ThePickAU is a short directory of familiar games that run inside a web browser. We keep the list small on purpose: each entry is a game most people already know how to play, hosted by the people who built it, and reachable in one click. We do not host the games ourselves, we do not run accounts, and we do not ask for anything before you start. If a link stops working or a game changes, we drop it from the list.
Four ways into a chessboard, plus the classics people already know. Each link opens the game on the site that runs it.
The number grid, in four difficulty levels. One rule to learn, a fresh grid every time.
sudoku.comThe Klondike layout that shipped with every old desktop, running with the same rules.
solitr.comRead the numbers, work out where the mines sit, clear the grid. Deduction, not reflexes.
minesweeper.onlineThere is no process here worth calling a process, but people ask, so here it is written down.
Each card says what kind of game it is and who runs it. Chess and sudoku if you want to think slowly, Tetris if you have four minutes and want them filled.
The link takes you to the site that hosts the game. You stay in your browser the whole time — there is no app, no plugin and no download at any point.
Nothing here keeps track of you. Close the tab when you are done, and open the list again whenever you feel like another round.
A short list is only useful if someone looks after it. These are the rules we follow.
ThePickAU is built around one idea: the games worth going back to are the ones people already know. Nothing here needs a tutorial, an account, or a setup step before the first move.
Everything on the list has a long history — chess, sudoku, solitaire, minesweeper. The rules are the ones you already know, so there is nothing to read before you start.
If a game asks you to install something, create an account before the first move, or use a specific device, it does not go on the list.
Phone, tablet or laptop: the same page and the same games. Chess and sudoku in particular are comfortable on a phone; Tetris is easier with a keyboard, but it plays either way.
Links break and sites change. We open each one from time to time, and anything that no longer works the way it is described here gets removed.
ThePickAU
The list stays short and gets checked. When something better turns up it goes on, and when a link stops working it comes off. That is the whole maintenance plan.
Mostly about chess, about what a browser needs, and about practising without playing a full game.
If you know a browser game that fits the list — a classic, no install, playable straight away — send it over. The same goes for a link that has stopped working.
