Play Google Atari Breakout
Quick Facts
- Summary
- Google Images turns into a brick wall, and every picture becomes a tile you can break with the ball.
- Creator
- Launched
- 2013-05
- Status
- Restored
(Discontinued by Google)
Try the Easter Egg
The Original Easter Egg
How It Started
In May 2013, Google added Atari Breakout to Google Images for the arcade game’s 37th anniversary. Searching for “Atari Breakout” transformed the image results into a playable board.
The image thumbnails became rows of bricks, with a ball and paddle below them.
What It Did
Players moved the paddle to keep the ball in play and break the image tiles. The controls supported a mouse, trackpad, arrow keys, or touch.
The game included a score, lives, arcade sounds, pausing, and score sharing. Clearing the wall advanced to a new layout.
Impact and Reach
The distinctive feature was the use of image results as game objects. Instead of opening a separate arcade screen, the thumbnails already on the page became Breakout’s bricks.
Its Discontinuation
The original Google Images version left Google around May 2020.
The Restored Experience
What’s Different Here
This restoration brings back the image tiles as a wall of bricks, with the paddle and ball below. Your score and remaining lives carry over as you clear each wall and move on to the next board.
The board adjusts to the screen and supports both pointer and touch controls.
The Easter Egg Experience
Click the button above, and the Google Images-style results will line up into a Breakout board. Move the paddle, listen for the beep each time a brick breaks, and keep the ball bouncing as the image tiles disappear.
If you miss the ball, you lose a life. Clear the whole wall to earn an extra life and move to a new board with a faster ball.
You can pause or mute the game, and press Esc to return to the image results. When the game ends, “Play again” restarts the current wall. If your browser supports the device’s share menu, you can also share a link to this page.
How to Try It
- Click the button above to open the restored Google Images board.
- Wait a moment while the image results form the brick wall.
- Move the paddle with your mouse, trackpad, arrow keys, or touch.
- Bounce the ball into the image tiles until the wall breaks away.
- Clear the board, collect the extra life, and keep going into the next layout.
The newer Google Block Breaker game has its own blocks, power-ups, and full-screen card. Atari Breakout plays a different trick: the pictures you came to look at become the bricks you have to break.
Final Thoughts
Google Atari Breakout hid a game inside an everyday image search. In this restored version, the pictures still line up into a wall, the ball still bounces and beeps, and the board still falls apart one tile at a time.
Try the Easter Egg
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Google Atari Breakout?
Google Atari Breakout was a 2013 Google Images Easter egg made for the 37th anniversary of Atari’s Breakout.
Back when it was on Google, searching for “Atari Breakout” made the image results line up into a Breakout board you could play. The thumbnails became bricks, a paddle appeared at the bottom, and the whole results page turned into a quick arcade game.
Is the original Google Atari Breakout still available?
The Google Images Easter egg disappeared from Google around May 2020. This page restores the older Google Images version so it can still be played.
Is this the same as Google Block Breaker?
No. Google Block Breaker is a newer Search game with its own full-screen card, colored blocks, and power-ups. Atari Breakout was the 2013 Google Images trick where the search thumbnails themselves became the bricks.
How do I play Atari Breakout here?
It only takes a few steps, and the goal is to keep the ball bouncing with the paddle.
- Click the button above to open the game board.
- Move the paddle with your mouse, trackpad, arrow keys, or touch.
- Hit the ball into the image tiles to break them.
- Keep the ball from falling below the paddle.
When the wall is gone, the next board appears and the game keeps going.
Can I play it on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The restored board supports touch controls, so you can drag the paddle on a phone or tablet. On a computer, you can use the mouse, trackpad, or arrow keys.
What happens after I clear the image wall?
Clearing a board adds an extra life and advances to a new layout with a faster ball.
Your score carries over between boards until the game ends.
Why do the images become bricks?
The original Google Images Easter egg used the image search results as the game pieces, so the pictures you came to browse became the bricks you had to break.
Does the restored game have sound and sharing?
Yes. It includes arcade-style beeps, a score display, a mute control, and a replay screen. A button for sharing a link to this page appears when your browser supports the device’s share menu.
