Which of these is closest to Puzzle?

The first group on this page is ordered with the closest relatives first, so start at the top. Beyond that it depends what you like about Puzzle - the puzzle and tile games reward reading a board, the card games reward counting and memory, and the dice games put the randomness in the foreground where you can see it.

Are they free, or is there a catch?

They are free in the same way Puzzle.now is free: every mode, every daily challenge and every leaderboard, 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.

Do these open in the same browser tab?

They are ordinary websites, so they behave however your browser is set to behave - nothing here hijacks a tab or opens a pop-up. Each one loads its game directly on the page, with no launcher, no plugin and no install step.

How long does a game take?

It varies enormously. The dice and arcade games are usually done inside five minutes. Card games run ten to twenty. A board game against a thinking opponent can take half an hour, and the tile puzzles take as long as you let them - there is no clock on most of them.

More Puzzles, and Other Things Entirely

Sometimes you want a different shape of problem. If you have worked through a few puzzles here and want something that uses the same instinct in a different way, this page is a shortlist of 19 games worth the switch - all free, all instant in the browser, none of them asking you to download or sign up for anything.

Five groups, loosely. Some are arcade-paced and want your reflexes; some are card games that reward counting what has already gone; some are boards where nothing is hidden and nothing is timed. Two are dice games that make no pretence about luck, and the last is a tool rather than a game.

More things to solve

Play Tetris online - Marathon, Sprint, Ultra, Master, Invisible, Cheese, Survival, Classic, Big, Cascade and Zen, plus a shared daily challenge and real-time multiplayer.

Play Mahjong online - 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 Pac-Man online - Learn the maze, learn the four ghosts, and find out how far pattern beats reflex.

Puzzles with a deck

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

Play FreeCell online - Every card face up, four free cells, and a deal that is almost always winnable if you plan it.

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

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

Play Rummy online - Draw, meld, discard - and read what everyone else is collecting from the pile.

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

Play Canasta online - Melds of seven, wild cards and a discard pile worth fighting over.

Play Blackjack online - Hit, stand, double or split against the dealer, with play chips and no real gambling.

Puzzles with an opponent

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

Play Reversi online - A minute to learn, and an endgame decided by mobility and parity rather than material.

Play Dominoes online - Match the ends, count the suits, and work out which numbers the board can still accept.

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

Play Tic Tac Toe online - The 3x3 game is solved - which is exactly why the bigger boards are the interesting ones.

Puzzles you cannot solve

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

Play Craps online - Eight variants and one bet on the table that carries no house edge at all.

Not a puzzle at all

Use a free online chess clock - Fischer increment, Bronstein delay, sudden death and hourglass timing - useful for far more than chess.

Not done puzzling?

None of which means Puzzle is finished with you. If you would rather stay, the main game is one click away, the rules hub covers how everything works, and the FAQ answers the common questions.