Bricks: 0 · ♥♥♥
This is Atari Breakout, fully playable: 40 bricks, a paddle, a ball that speeds up at the edges of your paddle, and three lives. Move with your mouse on desktop or slide a finger on mobile. Clear the wall to win.
How to play
- Press Start — the ball launches upward.
- Keep it in play with the paddle. Where the ball hits the paddle changes its angle: edges send it sharper, center sends it straighter.
- Every brick vanishes on contact and bounces the ball back. Clear all five rows to win.
- Miss the ball three times and it’s game over.
The tunnel trick
The classic Breakout strategy is to drill one column at the side of the wall. Once the ball slips through, it bounces along the top and demolishes bricks from above while you rest — the original game’s designers considered this emergent behavior the best moment in the game. Angle your paddle hits deliberately toward one edge to dig the tunnel faster.
Why “Atari Breakout” is a famous search
Breakout (1976) has a legendary origin: Atari assigned the prototype to Steve Jobs, who enlisted Steve Wozniak to engineer it in four sleepless days. In 2013, Google celebrated the game by turning Image search for “atari breakout” into a playable game where the image thumbnails became the bricks — one of the most loved Google easter eggs ever. That version has since retired, which is exactly why we host our own.
Keep playing: Pacman, Snake, Zerg Rush.
Does the Google Atari Breakout easter egg still work?
The original 2013 Image-search version has been retired by Google. Playable tributes like the one on this page keep the game alive.
How do I control the paddle on mobile?
Slide your finger anywhere on the game area — the paddle follows your horizontal position.
Who made the original Breakout?
Atari, 1976 — prototyped by Steve Jobs and engineered largely by Steve Wozniak before either founded Apple.
Why does the ball change angle?
The contact point on the paddle sets the rebound: center hits go straight up, edge hits go sharp — that’s your aiming tool.