The 10 best hidden Google Games that you can play in your browser

Google is known for a lot of things: search, advertisement, AI, Android, security and more. The company dabbled in gaming as well, but its Stadia project did not meet Google’s high expectations.

What many Google users do not know is that the company releases games regularly. These games are often smaller in size and less obvious to find and play. Some of these games were released for a special occasion, often as a doodle on Google’s main search page. Others were published as Easter eggs in various Google products.

This guide lists ten of the best Google games that you may play in any modern web browser. It is an updated version of last year’s list, which you may still access here.

Pac-Man

Pac-Man is an arcade classic. The game has not lost any of its appeal since its first release in 1980. The player’s task in the game is to munch all yellow dots in a level before four colored ghosts catch Pac-Man. Power-pellets, found in the corners of each level, give Pac-Man additional ghost-eating powers for a brief moment.

Do the following to play Pac-Man in your browser:

1. Open the Google Search website.
2. Search for pacman.
3. Click on the Play button on the search results page.

The game launches in an overlay in the browser window.

Champion Island Games Begin!

Most Google Doodle games are tiny games without impressive artwork or visuals. Champion Island Games Begin! is an exception to the rule. Released on July 23, 2021, it featured an impressive-looking intro and cutscenes throughout the game.

The game looks like a retro-style RPG 2D RPG game, but it is a sports game with roleplaying elements. You compete in a tournament and various disciplines, including skateboarding and table tennis. Join a team, complete quests and enjoy the excellent cutscenes.

Celebrating Bubble Tea

This is one of the latest doodle games that Google released. Celebrating Bubble Tea is another well-designed games. While not as rich as Champion Island Games Begin, it, as the name suggests, tasks you with the creation of Bubble Tea for customers that visit your store.

It is a rather simple game in which you need to please customers by making sure that the ratio of ingredients is exactly as requested.

Let’s play Pétanque

Pétanque is a boules-type game in which individual players or teams try to get their balls as close to the target ball as possible. The team whose ball is closest to the target ball wins the round after all balls have been thrown.

Fourth of July

Fourth of July was released on the fourth of July 2019. The doodle is all about baseball, but with food and drinks instead of known baseball players. Can you hit a homerun with the Hotdog character?

Tic Tac Toe

Another classic game. This one can be played directly on Google’s homepage. Just run a search for tic tac toe on Google Search and you should get the game as the first result.

You play against a computer opponent and may select to play either X or O in the game. The objective of the game is to place three Xs or Os horizontally, vertically or diagonally on the 3×3 game board.

Text Adventure

This text adventure is one of the best hidden game gems. It requires Google Chrome and quite some detective work to get started.

First thing you need to do is type text adventure in Google Search and wait for the results to load. Once done, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-I to open the browser’s Developer Tools. Switch to Console there, if not selected already, and type yes. Typing yes starts the adventure game directly in the console.

Birth of Hip Hop

The 44th anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop was celebrated by Google with an Hop Hop game. It is a music game. You pick records from a stash and play them on turntables. Quests tasks you with certain objectives, such as scratching a record or playing a number of records from the record crate.

Solitaire

Solitaire is probably the most-played game in Offices throughout the world. You can play a game of Solitaire directly on Google by searching for solitaire on Google Search.

Activate the play button afterwards, pick between easy and hard difficulty, and

Pony Express

The game was released to celebrate the 155th anniversary of the Pony Express. Ride your horse through a series of levels, avoid obstacles and pick up as many envelopes as you can along the way.

Closing Words

These games keep you entertained for a short while, some even for a long while. If you know of a game that we missed, let us know in the comments below. As a bonus tip, you may also check out EmuOS to play games directly in your browser.