Space or the up arrow jumps, the down arrow ducks. Cacti come in clusters and birds fly at two heights, so you need both moves once the speed climbs.
What Is the Google Dinosaur Game?
The dinosaur game is what Chrome shows when there is no internet connection. A pixel T-rex runs across a desert, cacti come at it, and one tap of the space bar starts an endless run. The score climbs with distance and the whole thing speeds up as you go.
It works offline because it ships inside the browser rather than loading from a server.
How the Dinosaur Game Started
Chrome designers Sebastien Gabriel, Alan Bettes and Edward Jung added it in 2014. The dinosaur was picked as a joke about prehistoric times, matching the idea of being without a connection.
Birds were added later, along with a night mode that inverts the colours after a certain distance. It is the most played of Google’s hidden games by a wide margin, which is why it usually heads any list of Google easter eggs.
How to Play the Dinosaur Game
- In Chrome, disconnect from the network and open any page, or type chrome://dino in the address bar.
- Press space to start running.
- Jump the cacti and duck under the high birds.
- Tap rather than hold the jump key. Short hops recover faster.
- Use the buttons above if you are on a touchscreen.
FAQs
Do I need to be offline to play?
No. Typing chrome://dino opens the game while you are still connected.
What is the highest possible score?
The counter rolls over near 99,999, which takes well over an hour of clean running.
Can I play it on a Chromebook?
Yes, it is built into Chrome, so ChromeOS has it by default.
Which other games run without a connection?
Most browser tricks need the page to load first. The snake game is the closest equivalent once you are back online.
