The No Wi-Fi Dinosaur Game
The dinosaur game appears when you have no Wi-Fi because Chrome ships it inside the browser for exactly that moment — the page could not load, so Chrome shows a game instead. You do not have to wait for a failed connection: type chrome://dino in the address bar and it opens immediately, online or off. Press space to start and jump.
Updated
Everyone has met it: the connection drops, a page fails, and a small grey dinosaur appears. It is the most-played game in the world by some measures, and almost nobody opens it deliberately.
Why it shows up with no Wi-Fi
Chrome ships the game inside the browser. When a page cannot load, Chrome has to show something, and in 2014 the Chrome team — Sebastien Gabriel among them — decided that something should be playable. The dinosaur is a deliberate joke about the situation: no connection, so here is a creature from a time before any of this existed.
Because the game is already on your device, it needs nothing from the network. That is what makes it the only genuinely offline game most people have.
How to open it without losing Wi-Fi
Type chrome://dino into the address bar and press enter. The game opens immediately with a perfectly good connection. It works in Chrome on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and every Chromebook.
You can also play it right here on the home page, which precaches it with a service worker — so this site's runner works with the connection gone too.
How to play
- Start / jump: Space, or the up arrow. On a phone, tap.
- Duck: Down arrow — needed once pterodactyls start appearing.
- Higher jump: Hold the key rather than tapping it.
The whole game is one decision made repeatedly: jump the cactus, duck the bird. The speed increases continuously, so it ends when your reactions do. There is no finish line.
The night mode
At around 700 points the colours invert and the game turns dark. It is purely cosmetic, and it flips back later. If you want to see it without earning it, night mode explains it.
More on the dinosaur game
- How to play, properly — the technique for high scores.
- Cheats and console tricks — immortality and speed changes.
- The world record — and why the real ceiling is what it is.
- The history — how and why it was built.
- Blocked at school? — why chrome://dino usually still works.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a dinosaur game appear when I have no Wi-Fi?
Because Chrome includes it for exactly that situation. When a page fails to load Chrome has to display something, and since 2014 that something has been a playable game. The dinosaur is a joke about being disconnected — a creature from before the internet.
How do I play the dinosaur game with Wi-Fi on?
Type chrome://dino in Chrome's address bar and press enter. The game opens immediately regardless of your connection. You can also play it on this site's home page.
What are the controls for the no Wi-Fi dinosaur game?
Space or the up arrow to start and jump, the down arrow to duck under pterodactyls, and holding the jump key rather than tapping gives a higher jump. On a phone, tap the screen.
Does the dinosaur game have an ending?
No. The speed increases continuously and the game ends when you hit something. There is no final level, only a score — though the colours invert into night mode at around 700 points.
