We take a look at 10 games that are hidden within the Google search engine that you can play in your spare time or whenever you need something fun to do on the web. The best part: you do not need to install an app or download any kind of special software to play these games. Simply enter some words or phrases into the Google search box and voila; play as long as you want.
1. Solitaire
Solitaire is a classic card game that dates back to the mid-18th century. Solitaire is also a popular game built-in the Windows operating system. Solitaire is known as “Patience” in some part of the world but the objective and method of play of the game are the same. In Solitaire, players take turn to sequentially (from ace to king) play certain cards in a pack into positions. To play solitaire on Google Search, simply type “Solitaire” into the search box and click on the blue “Play” button. You’ll then be directed to the solitaire dashboard where you can begin messing around with cards. Solitaire on Google can be played efficiently both on mobile and PC.
2. Minesweeper
Minesweeper is another fun game you can play on Google search engine in your spare time. Minesweeper is a game that is also as old as solitaire and can be played both on PC and mobile on the Google search engine. To play this game on Google, simply type “Minesweeper” into the search box and click on “Play” on the Minesweeper tile on the result page. Easy-peasy. For a detailed guide on how to play minesweeper, you can check out this WikiHow tutorial.
3. Tic tac toe
Tic tac toe is another classic game you can play directly on the Google search engine. Wanna take a break from researching some school or office work? Try tic tac toe. For starters, the general rule of tic tac toe is simply to play either a cross (i.e. X) or a circle (i.e. O) in each grid till there is no available gird. The first player to successfully form a horizontal or diagonal line with a cross or a circle across three grids wins the game. To play this game on Google, simply type “Tic Tac Toe” into the search box and immediately start playing the game on the result page. You can choose to play against Google AI or play against a friend.
4. Snake
Remember the popular Snake Xensia game that was popular with Nokia feature phones? You can also play a redefined version of the game directly on Google on your mobile phone or PC without installing any app or software. Type “Play Snake” into the Google search box and click on “Play”. This will redirect you to the Snake Xensia dashboard where you can navigate the snake to eats goodies without hitting the borders.
5. PAC MAN
If you have never played PAC MAN, you probably must have heard about it. PACMAN is an arcade game that is enjoyed by many. The goal of the game is to consume all of the pellets while avoiding the four multi-colored “ghosts” wandering around the maze. Google developed the game in 2010 and added it to the Google homepage to celebrate the 30th anniversary of PACMAN. To play this game on Google, simply type “Pacman” or “Play Pacman” in the search box. Tap in “Play” in the search result and you can proceed to play the game on the PAC MAN dashboard.
6. Animal Sounds
Depending on how you choose to see it, this can be a game or not. What is it, however, is a fun medium provided by Google to learn the sounds made by different animals. When you type “Animal sounds” into the Google search box, you will be presented with pictures of different animals on the search result page and you can proceed to click on the speaker (🔊) icon to hear the sounds each animal makes.
7. Atari Breakout
Atari Breakout is my second favorite game to play on Google when I’m bored or done with whatever task I have at hand. Atari Breakout is simply a brick-breaker game that can be played in the image section of the Google search engine. Simply type “Atari Breakout” into the search box and navigate to the image section. Alternatively, click on this link. Google will then automatically transform images on the page to lines of bricks. Likewise, a paddle and a ball appear at the bottom and the game begins. Prevent the ball from going beyond be paddle till all the bricks are broken. When you’re done, Google will refresh the game by running a new search and making bricks out of it. You can pause the game whenever you like and also mute sounds. Atari Breakout can be played both on PC and mobile browsers (ensure your browser tab is on ‘Desktop mode/view’ though.)
8. Spooky Cat
Although this game only has five (5) levels, it is one of the most intriguing games to play on Google. Spooky Cat was developed by Google in celebration of 2016 Halloween. The gameplay is simple though requires speed as you progress to higher levels. You are to help “Momo the Cat” defeat evil ghosts by drawing the shape that is above each ghost anywhere on the screen before they get close to Momo. The game can be played on both PC and mobile but is best played on mobile, tablet or a touchscreen PC. To play Spooky Cat, visit this link and click the play icon. You can also search for “Play Spooky Cat” on Google and click on the first link in the search result.
9. Zerg Rush
Type in “Zerg rush” into the search box on Google and countless “O’s” from Google emerge from all corners of your display and eat up the search result displayed on your screen. You can eliminate them, however, by clicking on each O about three times. The game basically tests how fast you can eliminate the O’s before they eat up your search result page. Also to see how many Os you can successfully eliminate.
10. Earth Day Quiz
The Earth Day Quiz by Google is basically Google asking you some questions about your personalities and after answering them all, Google tells you which animal you share the same properties with. Fun? Simply type “Earth Day Quiz” in the search engine to play the game. With these games, searching for stuff on the internet should become more fun. Which one of them do you play? Which one is your favorite?
