“As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, people and families everywhere are spending more time at home,” said Google in a statement. “In light of this, we’re launching a throwback Doodle series looking back at some of our popular interactive Google Doodle games! Let’s back up a bit for the people who are new to Google Doodles. You may see Google Doodles all the time and still not know what they are. Google Doodles refer to how Google transforms its company logo when you visit Google.com, making it into a fun illustration or interactive puzzle. Google generally uses Doodles to commemorate a holiday or special occasion—Harriet Tubman’s birthday on February 1, Beethoven’s 245th birthday or the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man. Like with the latter, sometimes the Google Doodles aren’t just pictures. They’re interactive games or puzzles that users can solve—and some are so fun and popular people want to play them all year round. Now, Google Doodle doesn’t just commemorating important days. They’ve provided us with some much-needed interactive games to save us from cabin fever during. Thank you, Google. Thank you. The series endured a slow roll-out last year of 10 of the most popular Google Doodle games throughout two weeks—the first Doodle game launched April 27. Keep reading for more info on how to access the most popular Google Doodle games and what to expect!
How to access the Google Doodle game archives
Sure, Google Doodles may go up on a certain day to celebrate a specific event, but they don’t exactly disappear once that day is over. Instead of disappearing forever, the Google Doodles are fed into an archive. So, all of your favorite Google Doodles throughout the years can be accessed right in the Google Doodle archives. Once you access the Google Doodle archives, you’ll see the Doodles categorized into interactive, this day in history, and featured. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see a list of the most recent Doodles: From April 25 to 26, the Google Doodle was “Thank You: Coronavirus helpers,” April 22 was an Earth Day 2020 design featuring an interactive bee game created in collaboration with the New York City-based Honeybee Conservancy, and on April 4 it was, “Stay Home, Save Lives.” Now, if you specifically want to play interactive Google Doodles, you’ll want to press, “Interactive.” Here, you’ll find a list of all the playable Google Doodles, ranging from the Geminid Meteor Shower from 2018 to the 44th Anniversary of the Birth of Hip Hop from August 2017.
The most popular Google Doodle games
Here are a few Google Doodle games that made a comeback in the 10-part roll-out:
Google Doodle Game: Coding for Carrots
The Google Doodle coding game—Coding for Carrots—was developed in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Scratch platform back in 2017. It was first released as a way to celebrate 50 years of kids coding during Computer Science Education Week. Here’s how Coding for Carrots works: Players have to help a bunny collect carrots by using coding techniques such as connecting blocks of computer code together. You can even play Coding for Carrots full-screen.
Google Doodle Game: Cricket
Another one of the 10 interactive Google Doodles we can expect is Cricket, which was originally in honor of the ICC 2017 Cricket Women’s World Cup. The original write up says, “As the tournament begins in the Oval cricket ground, something buzzes outside. A team of crickets sans tickets have set up their own wickets for a game of pest cricket! As they face their archrivals, the snails, it’s sure to be a match for the centuries. Don’t be fooled by their sluggish looks—these fielders can be fast on their feet! To celebrate the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, we’re inviting everyone to tap/click and take a swing at our pocket-size game!” It marked Google Doodle’s smallest interactive Doodle ever. Google made it mini on purpose so that everyone could enjoy the Cricket game, even people using mobile networks that tend to be a bit slower. Here’s how it works: The player is literally an animated cricket. Using your mouse, click the bat when you’re reading to hit the ball. You can see the pitcher getting ready to pitch, then when the ball comes close enough, hit the bat to swing it. The cricket will automatically run and switch spots with the pitcher. Then, you get to bat all over again. To play the Cricket Google Doodle, visit Google.com/Doodles.
Google Doodle Game: Fischinger
To celebrate influential filmmaker and visual artist Oskar Fischinger’s 117th birthday in June, 2017, Google released an interactive music composition tool. Looking for more ways to have fun while at home? Enjoy 20 of the best Disney rides virtually!
