For those who don’t know, Doodles are temporary changes—in the form of a drawing, animated art or an interactive game—made to the Google logo on the search engine’s home page.
The best Google Doodle games are the ones that are fun, easy to play and high on nostalgia.
They’re are different from Google Easter Eggs that occasionally appear in the Google search results page, triggered by a particular word or phrase you’re looking for.
From simple offerings like Pac-Man to amusing games celebrating milestones like the Pony Express, here are some of the best Doodle games made by Google that you can still play in your browser.
1. Pac-Man
This simple Google Doodle game features a custom maze filled with iconic pellets, fruits, and cherries, which players must collect to rack up points.
As you guide your legendary yellow character through the labyrinth, keep a watchful eye on the four infamous ghosts—Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde.
Each ghost has a unique personality and employs different tactics to pursue Pac-Man. Power pellets, strategically placed within the maze, provide temporary respite, allowing you to chase down and consume ghosts for a limited time, thus earning bonus points.
2. Fischinger
In this interactive musical experience, you can create your very own visual symphony by clicking on various spots on a grid, each representing a different sound.
As the play head moves across the grid, every spot you selected is played aloud, breathing life into your composition.
The harmonious tones are matched with vibrant animations. The Fischinger game encourages experimentation and creativity, allowing players to test out a vast array of sound combinations, rhythms, and visual effects to create their very own tune.
3. Scoville
Scoville was an American chemist and professor of pharmacology who created the Scoville scale for measuring the heat of chili peppers.
An entertaining Google Doodle game that paid homage to him on his 151th birthday was released on 16th January, 2016.
In this game, you’ll help Scoville defend himself against an onslaught of fiery peppers. Your job is to accurately throw ice cream at them and send them back where they came from.
You will have to time yourself correctly and use your quick reflexes to conquer increasingly spicy challenges as you learn fun trivia about the Scoville scale and different types of peppers.
4. Pony Express
This game offers a fun and engaging experience for players of all ages. In it, players assume the role of a Pony Express horse rider striving to collect mail across challenging terrains.
Players have to control their horse’s movements while gathering envelopes along the way. There are many obstacles including rocks, cacti, bandits, and snowfall, to evade as you go.
Successfully reaching the finish line to deliver mail is the end goal, of course.
The game features side-scrolling action and simple controls (the keyboard arrow keys), making it easy to pick up and play on the go.
5. Boba Game
If you had clicked on the Google’s logo on the home page on said day, you would have seen a fox in a chef’s hat, making bubble tea.
To play, you have to simply tap and hold to fill up the ingredients in the glass to the correct level.
Each boba order can contain two or more ingredients. Every drink you make gets a star rating based on whether you managed to toss in the correct amount of ingredients or not.
It’s not meant to be an exciting game, but a pleasant distraction for folks who prefer to play Google Doodle games while taking a break from work.
6. Eiji Tsuburaya
In commemoration of Tsuburaya’s 114th birthday, Google released a special animation consisting of a set of mini games that captures the chaotic process of Tokusatsu.
The latter is the Japanese word for live action content that is heavy on practical special effects.
Tsuburaya is widely known as the king of Tokusatsu. This game dedicated to him gives you a taste of the fun and excitement of creating a live action kaiju movie.
7. Rubik’s Cube
Featuring the same vibrant colors as the actual cube and a 3D interface, this fun game stays faithful to the original Rubik’s cube. You have to move around each section of tiles by clicking on it.
Tabs are kept on your score so that you can spend hours trying to beat your previous score, never mind that the Rubik’s Cube is a complex puzzle with 43 quintillion possible configurations.
Test your cognitive skills, pattern recognition, and patience in your free time as you attempt to solve the cube in as few moves as possible.
8. Halloween 2016
As Momo the cat, you must cast spells to defeat the ghosts invading your academy. To do this, use your mouse to draw symbols on the screen match the symbols above the ghosts.
There are five levels to play. As the game advances, the ghosts become quicker and present more complicated combinations of symbols to challenge your speed and accuracy.
9. Snake
As you control a growing snake, navigate the grid to consume food while avoiding collisions with yourself and the screen edges.
Each time the snake consumes food, it grows longer, increasing the difficulty and requiring heightened focus and reflexes. But you already know that, of course.
This fun game features vibrant colors, fluid controls, and an appealing pixel art aesthetic.
10. Cricket
This lighthearted and accessible take on the “gentleman’s sport” has you in control a team of crickets (yes, your cricketers are actual crickets) as they bat against a squad of determined snails.
The simplified gameplay allows players to focus on timing their shots, hitting the ball to various areas of the field to score runs, and avoiding getting caught by the snails.
As you rack up points, the snails’ fielding and bowling become more challenging, pushing you to sweat it out for a higher score.
11. Doodle Champion Island Games
In this beautifully animated, you’ll assume the role of Lucky, a calico cat, and compete against other champions in a series of sporting challenges inspired by Olympic events.
Lucky must defeat the island’s seven top champions of various sports including table tennis, rugby and climbing in order to restore balance to the land.
The graphics and supporting characters lend this doodle a very “Stardew Valley” feel. Apart from competing in the various sports there are side quests (like finding the golden arrow) to finish and NPCs to interact with.
Play Doodle Champion Island Games
12. Garden Gnomes
The aim is to cover as much ground as possible. As you progress, you’ll unlock various gnome designs with unique abilities that affect their flight trajectory and distance.
Featuring a beautiful art style and lively soundtrack, the game also includes tidbits of information about the history and tradition of garden gnomes.
13. Doctor Who
You take on the role of one of the eleven Doctors as you navigate through 6 levels of obstacle courses teeming with hostile alien races like the Daleks and Cybermen.
Collect one letter spelling out “Google” on each level of this engaging game which flaunts pixel art graphics and a retro-inspired soundtrack.
14. LoterÃa
Like bingo, LoterÃa is a traditional Mexican card game of chance, where players match illustrated cards to corresponding images on their game boards.
You can wait for a random match or share a link with a friend who also wants to play it.
Based on the bean pattern displayed at the beginning of each rough, you’ll have rely on your speed, luck and strategic card placement to secure victory.
15. Coding for Carrots
In it, the player arranges blocks of code (each block in the form of a colorful card) to move a cute rabbit around and collect carrots.
Using drag-and-drop blocks, they can guide the rabbit through increasingly complex mazes, teaching fundamental coding concepts such as loops and conditionals along the way.
16. Earth Day 2020
The game has you joining forces with a honeybee as it embarks on a journey to pollinate flowers and collect nectar.
Along the way, you’ll have to navigate through mazes and avoid tricky obstacles, while learning about the crucial role of bees in our ecosystem.
17. Clara Rockmore
In this music themed game, you’ll learn to play the theremin, a unique electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact.
Guided by Clara Rockmore herself, you’ll follow a series of on-screen prompts to perform melodies by moving your cursor through the air, mimicking the distinctive technique needed to play the instrument.
18. Basketball 2012
In it, you control a basketball player aiming to score as many points as possible within a limited time frame.
The key to success lies in mastering the art of shooting by accurately timing your shots and adjusting your aim to account for distance and angle.
19. Slalom Canoe
You have to play as a canoeist racing through a treacherous slalom course, steering clear of obstacles and passing through gates to achieve the best time possible.
Slalom Canoe tests your reflexes, timing, and determination as you have fun paddling through the rapids.
20. Pangolin Love
You’ll use the space bar and arrow keys to move a pangolin as it dodges various obstacles and collects love-themed items.
It’s all in pursuit of the pangolin reuniting with its mate, in this charming side-scrolling adventure.
21. Hip Hop
Featuring a virtual turntable and a collection of classic hip-hop tracks, you’ll mix, scratch, and blend your way to musical greatness, all while learning about the genre’s history and impact on modern culture.
22. Crossword Puzzle
It’s a great way to pass the time while also trying to jog your memory and test your mental reflexes. The concept is simple—try to guess the word across or down by using the clues given to you.
There’s no time limit. You can mull over the prompts for as long as you want, and even share the results on social media, once you’re done.
23. Halloween 2022
The latter was Google’s first ever multiplayer interactive game. In it, two teams of four have to herd wandering spirit flames back to their home base.
There are several maps to explore, new abilities to unlock and opposing players to sabotage as you help your team to gather the most spirit flames to win.
#Quick, Draw!
You are given a drawing prompt and the AI has to guess what you’re scribbling within 20 seconds.
It’s a lot of fun to try and trip up the AI by drawing the worst possible version of the object you’re supposed to sketch.
What’s the point of this machine learning exercise, you might ask?
When you play it, you’re adding to the data set that helps developers train any new neural network.
FAQs
Q. What is a Google Doodle game?
A. A Google Doodle game is an interactive illustration or animation featured on Google’s homepage.
They are designed to celebrate special events, holidays, historic human achievements or the lives and contributions of important people.
These games often involve engaging gameplay and educational content related to the theme of the Doodle.
Q. Are Google Doodle games free to play?
A. Yes, they are completely free to play and don’t have to be downloaded onto your device.
There is no need to sign up, create an account, or provide any personal information to enjoy these games.
Q. What is the best playable Google Doodle?
A. Determining the “best” playable Google Doodle is subjective, as it depends on individual preferences, interests, and gaming styles.
However, one well-received and popular Google Doodle games is the Doodle Champion Island Games, released to celebrate the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
This immersive game combines sports, action, and adventure, featuring an on-topic storyline, eye-catching visuals, and engaging gameplay that appeals to a wide range of players.
Explore the Google Doodle Archive to discover the variety of games available and find the one that resonates most with you.
Q. Do I need to download Google Doodle games?
A. No, you don’t need to download Google Doodles to play them.
All the games are browser-based and can be played directly on the Google homepage or accessed through the Google archives.
Q. Where can I find the latest Google Doodle Games?
A. You can find the latest Google Doodles that are playable directly on Google’s homepage on any day that there’s an active Doodle.
If you want to explore the best Google Doodle games of all time, you can visit the Google Doodles Archive.
The archive allows you to browse through all the past Doodles and play any of the available games.
Simply click on a Doodle to start playing the game in your web browser.