10 fun and useful Google search Easter eggs you should try right now

Sometimes I simply forget how fun the hidden Easter eggs are in Google search result pages. My favorite memory of one of these happened with the release of Avengers: End Game and Thanos’ gauntlet. To this day, I remember that interaction with Joe like it was yesterday.

We all still worked for the PR company that preceded our full-time Chrome Unboxed venture and a whole group of us took the afternoon off to go watch the final movie in the Avengers cinematic plot line. That morning, I saw the Google Easter egg that appeared when you searched for Thanos (it made half of your search results go up in dust, but it is sadly gone now) and as we were grabbing food before heading to the theater, I excitedly told Joe all about it.

The look of confusion on his face was clear, and it was at this moment that I realized Joe had not watched any of the Marvel movies that came before Avengers: End Game, and I was blown away. Explaining the fact that Thanos had snapped and turned 50% of life forms into dust, Joe began to understand the fun Easter egg. From there, we went to the movies where he was largely confused and I was moved to tears a couple of times in the 3-hour runtime of one of the best superhero movies ever made.

I tell that story to highlight the fun that can be had with Google Easter eggs. There are some that are very timely and some that are just interesting, but they are all fun. Knowing these little hidden tricks won’t always make you more productive or give you super-powers, but they are fun things to know and show people from time to time simply just for the sake of doing it. So let’s unpack some of my favorites I think you should try out.

Pac-Man

There are quite a few of these Easter eggs that have stood the test of time, and one of those is Pac-Man in your Google search. Simply search for ‘Pac-Man’ and you’ll see a top result that allows you to play the Pac-Man Google Doodle right away. The board is obviously not your classic Pac-Man layout, but the game play is right on par and is fun as ever.

Friends Characters

This one is fun and technically contains six hidden gems. Using the full names of the characters in Friends, you can get a quick character-specific animation based on a quirk with each. Ross’ pivot, Joey’s love for food, Monica’s cleaning habits: you get it. Try searching all six!

• Joey Tribbiani
• Monica Geller
• Ross Geller
• Rachel Green
• Chandler Bing
• Phoebe Buffay

Solitaire

Another fun, time-wasting game you can play with just a search is the time-honored favorite, Solitaire. Simply search “Solitaire” and click the play button to jump into a game. Easy mode is a one-card flip and hard mode goes to the more-standard 3-card draw. The rest is as simple as you remember, and at your fingertips at all times, too.

Flip a Coin

Ever need to decide something with a simple heads-or-tails result and don’t have a coin on-hand? Google has you all taken care of if you just search “flip a coin.” It’s simple, effective, and useful if you need it!

Super Mario Brothers

While it would be awesome if you could play a bit of Super Mario Bros. in your browser via Google search, that’s not exactly what this one does. Searching “Super Mario Brothers” simply gives you a fun coin block in your rich search results, allowing you to click or tap it to your heart’s content and hear that iconic Mario coin sound.

Tic-Tac-Toe

There are few games more classic than Tic-Tac-Toe. Like Solitaire, this quick game is available with a simple “Tic-Tac-Toe” search. You’ll have the option to play an easy, medium or ‘impossible’ opponent, or simply play a friend.

Fidget or Wheel Spinner

Sometimes you just need something to do with your hands. Fidget spinners may not be the rage they once were, but they are still fun to fiddle with for sure. If you feel the urge to do so and don’t have a fidget spinner around, just search “fidget spinner” and you can virtually spin one on the screen. There’s also a drop-down to allow you to spin a 6-section wheel for those times you need a random selection.

Roll a Die

Again, many games need the roll of a die and you may or may not have one available. Have no fear as a simple search for “roll dice” gives you a massive selection of dice with all sorts of side selections. Pick your die and click the roll button and you’ll have your digital dice rolled. Easy.

Barrel Roll and Askew

Though these types of Easter eggs have been in Google for a very long time, they are still fun to know. Simply search for “do a barrel roll” and your results page will do just that. Search “askew” and your results page will come in a bit sideways: not enough to be unusable, but not quite straight up and down, either.

Cha-Cha Slide

Finally, one of my favorite and most-fun Easter eggs comes in the form of the Cha-Cha Slide. The song that has become a staple at any dance, celebration, party or wedding is deeply embedded in Google search, too, allowing you to make your search results page do all the parts of the Cha-Cha Slide at your bidding. It’s really fun!

That’s all for this list, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more of these fun, hidden talents for Google’s search pages to be found. Google adds more all the time, and there are some on this list that one day won’t be around any longer. I hope you try all of these out and have a bit of fun with it all. And hopefully, the next time you need to roll the dice or flip a coin, Google can help you out a bit with that sort of simple task, too.