Games for boredom: beat a stranger in 30 seconds
Twelve quick, free games for boredom, each about 30 seconds long. Every game is held by whoever has the best run this hour. You play the run of the person just above you, and try to take their place.
How to play
- Play against a run someone else made earlier. Their score is the one to beat.
- Beat it and you climb one place. Tap Next for a different game, or Again for the next person up.
- Reach the top and your name goes on the cabinet until somebody beats you.
How the score works
Each game has a new course every hour, the same for everybody, so nobody can sit on an old score. Only your best run of the hour counts. Where there are not enough players yet, you play a house player, and it is always marked House.
Twelve free online games for boredom
Each of these browser games takes about half a minute, plays on a phone or a computer, and has a new course every hour.
- Stop the dial: stop the needle on the gold
- Stack: build the taller tower
- Sort: circles left, squares right
- Cast: land the lure on the mark
- Dodge: fly the cave
- Run: jump the hurdles
Why a stranger beats boredom better than a high score
A score on its own means little. A real person who is just ahead of you, on the same course, means a good deal. That is the whole idea of this site: one quick game, one person to beat, and your name on the cabinet if you get to the top.
There is nothing to install and no account to make, so it works as a boredom cure in the place boredom usually turns up: on a phone, in a queue, with half a minute to spare.
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Questions
Do I need to download anything?
No. It plays in your browser, on a phone or a computer, and there is nothing to install or sign up for before your first game.
Am I playing a real person?
You play against a run a real player made earlier. Where there are not enough yet you play a house player, and it is marked House.
Does it cost anything to play?
No. Every game is free to play.
What are the best games for boredom?
The ones that start at once, end quickly and give you someone to beat. Stop the dial is the fastest to learn, Sort is the sharpest and Cast is the calmest. Our guide goes through all twelve.
Can I play games for boredom at school or at work?
They run in a web browser with nothing to install. Sound starts on, and the speaker button in a game turns it off. Whether you should is between you and whoever is in charge.
How long does a game take?
About half a minute. You can try again as often as you like, and only your best run of the hour counts.