Games to Play When Bored: Picks by Mood and Time
Updated
When you are bored, pick a game by the time you have and the mood you are in: a one-tap game for five minutes, a puzzle or card game when you want to think, a racing game for speed, an idle game to switch off. Each mood below comes with six games to try.
If you have five minutes
Most of these games run on a single input, so there is little to learn before the first round. In Orbit Tap Rush One Tap Game two planets circle a shared orbit while obstacles fall, and each tap reverses their direction. Go Up Tap ZigZag Box Challenge works the same way with a box: every tap switches its direction between left and right on its way up past the obstacles.
ZigZag Snow Mountain is a downhill run steered with the mouse alone, and the whole game is how long you keep your turns clean. Tennis Hero is one-button tennis where timing decides every shot. Speedy Golf needs two arrow buttons to aim and three taps to shoot, and its description puts a full 18-hole course at a few minutes. In Swipe Box Physics Arcade Game you swipe a sliding box into a basket before the clock runs out.
More games built on one input are in hypercasual games.
If you want to think
Puzzles and card games reward planning ahead. Gem Mahjong is tile matching: tap two free tiles with the same gem to clear them, and keep the slot tray from filling up. Solitaire 8 Collection holds eight classic solitaires, among them Klondike, Spider, FreeCell and Pyramid, with free hints and unlimited undo.
Nonogram - Picture Cross fills squares from number clues until a pixel picture appears. Drop & Merge 2048 drops numbered cubes into five lanes, where matching cubes merge into a higher number. Color Water Sort is pouring colored liquid between tubes until each holds one color, and Checkers Legend plays against the computer or a friend on the same device.
The rest are in puzzle games.
If you want speed
Neon City Drift Racing is a drifting race through glowing city streets, where you chain slides and earn rewards for precise driving. Space Rover sends a six-wheeled rover across planets and moons of the solar system. In Zombie Drift: Steel Rage the sharper you drift, the faster your nitro builds.
Extreme Gear Shift Racing is about timing your gear changes, over 11 levels, alone or with a second player on the same device. Grand Prix Hero is dodging traffic and boosting at high speed, with upgrades between races, and Tractor Trial is keeping a tractor balanced over obstacles and traps.
More are in racing games.
If you want to switch off
Idle and clicker games ask little of you: tap, earn, upgrade, and watch the numbers grow. In Raccoon Clicker you tap a raccoon for coins and spend them on helpers. Magic Farm : Clicker starts you with a single seed and lets you automate the harvest later, and Merge Factory Idle has you merge identical machines while production runs on its own.
Idle Defense Grid is tower defense on a small grid, where the towers fire by themselves while you place and upgrade them. Wrecking Ball Tycoon is hold and release: let go in the green zone for a stronger hit. Idle Dairy Tycoon starts from one cow.
More are in clicker games, and idle and clicker games explained covers upgrades and prestige.
If someone is next to you
These games have a two-player mode, and most put both players on one device. 12 MiniBattles is twelve one-screen duels for two people at one keyboard, with A for one player and L for the other. Stick Duel : Medieval Wars gives each player a stickman and a sword, and physics makes every swing a gamble.
Basket Random is basketball with one key per player, first to five. Roshambo is rock, paper, scissors on the keyboard or by touch, first to three. Darts 501 and more has 501 darts, a 9-dart challenge and a two-player game, and in Rabbit Punch Rabbit whoever hits the hare first scores.
There are more in 2 player games.
If you have the whole evening
These games have levels, upgrades, bosses or a collection to keep you going. Legiontide Army Runner has 30 levels across 3 worlds with 6 bosses, plus an island kingdom to build between runs. Scrap Arms Neo is a pixel-art roguelite with 60 weapons, 6 characters and 9 stages with boss fights.
Zombie Quell 3D runs over 15 levels with an upgrade shop between them. Curve Free Kick has 12 levels of free kicks where wind and spin bend the ball. Boo Brew is 12 night shifts in a potion café, and Klondike Solitaire Treasures is classic Klondike with a collection to build.
On your phone
The five-minute games above suit a phone well, because most of them need one finger. For more games built around tap, hold and swipe, see one hand games for your phone.
Frequently asked questions
What games can I play online when bored?
Short one-input games for a few minutes, puzzles and card games when you want to think, racing games for speed, and idle games when you want to switch off.
What can I play with a friend on one computer?
Games that split the keyboard between two players. 12 MiniBattles gives one player A and the other L, and Stick Duel : Medieval Wars gives one player A and D and the other the arrow keys. More are in 2 player games on one keyboard.
Do I need to download anything?
No. Every pick here runs free in a browser tab; there is nothing to install and no registration.
If the first section does not fit your mood, try the next one.
