbchess play' into a chat window should see a digital chessboard appear in a magical, Harry Potter-impressing fashion.
Now all you've got to do is master how to control the thing – something that's easier said than done. Instead of pointing and clicking to move your pieces, you're going to have to remember some shortcuts and square locations.
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Every time you want to make a move, you'll need to type '@fbchess' followed by the piece abbreviation and the code for the square you want the piece to fill - confused?
OK, so here, K stands for King, Q for queen, B for Bishop, N for knight (are we all really that dense?), R for rook, and P for pawn. So, moving your king to square C5 needs you to enter '@fbchess Kc5' - got it?
Keep this page bookmarked too – we'll continue to update it as new Facebook games are unearthed.
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