But you can’t peel the stickers off: Play Rubik’s Cube on Google

It’s pretty clear the folks at Google have an appreciation for games. Their fully functional version of Pac-Man for the game’s 30^th anniversary garnered some attention. Searching for “do a barrel roll” will make your browser do just that, and the ever-present Konami Code interacts with a number of Google services, like Drive and the Google Play app.

Today the company is celebrating a different kind of gaming. Today is the 40^th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube, and in honor of that occasion you can play a fully interactive version of the puzzle block in your browser.

The popular 80’s fad doesn’t predate video games (it was released in 1974, several years after Spacewar! and the Magnavox Odyssey) but it does hearken back to a simpler time. Though now, I suppose you might say Google has made it into a video game.

Heading to Google and clicking the cube will activate the Easter egg. It works just like the real thing (besides being made from pixels, of course): you can turn all six of the toy’s axes and even turn it to different sides for a better view. You can even see a controls tutorial by clicking the ‘?’ at the bottom-right of the screen.

So have at it! Just remember, when you get frustrated and give up after 30 seconds there’s always this guy to make you feel worse:

Steven Strom

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Steven "The Future of Games Journalism" Strom plays entirely too much Dota 2. He sometimes plays games when he's not too busy writing about them and their place in our culture, and thinks maybe they're not just a fad after all.