Games Like Agar.io: Eat-and-Grow Games to Play Online
Updated
Games like agar.io are eat-and-grow games: you start small, swallow anything smaller than you, and run from anything bigger. Agar.io is a 2015 multiplayer browser game by the Brazilian developer Matheus Valadares, in which you grow a cell in a Petri dish. Below are original games by independent studios built on the same rule, with cells, fish and black holes, and some that two or three people can play on one keyboard.
How agar.io works
Wikipedia's article on agar.io sums up the rules:
- You grow by eating small pellets and any cell smaller than yours, and you avoid bigger cells, which can eat you.
- The more mass you have, the slower you move, and cells slowly lose mass over time.
- Press Space to split your cell in two and shoot one half toward the cursor, to catch a smaller cell or to escape. You can have up to 16 cells at once.
- Green, spiky viruses split a big cell that runs into them, while a small cell can hide underneath.
- When all your cells are eaten, you start again from a small cell.
The label ".io games" comes from agar.io, and the rule at its heart works with almost any creature:
| Agar.io rule | Where you find it below |
|---|---|
| Eat what is smaller, flee what is bigger | Dots.io, Hungry Fish Saga, Fish Frenzy Eat Some Fish |
| Growing opens up bigger prey | Holecraft.io, Fish Grow Eating Fish |
| Rivals grow too | Boom Cell, Black Hole io 3D Game |
| Play against people you know | Eat other fish, Hungry Fish Saga, Hole Upper For 2 Players |
Cells and blobs
- Dots.io is the agar.io idea at its plainest. You begin as a small gray dot, eat smaller dots, and stay clear of bigger ones. Hold and slide to move, with a mouse or a finger.
- Boom Cell grows you from a single cell into a cell brigade. You battle other cell armies, and larger groups overpower you, so pick your fights. Play with the left mouse button or WASD.
- Blob Merge adds a color rule. You grow by merging with slimes of your own color, and once you have collected them all, your color changes and a new hunt begins. Absorb a slime of the wrong color and you lose one of your collected slimes; lose them all and the game is over. Move with WASD or the arrow keys, or tap, hold and drag on a phone.
Fish eat fish
In fish games the eat-or-be-eaten rule needs no explaining: small fish are food, big fish are danger.
- Hungry Fish Saga puts a number on every fish. You can eat any fish with a smaller number than yours; try one with a higher number and you die and start again. Up to three people can play on one computer: WASD, the arrow keys and the mouse.
- Fish Frenzy Eat Some Fish makes you a goldfish. Steer with the mouse and you eat nearby smaller fish automatically. It has 5 levels, plus bonus levels you earn along the way.
- My Hungry Fish Game starts you as a small fish in a sea of prey and predators. Eat smaller fish to grow and stay away from stronger ones.
- Fish Grow Eating Fish starts you as a small angelfish and asks for patience: grow by eating smaller fish until you can take on bigger ones. Swim with WASD and attack with Space.
Black holes that swallow the map
Here you are a hole in the ground. Anything that fits through it falls in, and every swallow makes the hole wider.
- Black Hole io 3D Game is a battle to be the biggest hole in town. Swallow buildings, cars and even opponents before time runs out. Hold the left mouse button and drag to move.
- Holecraft.io fills the map with blocks and structures. As you grow, bigger blocks become available, and you race the clock to become the biggest hole on the map.
- Super Slime Black Hole makes you a slime that absorbs anything smaller than itself. Click and slide to move.
Eat and grow with friends on one keyboard
Agar.io is played against strangers online. These put your rivals next to you instead.
- Eat other fish is made for three players: one on the arrow keys, one on WASD and one on the mouse or touch. You play a piranha that must eat smaller fish and avoid bigger ones.
- Fish Eat Grow Mega has a 2 player mode. Player one moves with WASD and boosts with C; player two uses the arrow keys and boosts with L.
- Hole Upper For 2 Players is a split-screen race between two holes. Swallow colorful blocks and out-eat your opponent before the timer hits zero, with WASD against the arrow keys.
More games for two people sharing one screen are in 2 player games, and 2 player games on one keyboard has tips for splitting the keys.
Agar.io habits that carry over
- Eat the small stuff first. Pellets and tiny prey are safe mass while you are still small.
- Size up before you bite. Hungry Fish Saga shows numbers; elsewhere, if you are not sure who is bigger, assume it is them.
- Splitting is a gamble. In agar.io, half your mass flies forward to catch prey, but each half is now easier to eat.
- Use cover. In agar.io, a small cell can hide under a virus that a big cell must avoid.
- Watch the timer in hole games. Black Hole io 3D Game, Holecraft.io and Hole Upper For 2 Players end on the clock, so keep moving toward the densest spot on the map.
Games like agar.io FAQ
Are there games like agar.io with bots?
Agar.io's own Relax mode on mobile fills the map with bots. Here, single-player games such as Fish Frenzy Eat Some Fish are played through levels instead of against people online, and in Hungry Fish Saga your rivals sit at the same keyboard. Whether a game's rivals are other players is something to check in its description.
What is the difference between agar.io and slither.io?
In agar.io the bigger cell simply eats the smaller one. In slither.io size matters less: you win by making a rival crash its head into your body. Snake games of that kind are in games like slither.io.
Can I play eat-and-grow games on a phone?
Many of them, yes. Dots.io moves with a slide of your finger, Blob Merge with tap, hold and drag, and Eat other fish says its touch controls work on mobile devices. The site works in the browser of a phone, a tablet and a computer.
Are these games free?
Yes. They play free in the browser, with no install and no registration.
More arena games where you grow and survive are in .io games.
