Google Doodle Games: How to play the latest Google doodle game, starting with today’s pangolin Valentine’s Day browser-based fun.
If you’ve made your way on to the interwebs today, you may already know that Google is marking Valentine’s Day the best way it knows how – by launching a fun interactive doodle.
Navigate inevitably to Google’s homepage and you’ll see a magenta coloured heart with a ‘play’ symbol in the middle of it, just above the search field. This is where your time-wasting journey begins.
What is a pangolin?
There’s also a couple of cutely illustrated pangolins loitering on either side of the throbbing organ – the little-known critters are often described as ‘scaly anteaters’ and are native to Asia and Africa.
Hit the play button and you’ll be guided through a walkthrough level, which will teach you the game’s controls.
Your left and right arrow keys allow you to move backwards and fowards, respectively, while hitting space bar (or tapping your up key; or clicking the big ‘up’ arrow in the bottom right-hand corner) let you jump in the air and avoid obstacles.
You’ll then get to play the game proper, and it’s one of the toughest Google doodles to date.
Your mission is to collect cocoa beans to help you bake a cake for your would-be Valentine – the basic mechanism reminds of one Mr Sonic the Hedgehog and his fondness of obtaining gold rings.
Reach 150 cocoa beans within the allotted time (three minutes for level one) and you’re through to the next stage, presumably, but we haven’t made it that far. You can also play it on your mobile device.
The game isn’t just about getting you through to home-time, though; it’s actually a joint effort between Google and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) designed to raise awareness of the paologin, which is the most poached and trafficked animal the world, according to the WWF.
What will the next Google doodle game be? Bookmark this page for all the latest updates.
Related: MWC 2017
WATCH: Game of the Year 2016
How many cocoa beans have you managed to collect? And what’s your favourite Google doodle of all-time? Let us know in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
