Free online games

Quick games for a break

These are classic games for a coffee break, a long commute or a rainy afternoon with the kids. Some are played alone, like solitaire, minesweeper, snake or sudoku. Others pit you against an opponent, such as tic tac toe, checkers, chess or battleships, and a few liven up a party, like truth or dare.

The family also includes short tests that quickly turn into a challenge between friends or coworkers: measure your reaction time, count your clicks per second or check your typing speed, then try to beat the best score in the room.

Where to start

• Sudoku: play a grid on screen, print it for later or have a grid solved.
• Minesweeper: clear the board without stepping on a mine.
• Solitaire: the Klondike version most people learned on their first computer.
• Chess: a full game with the standard rules.
• Typing test: measures how fast you type.
• Word search maker and crossword maker: build puzzles from your own word list, handy for a classroom, then print them.
• Score keeper: tracks points during board games and card nights.

Teachers often combine the puzzle makers with the memory game or hangman for a vocabulary lesson that feels like a game.