Zomg! Zerg Rush! In Google?!

A colleague in the office today informed me that there is a new Google “Easter-Egg” game creating buzz on the internet that when triggered allows users to play a mini Starcraft type game with the Google interface. Originally released last week, the game gives more than just search results for their users!

To play the game, simply go to Google and type “zerg rush” (or click here). You’ll need a HTML5 supported browser (such as Google’s own Chrome) for it to work. What you’ll see is dozens of the letter “O” appearing on your screen start to attack your search results! Users earn points by clicking on the letters to stop them and awarded a count for each kill! There is also a nifty “APM” or “Actions Per Minute” counter to keep track of how fast you are clicking! For added social media fun, Google allows you to post your score on Google+ and share with your friends!

For anyone that’s ever played Starcraft (an award-winning PC strategy game originally released over 14 years ago in 1998), you’ll know how annoying those little zerglings can be and this Google game is even more annoying! From what I’ve seen it’s near-impossible to beat! The below is what happens when you lose!

This is what happens when you don't click fast enough to keep those pesky critters away!

Google has always been famous for their constant logo changes known as “Doodles” (you can see their archive here) and since seeing HTML5 take off, they’ve also added interactive elements on their search results to keep things interesting (the now-famous “Zipper” from last week fro example).  Being in SEO, I spend much of my time in Google and these creative ways of allowing users to interact and create buzz about Google are fantastic as searching can get quite tedious at times! These interactions definitely freshen things up – keep up the good work Google!

How have you found the game? What’s your highest score? What APM can you achieve? Let me know in the comments below!