Bored right now? 12 quick games you understand in ten seconds
The best game for boredom is one you understand before the first round is over. The 12 games below were picked for exactly that, and they are split into four moods, because boredom comes in flavours. Sometimes you want to smash something, sometimes you want to switch your brain off, and sometimes you want to beat a number. Find the mood that fits, pick one of its three games and go.
How these 12 games were chosen
Every game had to pass three tests. First, the whole goal fits in one sentence: land the bottle upright, avoid the red, eat the smaller fish. Second, you can play it with one hand or one key, so a mouse, a finger or the space bar is enough. Third, losing sends you straight into the next round instead of a long reload. All twelve are single-player, and eleven of them also work on a phone. The exception is Punch The Wall, which only uses the space bar, so keep that one for when you are at a computer.
Everything runs in the browser with nothing to install. If a game feels unresponsive to taps or the screen keeps rotating, the settings in playing browser games on a phone or tablet usually sort it out.
When you want to let off steam
After a rough day, games that ask you to hit, squash and knock things over feel better than anything that needs thinking. In these three, every action gets a loud, instant result on screen.
Punch The Wall
Punch The Wall is a pure one-button game. Your character sprints at a wall and you press space to swing. Hit at the right moment and the wall shatters so the run continues; press too early and the punch whiffs, too late and you run face first into the bricks. The walls get thicker as you go. It needs a keyboard, so it is computer only.
Ant Destroyer 2
Ant Destroyer 2 is a reflex game about tapping black ants as they march in from the edge of the screen. Every ant that escapes costs you points, and the red ones are traps you must not touch. There are seven modes: some ask for as many ants as possible in a fixed time, others keep speeding up.
Cat Chaos Simulator
Cat Chaos Simulator puts you in the paws of a badly behaved cat. You roam scenes like a house and a park, jump onto tables, shelves and coffee tables, and knock over whatever is there: every cup and book that falls adds to your chaos score. Click to steer the cat and drag the mouse to turn the camera. Start on the high shelves, because falling objects take out the ones below and the score snowballs.
When you want to switch off
Sometimes boredom is really tiredness, and you do not want to win or lose anything. These games keep your hand busy and leave your head free, with repetitive, rhythmic movements.
Pop it Infinity
The calmest game on the list is Pop it Infinity. Pop it boards arrive in different shapes and you press every bubble, either by clicking or by dragging your finger across them. Clear a board and the next one appears. There is no timer and no way to lose, so you can stop whenever you like.
Fruit Samurai
Fruit Samurai is a stripped-back take on the classic fruit slicing idea. Watermelons, apples and bananas fly up and you cut them by holding the mouse and swiping, or by dragging a finger on a phone; slicing several in one stroke makes a combo. Fruit that hits the ground costs you a life, and touching the bomb-like objects ends the round.
HelixJump.io
In HelixJump.io a bouncing ball drops down a spiral tower, floor by floor. You rotate the tower with A and D or the arrow keys, with the mouse, or by swiping sideways on a phone, lining up the gap under the ball. Touch a red platform and the level restarts. Clear several floors in a row without stopping and the ball catches fire, burning straight through the red sections.
When you want to beat your own record
You are bored, but also a little competitive. These three games are built around mastering one move: getting the power right. Each attempt can be slightly better than the last, and that small progress chases boredom away fast. For a wider mix of timing and aim games, see the skill games guide.
Flip Bottle
Flip Bottle is the bottle flip challenge turned into a timing game. How long you hold sets the throwing power; let go and the bottle spins through the air and has to land upright on the next platform. Too little power and it falls short, too much and it tumbles onto its side. Each clean landing pushes the next platform a little further away, and consecutive hits give a streak bonus.
Hoop Stars
Hoop Stars flips basketball around: you do not throw the ball, you fly with it into the hoop. Hold, pull back and release to launch; pull distance sets the power and the angle sets the direction. The hoop moves after every dunk and some hoops slide around. One miss resets the streak and ends the round, so every jump matters.
Mr BounceMaster
Mr BounceMaster is a classic distance game with a penguin. Your first click is the launch, the second gives an extra push in mid-air, and a well-timed click as the penguin nears the ground makes it bounce on without losing speed. After each run you spend gold and diamonds on launch power and bounce upgrades.
When you want to grow something
Starting tiny and ending up filling the screen has its own appeal. In these games you gain something every second: length, size or a bigger crowd. The first two are io-style arena games; if you are new to the genre, what io games are is a short primer.
Inky Snakes
Inky Snakes is a snake arena with a paper look. Your snake follows the cursor or your finger and grows as it collects glowing food. If your head touches another snake's body you are out; if another snake crashes into yours, it is out and you collect what it drops. Left click gives a boost, but it costs length, so save it for the moment you cut someone off.
Shark io
Shark io runs on the oldest rule in the sea: big fish eat small fish. You start as a tiny fish, steer with the mouse or a finger and swallow anything smaller than you. As you grow, yesterday's threats become today's snacks. Swim too close to something bigger and the round is over, so the smart start is to stay away from busy areas and build size with safe bites.
Crowd runner 3D
Crowd runner 3D starts you as a single runner who picks up teammates along the track. Hold and drag with the mouse or a finger to steer the crowd left and right, go through gates with big numbers and avoid the ones that take runners away. When you meet the rival crowd, the bigger group wins. A multiplier gate beats an addition gate, so if both sit side by side, take the multiplier.
Which one should you start with
If you do not want to think at all, start with Pop it Infinity; with no way to lose, it has the lowest bar of the lot. If you want to break things, go for Punch The Wall at a computer or Ant Destroyer 2 on your phone. Got five minutes and want to test yourself? Flip Bottle takes a round or two to learn and much longer to master. On a longer break, try Shark io or Inky Snakes, since rounds get longer the bigger you grow. You will find more quick games like these in the arcade games section.
Frequently asked questions
Do these boredom games work on a phone?
Eleven of the twelve games here have touch controls and play on a phone. Only Punch The Wall needs a computer, because it uses the space bar.
Do I need to download anything?
No. They all open in the browser; just load the page and click or tap the game area.
Can I play with a friend?
All of these are single-player. You can take turns on the same screen and compare scores, though. Flip Bottle and Mr BounceMaster suit that kind of contest well, since the result is a single number.