Skip to content

Games

25 small games, one per trade. A chef’s memory, a surgeon’s hand, a pilot’s fuel gauge. Each takes about a minute, runs in the page, and needs no account and no download.

They are deliberately old-fashioned — a snake, a lander, a stacker, a code-breaker — and all of them were written for this site and are served from it. Nothing here loads from anywhere else, and nothing here follows you around. Your best scores are kept in your own browser and never sent to us.

Chef

Line Cook Watch the order come up, then cook it back in the right order. One wrong pan and service is over. Memory Play

Surgeon

Steady Hand Move the probe from one end of the incision to the other without touching the sides. Precision Play

Pilot

Night Landing Bring it down on the pad, gently, before the fuel runs out. Physics Play

Farmer

Harvest Drive the harvester through the field. It gets longer with every crop you take. Arcade Play

Firefighter

Bucket Brigade Catch every ember before it reaches the ground. Miss three and the roof goes. Reaction Play

Detective

Cold Case Four suspects, six possibilities, ten questions. Read the evidence and name them in order. Deduction Play

Builder

Skyline Stack each floor on the one below. Anything that overhangs falls off, and the next floor is narrower. Timing Play

Journalist

Deadline Type each word before it hits the bottom of the page. The copy desk is waiting. Typing Play

Shopkeeper

Exact Change The till is broken. Work out the change and count it out in coins before the queue turns. Mental arithmetic Play

Electrician

Rewire Turn every length of cable until the current runs from the meter to the lamp. Puzzle Play

Miner

Deep Seam Survey the seam without hitting gas. Every number tells you how many pockets touch that square. Deduction Play

Accountant

Balance the Books Slide the ledger. Equal figures merge and double. Fill the sheet and the audit is over. Numbers Play

Warehouse picker

Stock Room One empty bay, fifteen crates, and a shelf that has to end up in order. Spatial puzzle Play

Mechanic

Diagnostics Clear every warning lamp. Touching one switch flips its neighbours too. Logic puzzle Play

Archivist

Card Index Turn two cards. If they match they stay up. Clear the drawer in as few turns as you can. Memory Play

Goalkeeper

Penalty Box Read the run-up, pick your corner, get a hand to it. Three past you and it is over. Reaction Play

Radar operator

Contact Contacts descending in formation. Clear the screen before they reach the line. Shooter Play

Postman

Round Collect every letter and get back to the box before the round is over. Maze Play

Librarian

Shelf Order A trolley of books, out of order. Shelve them alphabetically, quickly, without a mistake. Sorting Play

Air traffic controller

Holding Pattern Aircraft crossing on fixed headings. Change their speed so none of them meet. Real-time Play

Referee

Offside Call The ball leaves the passer’s foot. Freeze the play and decide: onside or off? Judgement Play

Sprinter

False Start Set. Wait for the gun. Go before it and you are out of the meeting. Reaction Play

Campaign manager

Swing State Ten days of campaigning, six regions, one majority to assemble. Spend them well. Allocation Play

Central banker

Base Rate Inflation drifts. You have one lever, and it works slowly. Hold the target band. Control Play

Editor

Front Page A real headline from the last few days. Which section does it belong on? News quiz Play