Google first started off as a simple search engine way back in 1998. Over time, they expanded rapidly, offering and acquiring a lot of other services and programs like Gmail, YouTube, Android, and the Google Chrome browser. Even though they’re a tech powerhouse now, it doesn’t mean they lost their fun quirkiness. Aside from their Google Doodles, other Google products usually have cute hidden Google games you can play. So when you’re bored or just want to try something new, this list of the best hidden Google games is for you!
What Are Hidden Google Games?
Hidden Google games are basically fun games, mechanics, or puzzles that you can access while using Google services or programs. The most famous out of all of these is the Google Chrome dinosaur game or “Chrome Dino.”
That said, you can easily split Google’s secret games into a few sections depending on where you can find them. Among these include hidden games on Google search, online games like Google Doodles, and other fun Google games integrated into other software. For the most part, hidden doodle games don’t need to be downloaded and often involve easy-to-follow mechanics. There is also significantly less memory involved in them, so you can play them even if you don’t have a high-performing smartphone.
Classifying Hidden Google Games
Since all the games here are free, we’ll add a link to where you can find the specific games we’ve chosen. We will split this list into three with a few games each, one for games using Google Search, another for Google Assistant, and the last one just for Google Doodle games. There would also be a link to the whole Google Doodle archive at the very end so you can look at even more hidden Google games as they add more themed doodles over time.
Do note that some of these games are a little hard to play on mobile since some are meant to be played on PCs and Macs instead. Some games like Google Chrome Text Adventure won’t play on Android and iOS either, so we’ll take those kinds of games off the list.
Hidden Google Games on Google Search
Aside from the Chrome Dino game, which you need to use Google Chrome for, the other games on this list can be accessed by going to the main Google website.
1. Chrome Dino / Google Dinosaur Game
Our favorite hidden Google game and the first on this list, Chrome Dino, is a fun side-scroller. One of Google’s most popular games, this cute game that lets you play as a tiny T-Rex trekking through a cacti-infested desert.
To play this game, you don’t really need to search for anything on the internet. In fact, you can actually only play this game while you don’t have internet. While using Google Chrome, all you need to do is turn off your mobile data or your Wi-Fi connection and go to any website. You’ll be faced with a note saying you have “No Internet” and a picture of the dino on the left side of your phone. All you need to do now is to tap the dino, and then the game starts.
The gameplay is simple: you tap on your screen to make the T-Rex jump over obstacles in its way like cacti or vultures.
2. Atari Breakout
The second game on this list is a classic one called Atari Breakout. First released in 1976, Breakout was originally a game created by Atari’s Nolan Bushnell and future Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Its gameplay was inspired by the earlier Pong game, except your goal is to hit and destroy every brick using a ball that bounces on the screen.
Although you used to be able to access this Easter egg game simply by typing “Atari Breakout” on Google Image Search, it doesn’t seem to support it anymore. Instead, you can use the “I’m elgooG” service to play Atari Breakout instead.
3. Solitaire
Solitaire is another hidden Google game that you can play whenever you’re on the Google search engine. A simple take on the traditional single-player card game, Google’s version has two modes; A hard mode and an easy mode. The difference between both modes is simple; you can draw one card at a time from the pile on easy mode. Hard mode, on the other hand, draws three cards at a time.
Accessing this game is quick and easy since all you have to do is go to Google Search and type Solitaire. Before you reach the first search result, click on the “Play” prompt, and it’ll open up the solitaire game on full screen for you.
4. Zerg Rush
Another game you used to be able to play was the Zerg Rush Easter egg. Based on the old 1999 RTS game Starcraft’s tactic of making tons of Zerglings and rushing it at enemy bases, the Zerg Rush game is that. Released as an Easter egg in 2012, tiny Google O’s will attack and overwhelm your search results by destroying them one by one.
Although you used to be able to play this game by typing in “Zerg rush” into the search bar, this Easter egg has since been disabled. The people behind elgooG.im, however, has revived this game so you can play it through their Zerg Rush webpage.
5. Tic Tac Toe
A playground favorite and an assured time waster, Tic Tac Toe has been played by everyone at least once in their lives. Another simple hidden Google game, Tic Tac Toe, is a rather easy game to play but hard to master. You play on a three-by-three grid with you and your opponent placing O’s and X’s on the grid. The first to place their marks in a row of three either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally will win.
You can easily access this game by typing in “Tic Tac Toe” on the Google Search bar and pressing enter. You’ll immediately see the playing grid and can start playing. The game does have a few settings, though. Aside from letting you choose to be a circle or cross, you can also choose your difficulty level from Easy to “Impossible.” You can also go on a two-player mode by selecting “Play against a friend”.
6. Quick, Draw!
This game isn’t so much a hidden Google game, as it is an experiment. “Quick, Draw!” was originally an experiment using Google’s neural AI systems. The game uses machine learning to guess specific things that you are asked to draw. This is a simple doodle game with deep implications for the future of AI technology. The creators of this game explain a good deal about how the AI computer works in a quick two-minute YouTube video.
To play, you wait for a drawing prompt, then a 20-second timer starts, and you start drawing while the neural network quickly tosses up ideas on what it could be. While you can easily find this game by searching “Quick, Draw!,” you can also go directly to the Quick, Draw! website instead.
7. Minesweeper
Another cute and simple game, Google’s Minesweeper, is based on old 1980’s games like Cube and Mined-Out. Most would probably know this game due to the version ported with most Windows operating systems called Microsoft Minesweeper. The Google version of this game follows the same ideas as its predecessors. You play on a grid of tiles, and you press individual tiles to unlock them. Unlocked blocks have the numbers of nearby “mines” that you have to avoid. Your end goal for this game is to unlock each tile without clicking on tiles that have mines on them.
Similar to Tic Tac Toe, you can easily play this game by searching “minesweeper” on Google and pressing the “Play” button to open the game in full screen. The game has three modes, easy, medium, and hard. Each mode increases the playing grid and adds or reduces the number of mines.
If you don’t like Google’s version of Minesweeper, there are other online options available. Play Minesweeper, for example, is an online version that has the same gameplay with the classic Minesweeper look. It also has a guide to help you with the minesweeper strategy.
8. Snake Game
A well-known game to those who’d used brick or “non-smart” phones, Google has their own version of Snake that you can play. Snake is a simple game where you guide your snake in eating food placed on the game map without touching itself or hitting the corners of the map. Eating makes your snake longer and longer, so it makes it harder for you to maneuver around. Google’s version of the game has a few options you could change, like the size of the game board and what types of “food” are available for your snake to eat.
Another game that you can get by searching “snake game” on Google’s search engine, the only thing you need to do is press “Play.”
9. Earth Day Quiz
Quite obviously a trivia game, this hidden Google game was made in celebration of Earth Day. This game tries to answer the question, “Which animal are you?” by asking a few questions about your daily activities and lifestyle. Among the animals that you could be are mantis shrimp, honey badgers, and sea otters.
Just like the other Google Search games, you can play this one by typing in “Earth Day quiz” and pressing enter.
10. Fidget Spinner
Less of a game and more of a time-waster, that is probably, how you’d explain what fidget spinners are in real life. Although the craze has long passed and the spinners you’ve bought are probably lost or broken, you can still play with a virtual one on Google Search. All you need to do is type in “fidget spinner,” and you can then swipe away.
Aside from the fidget spinner, you can also switch between “Fidget and Number,” which turns the fidget spinner into a roulette wheel instead. You can modify it to have just two numbers or go as high as twenty numbers.
Hidden Google Games on Google Assistant
This section of hidden Google games covers games you can play while using Android’s built-in Google Assistant. Not only will it open up the game for you after ordering it. It’ll also read out or announce the game so you can play hands-free. There are a lot of these games, and you can see some of them on the Google Assistant Games webpage. We do have to note that you’ll have to know which phrase to use to activate each game, as some use “talk to,” “play,” or “ask” when starting the game through Google Assistant.
1. Trivia Crack
This trivia game lets you play by yourself or with up to four other players. To play this game, you have to ask your Google Assistant to “Talk to Trivia Crack.” The assistant then opens up the game, and you can then select the number of players. If you’re playing on single-player mode, you can also select whether you’re going to play on the “Classic” or “Challenge” modes. Classic mode lets you play the game as normal, while challenge mode has the game continue asking you trivia questions until you make a mistake.
This hidden Google game is actually a watered-down version of Etermax’s Trivia Crack, which you can download for both Android and iOS.
2. Are You Feeling Lucky?
In this quiz-type hidden Google game, you just need to tell Google Assistant “Are You Feeling Lucky?” and it’ll open up the game. You can play with a maximum of six players, all of them with cute different colored doodles. The game will give each player a different “name” so you know which player is supposed to answer. You or your group will have to answer a series of questions one by one. These questions will come from different topics like history, art, and science.
3. Mad Libs
Mad Libs is a simple wordplay game sponsored by Penguin Random House. The keyword to tell your Google Assistant to activate this game is “Talk to Mad Libs,” and it’ll open up the game. Mad Libs has several game modes, quick play, collection, minis, vacation fun, mad about animals, and totally pink. These modes decide what kind of stories you’ll have to fill in prompts for.
This Google game is also available as independent mobile apps for both Android and iOS smartphones.
4. Hero of Dungeon
A game similar to the AI Dungeon game on Android and iOS apps, Hero of Dungeon is an interactive story that plays like an old “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. It only has one long storyline that you can play through, but it has multiple endings and characters that you can play.
To activate this game, you tell Google Assistant to “Talk to Hero of Dungeon,” and it’ll open up the game for you. Google Assistant also narrates the story for you, and all you’ll have to do is speak or type in what you want to do when the game’s prompts come up.
5. Riddle Rooms
Similar to Hero of Dungeon, Riddle Rooms is an interactive story that lets you choose. A hybrid of puzzle escape rooms and verbal RPGs, Riddle Room’s story plays out with you choosing which rooms to enter. Once inside, you then have to solve a riddle to escape and move on to the next room. To play this game, tell Google Assistant to “Tell me a riddle,” and it’ll bring up the game with its catchy opening music.
Hidden Google Games on Google Doodle
Over the years, Google has made tons of themed Google Doodles for special holidays and events like the Tokyo Olympics and the 151st anniversary of Wilbur Scoville’s birthday. While most Google Doodles are just that, doodles, some of them are interactive games. Although not necessarily a hidden Google game, they are slightly hard to find after Google changes their logo back to the usual one.
1. Doodle Champion Island Games
A Google Doodle was created to celebrate the Tokyo Olympics for 2020. This doodle was actually released in July 2021. The delay was due to the postponement of the Olympics from 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Doodle Champion Island Games is a collaboration between Google and Tokyo animation studio STUDIO4°C. The result of this collaboration is a cute little JRPG commemorating Japanese culture and the Olympics.
This game has seven sporty mini-games, tons of side-quests, a worldwide leader board, and fancy “anime-style” animations as well. Out of all hidden Google games, Doodle Champion Island Games is probably the best produced and made.
Play Doodle Champion Island Games
2. Pac-Man
Google outdid itself in 2010 when it made a copy of the good old Pac-Man game as a Google Doodle to celebrate the game’s 30th release anniversary. Starting the game by “Inserting a Coin,” you can relieve the feeling of playing the original game, complete with the classic “waka waka waka” sound Pac-Man has since been known for.
While you can go to the Google Doodle Archive to play this doodle, you could just as easily type “Pacman” into Google Search and click play on the Google Doodle prompt.
3. Scoville Game
The Scoville Game is a Google Doodle made to celebrate Wilbur Scoville’s 151st birthday anniversary. This hidden Google game teaches you a little bit about Scoville’s work. Scoville is the creator of the Scoville Scale, a rating guide to measure the heat or spiciness of chili peppers using Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Due to that, this game revolves around chili peppers and spiciness.
Your goal in this game is to freeze and subdue chili peppers as a three-scoop ice cream cone. You have three chances to fully deplete the health of different peppers. Their health depends on how much SHU they have.
4. Halloween (2016)
Although Google releases a new Google Doodle for Halloween each year, their doodle for 2016 was quite fun. For this game, you play as the freshman magic cat Momo to rescue her magic school. Using her wand, you banish evil spirits and monsters by drawing the symbols above their heads.
5. Cricket
A game created to celebrate the International Cricket Council’s 2017 World Cup, this game’s name is, quite amusingly, a double pun. In this game, you play cricket as a team of crickets batting off against a team filled with snails. Although this Cricket Google Doodle only showcases when cricketers are at the bat, it is a good introduction for people who don’t know much about the game.
6. Garden Gnome
We know those garden gnomes are a weird thing to celebrate, but this 2018 Google Doodle is actually in celebration of the German holiday of Garden Day. In this holiday, “gartenzwerg,” or garden gnomes, play a big role in German gardens and lawns. While starting this game, you get treated to a small history of garden gnomes in Thuringia before you actually start playing. Playing Garden Gnome works pretty easily as all you have to do is use the trebuchet and not a catapult, as the description happily pointed out, and fling your garden gnome as far as you can.
7. Basketball
Google’s doodle on August 8, 2012, saw one of the world’s favorite sports, Basketball. This Google Doodle is a simple game where you throw as many lay-ups and free throws into the hoop as much as you can in 24 seconds. Basketball is just one of the doodles Google released for that week. Google also released similar games for other sports like hurdles, slalom canoes, and soccer. They released these game doodles in commemoration of the then ongoing 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
8. Baseball
A game released not just in commemoration of not just America’s past time, but the Fourth of July in 2019, the baseball Google Doodle is made to feel like your backyard BBQ ball game, complete with snacks and drinks. When you play this game through the Google Doodle Archive, you might also want to take a look at the cool “baseball cards” they have in the description. Who wouldn’t want a card of great batters H-dog or the “Sluggin” Sirloin?
9. Coding Rabbit
A game made to commemorate 50 years of kid’s coding through Computer Science Education Week in 2017, this Google Doodle was created by three teams. The Google Doodle and Blockly teams, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Scratch team. This game is basically made to teach some basic computer programming logic to kids through an interactive game. Although pretty simple for adults, it is a good game to let your kids play with.
10. Theremin
The last hidden Google game on this list is actually more of a tutorial on how to use a musical instrument, the theremin to be exact. This Theremin Google Doodle was made to celebrate the 105th anniversary of Clara Rockmore’s birthday. Rockmore was instrumental in creating Leon Theremin’s instrument to what it is today. Although she was a classical violinist, she helped make the instrument more responsive and have a better range of notes. In this Google Doodle, “Rockmore” helps train you on how to play notes on the theremin.
Other Games and the Google Doodle Archive
And there you go, a solid 25 list of hidden Google games to play either on Google Chrome or through your voice-activated Google Assistant. Whenever you visit the Google homepage and want to play other Google Doodles that aren’t on this list, you should head on over to the Google Doodle Archive and comb through the list for the game. While these games are quite fun to play, they, of course, won’t be as good or as amusing as a full-fledged smartphone game.
If you’re interested in full smartphone games, take a look at our list of the best mobile games. If you’re into RPGs, we have a list of the best RPGs for mobile as well as another list specifically for the best dungeon crawler games for mobile!
