Have a ball with Google’s secret Katamari game

Katamari Damacy might just be the poster child of quirky Japanese games, at least for players who aren’t old enough to remember Slap-Happy Rythm Busters. It’s a game about rolling a giant ball around a 3D environment, sticking more and more stuff to it until it swallows the entire world, in a simple and addictive gameplay loop that also doubles as a potent metaphor for late-stage capital consolidation. And if you’ve never had a chance to play it before, you can try it on your Google search results now.

Some Google engineers decided to add a playable Katamari minigame to the service’s ever-growing list of Easter eggs in search results. Here’s how you play: Just Google “Katamari,” then look for the bouncing ball on the right side of the screen. Click or tap it, and you can roll the ball around the web page with your finger (on mobile) or arrow keys (on desktop). Words, images, and even page components like the Google logo will stick to the ball and to other rolled-up elements. Rinse, repeat, enjoy.

According to Kotaku, the minigame has been live for only a few days. It’s just the latest in a long line of game-themed Easter eggs in Google search results, including such classics as a full, playable version of Pac-Man and “do a barrel roll.”

Video Games