For parents

What your child will find on PLAYPILE, game by game, and how the site works behind the scenes.

The short version

  • Every game is free and plays in the browser. Nothing to download, nothing to buy, no in-game purchases.
  • No account is needed for anything, and the site never asks for a name, age or email to play.
  • There is no chat and no way to message other players.
  • Two games, HOOPS and INKVALE, can be played online with a friend who has been given a four-letter room code. Nobody can join without that code.
  • The site shows adverts from Google. They are never placed over a game while it is being played.
  • PLAYPILE is made for a general audience, not specifically for children under 13. Some games contain violence, listed below.

What is in each game

Written by the person who made them, to describe what is actually on screen.

HIGHRISE

Shooter. Realistic gun and melee violence in first person, with blood. Enemies are shot and killed. Not for young children.

KICKBACK

Action. Cartoon pixel-art gun violence: enemies are shot and fall. No blood close up.

EXPOSURE

Horror. Horror. A dark ship, creatures in the dark and sudden scares, with a gun you fire to see. Bright flashes.

DUNGEON QUEST

Adventure. Fantasy combat with swords, bows and magic against monsters and a dragon, in a blocky retro style.

APEX

Driving. Motor racing. Cars crash and lose wheels; no people are shown hurt.

NASCAR

Driving. Motor racing on ovals. Cars crash and spin; no people are shown hurt.

NIGHT SHIFT

Action. A crime story seen from above: robberies, police chases and gunfights with the police. Small figures, no blood close up.

GRIND CITY

Sport. Skateboarding in the street. Falls, but nothing violent.

SOUTHPAW

Sport. Cartoon pixel-art boxing, plus wrestling and sumo. Fighters are knocked down; no blood.

INKVALE

Strategy. Storybook fantasy battles: archers, knights and wizards against ink monsters, which splash into ink when beaten. No blood.

PENGUIN DASH

Arcade. A cartoon penguin fishing while seals, sharks and orcas try to catch it. Nothing graphic.

GRAZE

Arcade. Abstract neon arrow dodging walls, spikes and saws. Crashes are a burst of sparks, and there are brief white screen flashes when you crash, use Phase, speed up or finish a level. No people and no violence.

LANTERNFALL

Action. Cartoon forest creatures (moths, wolves, walking trees, ghostly wraiths) catch fire and fade away in your lantern light; no blood or gore. The dark is spooky, with glowing eyes and a big shadowy boss, and there are bright flashes when weapons evolve, when the boss arrives and at sunrise.

BAILOUT

Driving. Cartoon stunt-bike crashes where the rider flops off as a ragdoll and slides on his face; no blood, and he is straight back on the bike. TNT explosions give a bright flash and a screen shake.

TWISTER.IO

Action. Cartoon tornadoes suck up toy cars, cows, houses and little people, who float away unharmed; rival storms swallow each other. No blood or injuries. Bigger storms throw small lightning bolts that flash brightly.

BLOCK ROYALE

Puzzle. A gentle block puzzle with no violence or scares. Clears set off sparkles, short glows along the cleared lines and a small screen shake.

BANNERFALL

Strategy. Medieval battles between toy-like armies with swords, bows, cavalry and siege engines. Soldiers fall and villages can be burned, but there is no blood.

CURVEBALL

Sport. Football free kicks with cartoon players. No violence: the keeper dives and the wall jumps. A short bright glow appears when the ball is kicked and when it hits the post, keeper, wall or net. Small camera flashes twinkle in the crowd, with many more after goals.

HELIX DROP

Arcade. A bouncing ball dropping down a tower of candy rings; when it hits red it goes splat in paint. Nobody gets hurt. Brief bright flashes when a ring is smashed or a level is cleared.

AXE THROW

Arcade. Throwing cartoon axes into spinning logs, which burst apart; boss logs have angry carved faces. Nobody is hurt.

TURBO GOAL

Sport. Cartoon cars play football with a giant ball. Cars can be rammed and blown up and come straight back; nobody is shown hurt. Bright coloured flash on every goal.

TANK DUEL

Strategy. Cartoon tanks shell each other across hills; hits make big cartoon fireballs and craters, and a beaten tank blows up with a KO! No people and no blood. Explosions give a soft screen flash and screen shake.

SUMO SLAM

Action. Cartoon toy sumo blobs bump each other off a floating ring and fall away into the clouds; nobody is hurt and there is no blood. Blobs flash white for a moment when hit, and the screen shakes on big hits.

PRISM

Arcade. A glowing ball hopping through spinning neon shapes. Nothing of concern; a short white flash when the ball breaks.

MOONSHOT SLUGGER

Sport. A cartoon baseball home run derby at night. No violence and nobody gets hurt; perfect hits give a brief white screen flash and home runs set off fireworks.

PUCK BLITZ

Sport. Neon air hockey with no violence or scares. Goals flash the goal mouth in colour with a screen shake, and hard hits throw sparks.

STRIKE

Sport. Ten-pin bowling in a neon alley, played by swiping. Pins crash with sparks and confetti. Nothing of concern.

WORD BLITZ

Puzzle. A 90-second word hunt on a grid of letter tiles, good for spelling. A blocklist removes rude words from the word list. Nothing of concern.

BEAT DASH

Arcade. A neon cube that shatters into squares when it hits a spike, then restarts straight away. No people, no blood. Bright colour flashes when you finish a level and go through gravity portals, and the background pulses on the beat.

NEON SWARM

Shooter. You shoot abstract glowing shapes, which burst into neon sparks. There are no people and no blood. Explosions shake the screen, and there is a bright full-screen flash when you use a bomb or lose a life.

STARLANE PINBALL

Arcade. A neon space-themed pinball table. No people and no violence. Big moments briefly flash the screen a bright colour.

PUTT PARK

Sport. Cartoon mini golf with no violence and no scares. The worst that happens is your ball splashes into a pond, and the 'ghost golfers' you race are just coloured balls.

CHIBI CLASH

Adventure. Cute cartoon pixel monsters battle with fire, leaves, water and lightning; beaten monsters faint with a "K.O.!" and there is no blood. Eggs are bought with coins won in the game only, never real money, and the odds are shown. Monsters flash white when hit, danger circles flicker red and white, and egg hatching and evolving end in a quick white flash.

SPELLDELVE

Adventure. Fantasy spell combat against cartoon monsters (slimes, skeletons, bats, ghosts, spiders) that dissolve away when they die, with no blood. Explosions light up the room, and the screen edges flash and pulse red when you are hurt or low on health.

FRONTLINE

Shooter. A war shooter with guns, grenades and explosions against simple low-poly soldiers. Hits show a small red puff and soldiers tumble when they fall; no gore. Muzzle flashes and explosion flashes.

PURSUED

Horror. A first-person horror chase through dark rainy streets: a tall, pale, eyeless monster chases you and grabs you when it catches you, with screams and jump scares. No blood or gore, but it is meant to be frightening. Lightning flashes and a pulsing red screen edge.

DEEP DIVE

Adventure. Cartoon pixel-art sea rescue. Sharks bite, jellyfish sting and eels zap the diver, which costs oxygen; there is no blood. Survivors can be lost if they run out of air (shown with a burst of bubbles and a message) and the diver can black out. Taking a hit gives a faint red screen tint and a small screen shake.

SKY ACES

Shooter. Cartoon biplane dogfights: planes are shot down in fireballs and falling wreckage, no people are shown hurt. Optional online play with strangers or friends via room codes (no chat). Explosion flashes and screen shake.

AUTO ARENA

Strategy. A cartoon auto-battler: you buy and arrange little animal and monster fighters, then they fight on their own with swords, arrows and spells. Beaten units burst into an ink splat, with no blood. Brief white hit flashes and small screen shakes.

TINY KNIGHT

Adventure. Cartoon sword fighting against cute pixel monsters (slimes, zombies, skeletons, bats, shadow creatures) that pop into particles when beaten, with no blood. Enemies flash white when hit, a short white screen flash on every level-up, a red glow at the screen edges when you are hurt, and screen shake on big hits.

THE MARK

Shooter. A sniper deduction game: find the one enemy agent in a crowd and shoot them. No blood; people simply fall down. A short white flash on every shot and a flashing red and blue siren light on some missions.

MIRROR DUEL

Action. A one-player fighting puzzle with two glowing stick figures: you control both, one mirrored. No blood; knocked-out fighters just fall over. Brief white screen flashes on hazard hits and knockouts.

BUBBLE TROUBLE

Arcade. A bright, cute candy-city platformer with a bubble-gum blob. Enemies are candy that pop into confetti; no blood and no full-screen flashes.

PIZZA PANIC

Driving. A cartoon pizza-delivery game: ride a scooter through traffic and throw pizzas at doors. No violence beyond bumping cars and splatting pizzas. Screen shake but no flashing lights.

TOY SOLDIER BLITZ

Shooter. A toy army-man shooter with fort building: no blood, plastic soldiers just topple over. Optional online play with one friend by room code (direct connection, no chat). Muzzle and explosion flashes, and a red screen-edge glow when hit.

SKI MOUNTAIN

Sport. An endless skiing and snowboarding run with cartoon wipeouts and no injuries shown. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. The screen shakes on crashes and speed lines rush past at high speed; no flashing lights.

DODGEBALL DASH

Sport. Cartoon 3v3 dodgeball against computer teams; players who are hit just walk to the bench. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. A short red or yellow screen tint and screen shake on hits and catches.

ROOF RUN

Arcade. A one-button rooftop runner: jump gaps, slide under signs, smash through glass. No violence; a crash just sends the runner tumbling. Screen shake but no flashing.

FIREWORK FRENZY

Arcade. Steer a firework rocket through rings and set off chains of fireworks over a pixel city. No violence. Brief whole-screen flashes on firework bursts, crashes and level clears.

RUSH HOUR

Driving. A traffic-weaving racer with blocky cartoon cars; crashes throw off block debris and sparks and nobody is shown hurt. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. The screen flashes red on crashes and roadwork signs blink amber. Not to be confused with the Rush Hour mode inside STACK ATTACK.

BLADE DASH: CASTLE

Action. An ink-and-paper samurai game: you dash through guards, who vanish in ink splats, to rescue a princess. The final boss is cut in half in a stylised ink finish. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases (outfits are bought with coins earned in play). Spring-spike plates flash red.

EGG WARS

Shooter. A first-person shooter where everyone is a clay egg; eggs crack and break, with no blood. No accounts and no in-game purchases. Optional online rooms are joined with a 4-letter code shared between friends; there is no chat.

KART CLASH

Driving. Toy karts battle with cartoon rockets, gumballs and mines; knocked-out karts respawn and nobody is hurt. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases.

SLOPE RUSH

Arcade. Steer a glowing ball down a neon track. No characters, no violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. The screen flashes on crashes and when the colours change.

TUNNEL DIVE

Arcade. An abstract black-and-white tunnel runner with no characters and no violence. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. Warning: fast, rotating high-contrast patterns and screen flashes throughout; not suitable for anyone sensitive to patterns or flashing.

BRIDGE RACE

Arcade. A pastel race where clay figures collect bricks and bump into each other; nobody is hurt. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases (hats are bought with coins earned in play). No flashing.

HOLE FEAST

Arcade. A hole swallows parts of a miniature toy town, including cars, buildings and tiny people, who just drop out of sight. No blood, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

STICK SWING

Arcade. A folded-paper figure swings from star to star. Obstacles knock it back and a fall restarts the level; no blood. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

MOTO STUNT

Driving. A cartoon stunt bike game in a comic-book style. Crashes show a comic 'boom' and the rider respawns at the last flag; no injuries shown. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases.

DRIFT TOWER

Driving. A one-button game where a clay car drifts along a zigzag road in the sky. No violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

EGGY ROAD

Driving. A watercolour physics game: carry an egg in a truck without cracking it. No violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. A short flash when the egg cracks.

STUNT CITY

Driving. A free-roam stunt park with a chrome car, ramps and loops; no people and no violence. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases (upgrades use cash earned in play). No flashing.

CRAZY CATTLE

Action. Knitted toy sheep ram each other off a floating quilt and fall away in a puff of wool. No injuries, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

FREEZE RUN

Arcade. A pastel red-light, green-light game. Runners caught moving pop into confetti; no blood. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

ARCHER DUEL

Shooter. An archery duel in a woodcut-print style. Arrows stick in the archers, struck limbs go limp, and a defeated archer collapses as a ragdoll with ink splats. Stylised, no realistic blood. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases.

ROOFTOP DUEL

Shooter. Chunky voxel cartoon fighters shoot each other with toy-like guns to push each other off a roof; no blood. Two players can play on one keyboard. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases.

SNAKE ARENA

Arcade. Glowing snakes on a dark sea; a snake that crashes bursts into orbs. No blood, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. A pink screen flash when you die.

PAPER LAND

Strategy. Paper tokens cut out territory on a sheet of graph paper; a caught token is snipped off. No violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

CUBE MERGE

Puzzle. A number-merging snake game with crystal cubes; snakes break into star shards. No violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

GETAWAY FLOP

Action. 1930s-cartoon crooks race over rooftops and knock each other off with popguns, blunderbusses and cream pies; no blood. Two players can share a keyboard. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. Old-film flicker.

BLOCK WORLD

Adventure. First-person block parkour in a painted sky. Falling just respawns you at a checkpoint; no violence. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. A soft screen flash on a fall.

SKY CLIMB

Adventure. A calm climbing game up a floating tower of junk; falling only costs height. No violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. No flashing.

GOLF ORBIT

Sport. A one-button golf game across sunny tropical islands. No characters, no violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases (upgrades use starfish collected in play). No flashing.

STILLSHOT

Shooter. A minimal first-person shooter against red crystal figures that shatter into shards; no blood. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases. Muzzle flashes and a brief flash when you are hit.

SUBWAY RUN

Arcade. A cartoon endless runner in a graffiti train yard; a crash shows a BUSTED card and nobody is hurt. No chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases (coins are earned in play). Red and orange screen flashes on crashes.

MARBLE ROLL

Arcade. Roll a glass marble along stone courses in the sky. No characters, no violence, no chat, no accounts, no in-game purchases (marbles are bought with gems earned in play). No flashing.

BLADEBORN

Action, very violent. The characters are plain grey cube men, but the combat is gory: claws, severed limbs, lots of red blood and finishing moves; enemies carry guns and blades. No accounts, no chat and no purchases. Desktop only.

IRONSIGHT

Shooter, realistic. A military first-person shooter against computer soldiers with realistic guns and grenades; little blood. No accounts, no chat and no purchases. Desktop only.

STACK ATTACK

Arcade. Cartoon food falls and stacks up. A seagull steals bits of burger, and customers gag and walk out when you catch a boot, a fish or a sock. No violence.

SNOWBALL ROYALE

Action. Cartoon kids throw snowballs at each other; three hits knock a kid out to the sidelines and they come back a few seconds later. A dog runs through and knocks kids over. The screen shakes and its edges briefly go red when you are hit. Nothing graphic.

WRECKING BALL

Arcade. Cartoon buildings, cars and gas tanks get smashed, crumple and explode into dust and fireballs. There are no people in it and nobody gets hurt.

MOWER MADNESS

Driving. Cartoon garden chaos: gnomes and toys get knocked flying and shatter, a dog chases the mower and bumps into it, and cats leap away hissing. No animals are hurt and there is no blood.

SUSHI CONVEYOR

Arcade. Cartoon customers in a sushi bar get grumpy and storm out if kept waiting, and a cat steals plates. No violence.

BOMB SQUAD

Puzzle. A cartoon bomb that goes BOOM with a comic-book explosion, a bright white flash and a sooty pair of eyes when you fail. A strike tints the screen red and shakes it. Nobody is hurt and there is no blood.

GRAPPLE GOBLIN

Arcade. A cartoon goblin swings over spikes, lava and icy water and dodges bats. A fall is a puff of smoke and a restart at the last flag. Nothing graphic.

PARRY

Arcade. Cartoon fantasy fighters (bandits, knights, ninjas, ogres, pirates) are knocked flying or puff away with a KO when you block them back. Small cartoon explosions from bombs and fireballs. No blood.

ONE TILE

Puzzle. A cartoon pixel thief sneaks past guards, cameras and lasers. Being spotted sets off an alarm and a soft red pulse over the room, then the level restarts. Nobody is hurt.

DEMOLITION DERBY

Driving. Cartoon top-down cars ram each other, lose panels, smoke and catch fire. There are no people shown and nobody is hurt.

TOUGE DRIFT

Driving. Cartoon cars racing and drifting on a mountain road. They scrape the guardrail and bump each other, with sparks and tyre smoke. No crashes that hurt anyone and no people shown.

BLADE DASH

Action. Stylised ink stick-figure samurai fights: enemies split in two when cut, barrels explode, and hits leave red ink splats on the paper. No realistic blood or gore.

TINY HARBOR

Adventure. A peaceful island game. Nobody gets hurt and you cannot die. You chop trees and catch, cook and eat fish; storms bring rain, thunder and lightning.

STACK

Arcade. A stacking game. Nothing of concern.

DRIFTER

Arcade. A spaceship shooting at asteroids. Nothing of concern.

MERGE

Puzzle. A fruit-merging puzzle. Nothing of concern.

PIPEWORKS

Puzzle. A pipe puzzle. Nothing of concern.

SWEEP

Puzzle. Minesweeper. Nothing of concern.

QUICKDRAW

Shooter. Cartoon western gunfights between two cowboys, with hits counted by limb. Bright muzzle flashes; no blood.

HOOPS

Sport. Basketball. Can be played online with a friend using a room code; there is no chat.

SPIKE

Sport. Volleyball between two jelly blobs. Nothing of concern.

CROSSING

Arcade. A pixel-art frog crossing roads and rivers. The frog can be run over or fall in the water, cartoon style.

Privacy and children

Scores and progress are kept in the browser on your own device. A child can play every game without an account. If an account was made by a child under 13, email us and it will be deleted. You can see and delete everything the site has saved in a browser on the privacy settings page, and choose non-personalised adverts there too.

Screen time and wellbeing

Every game can be paused, and none of them punish you for stopping. None use daily login rewards, timers that make you come back, or anything to buy. Some games have bright flashes; the accessibility page lists them.

Questions

Email us with anything at all.