Gaming Online

How can I play the Google dinosaur game even when I’m online?

Google dinosaur game
Ten extra points if you see how we cleverly doctored this image...

Here at The Big Tech Question we tackle the truly important issues of technology. And taking top spot in everyone’s list is how to play the Google dinosaur game when you’re online.

For the sake of the one guy in darkest Shropshire who hasn’t played the dino game, it appears when you’re offline and using the Chrome browser. You’ll see this screen:

Google dinosaur game

Press the spacebar or up arrow and the dinosaur will start moving, with various obstacles appearing along the way. Cactii you must jump, pterodactyls you must dodge. The further you get, the faster the dinosaur moves.

So what about when you’re online and want to play this time-wasting game? Simple: launch a new tab and type “chrome://dino” in the address bar, without the speech marks.

This screen will load and, when you start it, will automatically zoom to fill your screen.

Google dinosaur games

Top tips for the Google dinosaur game

I spoke to a renowned Google dinosaur game expert (okay, my son Fraser, who runs the website justtwovideogamers.com), and he said:

“Not many people duck – just press the down arrow. Also, if you’re in a tight spot, then holding the up arrow means you automatically jump when you land.

“If you need to take a break, press Alt to pause.

“Also, don’t be surprised when you get to 750 and it switches from day to night. That killed me the first time. That’s it really. It’s not a very complicated game.” Thanks, Fraser.

Hidden tips for coders

Another nice touch appears if you press F12. This reveals the JavaScript code behind the site, and in some of the subsections it includes handy comments from the Google coders on how they made it.

Google dinosaur game

For instance, in the snippet above, the comments in green explain that LoadTimeData.prototype sets the backing object. I still don’t know what that means, but kudos to Google for showing its workings.

One more Google minigame…

Bored by jumping dinosaurs? Then type “atari breakout” into Google and switch to the image search. I’ll leave you to find out what happens next.

ONE MORE THING: Where are my saved passwords in Google Chrome?

About the author

Tim Danton

Tim Danton is editor-in-chief of PC Pro magazine and has written about technology since 1999. He enjoys playing with gadgets, playing with words and playing tennis. Email tim@bigtechquestion.com

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