Google Easter Egg : The Chrome DIno

 Here's a really good riddle for your friends : What is the only dinosaur that hasn't gotten extinct yet? It's the Chrome Dino! If there is something something more iconic by Google other than their famous logo, it's the Dino itself! 

What is the 'Chrome Dino"?

The Chrome Dino is represented by a pixelated T-Rex as in the picture below.

The Dino first featured in the "No Internet" page that Google Chrome displayed, and made it's way into a full-fledged Easter Egg. 

This Easter Egg was one of the most popular Google Easter Eggs ever, and exploded in popularity as and when new updates were added to the game.

How can I activate the Easter Egg?

The page to play this game can be accessed in 3 different ways :-

 - Trying browse on Google Chrome while offline leads to the Network Error page from which the game can be accessed by pressing the spacebar or the up-arrow key.

 - Going to "chrome://dino" (online or offline) will trigger the game, only in this case, the game attains the entire screen making it easier to play.

 - Going to "chrome://network-error/-106" (online or offline) will lead to the same Network Error page that appears when the user tries to browse offline.

What else?

 - Recently, Google added a feature in Chrome, that allows a user to create a QR Code made especially for the page that they are on. When a user invokes this feature, a QR Code is displayed, and one will realize that in the center of the code, an illustration of the Chrome Dino is present.

 - From September 2014, tapping the dinosaur or pressing space or the up arrow key launches a browser game known as the 'dinosaur game' in which the player controls a running dinosaur by tapping the screen or pressing space to avoid obstacles, including cacti and, from June 2105, pterodactyls. In 2016, another feature was added to the game. When the player reaches 700 points, the game begins to switch between day and night.

 - During September 2018, for Google's 10th birthday, a birthday cake causing the dinosaur to wear a birthday hat when collected was added.

[Source : Wikipedia]

The Chrome Dino is one of the most fun games that can be played on Google, and it keeps getting better. The idea of the game is as original as it gets. If there is one game that I believe will ever compete in popularity against Pac-Man, it is the Chrome Dino.

Happy Hunting!

EasterEggHunter