When the internet is not working, what can you do? Play Chrome Dino! It appears in Chrome when there is no internet. Create a home screen widget to play Chrome Dino to play anytime you want.
Have you heard of Chrome Dino? Even if you haven’t, you have probably seen it at some point and not realized what it is. Basically, it is an old-style sideways scrolling game that looks like it is from the 1980s and it appears under certain conditions in the Chrome browser. It is retro fun that can be played when you have a few minutes to spare and nothing else is available.
Dino is built into the Chrome desktop and mobile browsers and here I take a look at the version that is available on Android phones.
No internet? Play Dino offline!
There is nothing worse than having no internet connection. What are we supposed to do when almost everything we need is online these days? It is frustrating being offline and to help make you feel a bit better, or less bored perhaps, Chrome provides a built-in game to help you pass the time until the internet starts working again. Hopefully, it is just a temporary fault, and it will fix itself. In the meantime, play Dino.
Put your Android phone into flight mode so that all internet access is disabled. It simulates a web access fault. Then start Chrome browser and go to any website you want. It doesn’t really matter which because none will work in flight mode.
Naturally, Chrome reports that there is no internet access available, and that the website cannot be reached. Notice that there is also a little monochrome dinosaur T-Rex character on the left side of the screen. What’s that for? It’s Dino and he is waiting to play!
Press Dino and the game is initialized. It is an old-school sideways scroller that is similar to games from long ago in the early years of home computers. Dino runs automatically as the ground scrolls from right to left across the screen.
Soon after starting to run, cacti appear in this barren landscape and tapping the screen at just the right time causes Dino to jump them. Fail to clear a cactus and the game is over. It is basic, it is simple, but it is also fun to play for a few minutes.
Turn the phone into landscape mode and it fills the screen nicely. You can see your current score and high score on the right. When you have had enough, disable flight mode on your phone to return to normal.
Add the Chrome Dino widget. Play anytime!
Dino is a diversion for those occasions when you cannot get on the internet. However, there is a way to play at any time and there is no need to put the phone into flight mode. Dino is available as a Chrome widget that you can add to a home screen on the phone.
How you add widgets varies with different versions of Android and with phone makes and models. Try pressing and holding on an empty space on one of the home screens. This shows home screen customization options on my Samsung phone with Android 12.
Press the Widgets button at the bottom of the screen and find the Chrome widgets.
Widget selection is different with different phones and versions of Android, but you should be able to work it out. Several Chrome widgets are available and one of them is Dino. You can tell from the large icon. Add it to a home screen.
The advantage of this widget is that it enables you to play Dino anytime. You do not need flight mode and it works when there is normal internet access. It is better this way because it avoids the no internet message. It just goes straight to the game and lets you play.
