Some of the best games on the internet do not need a console, an app store or a download. You open a tab, and you are playing. No install, no update, and nothing left on your phone afterwards.
These are free browser games that are genuinely good, not ad-stuffed copies. Most work on a phone too. A few have optional extras, but every one is free to play right now.
Think and solve
1. Lichess
Lichess is chess the way it should be: completely free, no ads, no account needed. Play a stranger in seconds, play the computer, or work through puzzles. It is run as a nonprofit and it shows.
2. Wordle
One five-letter word a day, six guesses. Wordle still takes two minutes and still ruins group chats every morning.
3. The Password Game
Neal Agarwal's Password Game starts with a simple rule and then gets wonderfully, ridiculously out of hand. While you are there, the rest of neal.fun is one of the best rabbit holes on the web.
4. 2048
Slide tiles, merge numbers, reach 2048. 2048 is easy to learn, hard to put down, and works perfectly with a thumb.
Lose an evening
5. Universal Paperclips
You are an AI and your job is to make paperclips. That is all you know at the start. Universal Paperclips is a clicker game that turns into something much bigger, and much stranger, than it looks.
6. A Dark Room
A Dark Room begins with a cold room and a fire to light. It is almost all text, and it is one of the most quietly gripping games you can play in a browser.
7. Little Alchemy 2
Start with air, earth, fire and water, and combine them until you have made a dinosaur, the internet and a unicorn. Little Alchemy 2 is relaxing, clever and good for all ages.
Play with other people
8. Skribbl.io
One person draws, everyone else guesses. Skribbl.io is the perfect game for a group call: make a private room and send friends the link.
9. Gartic Phone
The telephone game with drawings. Everyone writes a sentence, the next person draws it, the next person describes the drawing. Gartic Phone always ends in chaos, which is the point.
10. Slither.io
Be a snake, eat glowing dots, and make bigger snakes crash into you. Slither.io is simple, fast and dangerously easy to restart.
11. Krunker
Want something fast? Krunker is a quick, blocky first-person shooter that runs right in the browser, even on modest laptops.
Something creative
12. Quick, Draw!
You get 20 seconds to doodle a word, and a neural network tries to guess what it is. Quick, Draw! is silly, quick and oddly satisfying when it guesses your terrible cat.
13. GeoGuessr
You are dropped somewhere on Street View. Where are you? GeoGuessr turns the whole world into a puzzle. It now needs an account and the free version is limited, but even a few rounds a day are worth it.
Want more?
New browser games turn up on NexURLs every week, shared by people who could not stop playing them. Browse Fun and Games, check fun websites for when you are bored, or just press Next and see what comes up.
Made a browser game yourself? Share it on NexURLs and let people play it.
Featured on NexURLs
Sites from NexURLs that go with this post.
itch.io Web Gamesitch.ioA dedicated section of itch.io listing games that run directly in web browsers and accepting web-game uploads.
Pokipoki.comA large, well-curated site for playing free browser games instantly across devices without downloads.
Armor Gamesarmorgames.comA long-standing collection of free browser games, including indie classics and new web releases.