Did you know Google has secret Wimbledon mini-game?

Google has been known to hide neat little pop-culture references within its pages to surprise users (remember finger-snapping Thanos?), and it seems that they’re up to old tricks again. In conjunction with the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament that concludes this weekend (24 July), they’ve hidden an 8-bit mini-game Easter egg to pay tribute to the penultimate Grand Slam of 2019.

To access Google’s mini-Wimbledon, simply search for “Wimbledon” from Google’s homepage (or your Chrome search bar), and scroll right through singles, doubles, mixed doubles, until you see small green tennis ball. You’ll see the mini-game pop up, and you’re good to go for a couple of matches.

The game is relatively simple, with characters including animals, astronauts, and even Android’s own mascot appearing. Players don’t have any control over the swing, power, or direction of strokes. Instead, the game brings a decidedly arcade-y feel to it, reminiscent of older SEGA days. The ball gets faster as the game goes on, with players scored on the length of each rally.

I’ve only got a high score of about 7 so far, but perhaps that’s due to me using a mouse as my input device on my laptop. The mini-game is also available on mobile versions, which also makes the game feel a whole lot more natural.

While Google has a history of paying tributes like this, this could also potentially allow Google to extrapolate other information about players’ age, cognitive ability, and so on. It seems pretty insignificant now, but it’s likely that everything you do online provides some form of data that can be used. But that’s purely speculation at this point.

You’ll likely not be able to experience the game after the 24th of July, so click away!

[ VIA ]