Gaming > Consoles & PCs The 11 Best Games for Chromebook in 2023 Discover these great games from the Google Chrome Store By Andy Wolber Andy Wolber Twitter Freelance Contributor Southern Methodist University Spring Arbor University Andy Wolber is a former Lifewire writer who has been writing about technology for 15+ years. His focus is G Suite, iOS, and nonprofit sector apps. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on January 18, 2023 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Consoles & PCs Xbox Buyer's Guide A Chromebook offers several different ways to play games. The options include browser-based games, as well as games built for Android, and Linux, along with subscription options. But not all of those options are available to every person and every Chromebook. People who own a relatively recent Chrome device with access to the Google Play Store should explore Android games. Most major mobile games are available for Android, so that expands your options considerably. However, not all Chromebooks support Android apps, and Chrome devices from school or work might not allow app installation, so we’ve omitted them from our list. Adobe Flash has been discontinued, so games built with Flash have been omitted from this list. 01 of 11 Rotate Dropping Shapes: Tetris What We Like Gradual increase in pace of play. Keyboard controls work well. What We Don't Like Music options limited. Fixed size of game screen. Rotate shapes as they descend to create fully filled rows of blocks, which then disappear. Repeat until the pace becomes too fast and the blocks accumulate to the top of the screen. That’s classic Tetris. Play Tetris Online 02 of 11 Classic Strategy: Spark Chess What We Like Solid chess game for learners. Options to view board as a diagram or with simple perspective. What We Don't Like Limited number of board and piece display options. Three computer opponents available for free. Play chess in your browser against either another person online, or choose from a few computer opponents. Spark Chess is free, although you may choose to upgrade ($16.99 for the browser based version) for access to additional computer opponents, enhanced views, and priority online access, among other features. Download SparkChess 03 of 11 Explore Dungeons, Fight Monsters: Web Quake What We Like Dungeons and monsters! Ability to play offline. What We Don't Like By 2019 standards, graphics are blocky. Multiplayer options may not work for everyone. Quake, the first-person shooter video game, offers both single and multi-player modes. It also installs on your Chromebook so you can play offline. Explore maze-like levels to discover secrets as you fend off monsters. Download Quake 04 of 11 Physics Platformer: Cut the Rope What We Like Engaging platform play. Option to change setting from “drag to cut” to “click to cut”. What We Don't Like Default window size not full-screen. On a non-touchscreen device, play may be challenging. The award-winning multi-level physics game that works offline, Cut the Rope is all about getting candy to the creature (named Om Nom). You swipe to cut the rope, which works well on a touchpad, although it really works best on a touchscreen where you can swipe directly with your finger or stylus. Download Cut the Rope 05 of 11 Make the Longest Line: Entanglement What We Like Tantalizing to try to get the path just a bit longer. Variety of boards with optional expansion pack ($4.99). What We Don't Like No additional board beyond expansion pack. May feel repetitive after many plays. The goal of Entanglement is to create the longest path you can. The game offers various layouts on which to play, and also offers multiplayer options. However, the one expansion is all that's available, so after playing this game through, it may begin to feel repetitive. Download Entanglement 06 of 11 Swipe to Sum Tiles: 2048 What We Like Simple control mechanics. Easy to understand. What We Don't Like Limited amount of strategy. Fixed app display size. With each move, a tile with a value of either 2 or 4 displays on a 4x4 grid. Swipe up, down, left, or right to slide tiles together. Adjacent tiles with the same value, say, 2 and 2, or 4 and 4, will combine to create a new tile with the total (i.e., 4 or 8). Repeat the process as the grid fills, with the goal of reaching the 2048 tile. (Want a variant? Try Threes.) Download 2048 07 of 11 Explore With Text: Zork What We Like Text-based games remain engaging. Variety of other text-based games available. What We Don't Like Being eaten by a grue. Vocabulary options may sometimes seem limited. “You are standing in an open field,” this text-based adventure game begins, “west of a white house, with a boarded front door.” You type simple commands, such as “open mailbox”, to move and engage with the game. No graphics. Just use your imagination along with some mapping and puzzle-solving skills. The site offers many other text-based games, too. Play Zork Online 08 of 11 Select Text and Wait: A Dark Room What We Like Gradual increase in complexity. Mystery of progressing without quite knowing the goal. What We Don't Like A few mundane tasks can get repetitive. Random events not necessarily positive. A Dark Room, from Doublespeak games, is a bit of a twist on a text-based adventure game. Text displays. But you don’t type words. Instead, you select actions. In some cases, you have to wait between certain actions, such as gathering wood or checking traps. Over time, you have to tweak settings, make choices, and explore a bit. Play A Dark Room Online 09 of 11 Surround Territory: Online-Go.com What We Like Displays several games in progress. Learn the basics of play for free. What We Don't Like Beginners may be a bit overwhelmed at the number of options. Watching amateur games may not be the best way to learn effective strategies. Online-go.com offers one of the most accessible places to learn, watch, or play go (also called baduk, weiqi, or igo). The site includes tutorials along with many go puzzles. With an account, you can play games against a computer opponent or other people. Play Online-Go Online 10 of 11 Early Computer Games: Archive.org What We Like Large number of arcade-style games work well in the browser. Older gamers might enjoy playing games from their youth. What We Don't Like Controls and keys can sometimes be tricky to figure out. You can still die of dysentery when you play Oregon Trail. Archive.org maintains a treasure trove of classic games made for Atari, Apple II, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS computers, all of which you may play in a browser. The Internet Archive preserves these games here for archival purposes thanks to a special exemption from the Library of Congress. Visit Archive.org 11 of 11 Explore Independent Games: Itch.io What We Like Huge selection of HTML5 games. Lots of styles of games available. What We Don't Like Quality of games varies significantly. Some games not fully built-out. Itch.io offers access to thousands of games from independent developers. Choose “browse games” and select “Web” as the platform, and choose “HTML” as the type to narrow the options to games that will work in your Chromebook browser. You can also filter by game genre, accessibility options, multi-player, price, and more. Visit Itch.io Alternative Options for Games That Work on Chromebook People who are determined and technically adventurous might consider getting Linux on a Chromebook. This could let you get Steam (a gaming service) on your Chromebook, or even games that run on Linux. This process can be complicated and won’t work on every Chrome OS device, so this is why we left Linux games off our list. Serious gamers might consider a subscription. Google Play Pass ($4.99 per month) gives you access to more than 350 Android games and apps without ads or in-app purchases. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit