Other Games

Sometimes the well stops being restful. If you have just finished a Sprint run and want something that uses a different part of the same instinct, this page is a shortlist of 19 games that are worth the switch - all free, all instant in the browser, none of them asking you to download or sign up for anything.

They fall into five groups. Puzzle and arcade games are the closest relatives, because they run the same drill of reading a crowded board under time pressure. The card games swap that for a slower, information-driven kind of thinking. Board and tile games take the clock away entirely, dice games put the randomness in the foreground where you can see it, and there is one tool at the end that is genuinely useful away from a screen.

Puzzle & Arcade

The closest relatives to Tetris - the same drill of reading a crowded board under time pressure, minus the falling.

Puzzle

Logic grids, sliding tiles, matching boards and number puzzles - the natural next stop when you want a break from falling blocks but not from thinking.

Play free puzzle games →
Mahjong

Match free tiles to clear Turtle, Pyramid, Fortress, Dragon, Butterfly, Cat, Spider, Tower, Gate, Crab and Cross layouts, with a daily challenge and leaderboards.

Play Mahjong online →
Pac-Man

Dots, power pellets, four ghosts with four different personalities and the same pattern-learning itch that keeps Tetris players coming back.

Play Pac-Man online →

Card Games

Solitaire

The full patience cabinet - Klondike, Spider, Pyramid, TriPeaks, Golf, Yukon, Russian, Scorpion, Canfield and Forty Thieves - with a daily deal and leaderboards.

Play Solitaire online →
FreeCell

Every card face up from the first move, four free cells and a solvable deal - the most chess-like member of the solitaire family.

Play FreeCell online →
Hearts

Dodge every heart and the queen of spades, or shoot the moon and hand the penalty points to everyone else.

Play Hearts online →
Spades

Call your tricks, make your contract and punish the overbid - the partnership card game that rewards counting over luck.

Play Spades online →
Rummy

Build sets and runs and go out before your opponents, across the classic Rummy variants.

Play Rummy online →
Gin Rummy

Ten cards, one draw, deadwood to manage and the constant question of whether to knock now or hold for gin.

Play Gin Rummy online →
Canasta

Melds of seven, wild cards, frozen discard piles and the deep partnership scoring that made Canasta a household game.

Play Canasta online →
Blackjack

Classic, Vegas Strip, Atlantic City, Spanish 21, Double Exposure, Switch, Pontoon and more - free chips, no real gambling.

Play Blackjack online →

Board & Tile

Checkers

American, International, Russian, Brazilian, Pool, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Canadian, Turkish and Anti-Checkers, at Easy, Medium or Hard.

Play Checkers online →
Reversi

A minute to learn, a lifetime to master - corner control, mobility and the counter-intuitive value of owning fewer discs mid-game.

Play Reversi online →
Dominoes

Tile matching with a scorekeeper's edge - the closest cousin Tetris has among traditional games, since both are really about what fits where.

Play Dominoes online →
Ludo

The race-home board game in eight regional flavours, with a daily challenge and real-time multiplayer.

Play Ludo online →
Tic Tac Toe

The game everyone already knows, taken past the 3x3 grid into variants that are genuinely hard to solve.

Play Tic Tac Toe online →

Dice & Casino

Yahtzee

The dice-and-scorecard classic, where the upper-section bonus quietly decides most games.

Play Yahtzee online →
Craps

Craps, Crapless, New York, High Point, Simplified, Die Rich, Street Craps and Hazard - free chips, no real gambling.

Play Craps online →

Tools

Chess Clock

Fischer increment, Bronstein delay, sudden death and hourglass timing - useful for far more than chess.

Use a free online chess clock →

Every game at a glance

The same 19 games as a single sortable reference, if you would rather scan than scroll.

GameCategoryWhat you get
Puzzle Puzzle & Arcade A whole shelf of browser puzzles for when you want a change of shape.
Mahjong Puzzle & Arcade Eleven Mahjong Solitaire layouts, from the Turtle to the Dragon.
Pac-Man Puzzle & Arcade The maze-chase arcade classic, free and instant in your browser.
Solitaire Card Games Klondike, Spider, FreeCell and nine more patience games.
FreeCell Card Games Open-information patience where almost every deal is winnable.
Hearts Card Games The classic trick-avoidance game against three computer opponents.
Spades Card Games Partnership trick-taking built on the bid you have to make.
Rummy Card Games Draw, meld, discard - the set-and-run game in all its forms.
Gin Rummy Card Games The tight two-player Rummy where knocking early wins matches.
Canasta Card Games Eleven Canasta variants, from Classic to Hand and Foot.
Blackjack Card Games Seventeen play-money blackjack variants and a strategy chart.
Checkers Board & Tile Eleven real draughts variants against a tunable engine.
Reversi Board & Tile Othello-style disc flipping where the last move decides everything.
Dominoes Board & Tile Draw, Block, All Fives and the rest of the tile family.
Ludo Board & Tile Ludo, Parcheesi, Pachisi, Uckers and Mensch argere Dich nicht.
Tic Tac Toe Board & Tile The three-in-a-row standard, plus bigger and stranger boards.
Yahtzee Dice & Casino Five dice, thirteen boxes and one very good decision per turn.
Craps Dice & Casino Eight craps variants with play money and a full table layout.
Chess Clock Tools A free browser chess clock for any two-player game.

Still in the mood for falling blocks?

Nothing here has to replace Tetris. If you would rather stay, the full lineup of Tetris modes runs from calm Zen stacking to Master's 20G gravity, today's daily challenge gives everyone the same seed to compete on, and the multiplayer lobby puts you on identical pieces against a friend. The blog covers the strategy side.

Other games FAQ

What other free games can I play besides Tetris?

Nineteen are listed on this page, all free in the browser with no download. The closest in feel to Tetris are the tile and puzzle games - Mahjong Solitaire, a mixed puzzle collection and the arcade maze of Pac-Man. Beyond those there is a full card cabinet (Solitaire, FreeCell, Hearts, Spades, Rummy, Gin Rummy, Canasta, Blackjack), a board and tile shelf (Checkers, Reversi, Dominoes, Ludo, Tic Tac Toe), dice games (Yahtzee, Craps) and a free chess clock.

Do I need an account to play them?

No. Every game listed here plays instantly as a guest, exactly like Tetris.now. Where a free account exists it is optional, and it only ever saves your scores, times and streaks across devices - it is never a gate in front of the game.

Which of these games is most like Tetris?

Mahjong Solitaire and Dominoes, for different reasons. Mahjong is the other great tile game built on scanning a crowded board for the piece that fits, and Dominoes is spatial matching with a scorekeeper attached. If what you like about Tetris is the speed rather than the shapes, Pac-Man is the closer match - both are pattern-learning games played at a pace that punishes hesitation.

Are they free, or is there a catch?

They are free in the same way Tetris.now is free: every mode, every daily challenge, every leaderboard and all multiplayer, with no paywall, no trial and no download. The card and casino titles use play money only - there is no real gambling in any of them.