WE all know that feeling, we’re at work or at home, where we have a gap between tasks, and in an effort to stave off the boredom we turn to our phones.

That might mean endlessly scrolling through TikTok videos, checking updates on X (formerly Twitter) or catching up on WhatsApp messages.

While it may not be our go-to, we’ve compiled a list of fun activities or games that can be productive, fun and even educational.

Here are five fun activities you can access for free when your brain needs a break.

1. Quick, Draw!

We’ve all played games like 30 Seconds and Charades but this game takes it to another level.

It is a quick escape using our computer and it’s called Quick, Draw!

This is an online guessing game where you, the computer user, must draw an object described in 20 seconds using your mouse or stylus, all while artificial intelligence calls out guesses.

This is an AI experiment and the AI earns from each drawing.

You are given six objects to draw and you also have an eraser, should you feel you’re on the wrong path.

2. Speed Typing Online

This website has a few mini-games that you can play, and as the name suggests, it’s all about typing the fastest. There are five mini games within Speed Typing Online but the most popular is typing the alphabet on your keyboard in the quickest time possible.

The display gives you your time, your speed and the best times from people doing the speed typing from all over the world.

In the About Us section of the website it says that the intended aim of the site is to provide a free online typing test ‘containing all of the necessary features believed to be basic requirements for any typing test’.

3. Snake

With this game there is a sense of nostalgia for people who used Nokia phones, as it was one of the first games accessible to anyone who owned a phone.

The original game involved using the directional keys on your phone to guide a snake as it slithers around your screen to eat its food, which causes it to grow longer.

The aim of Snake is to get the snake to be as long as possible by avoiding hitting the walls or the body of the snake.

While there are various iterations of the game online, Google has a fun mini game using its search option.

Simply type in Snake game into the search option and you have access to the game.

Granted, the snake is more comical looking than its ’90s predecessor but it’s still a fun game to play.

4. Sporcle

If you’re wanting to keep your brain active and enjoy a collection of quizzes suited to almost every one on the planet then Sporcle is your go-to site.

There are geography quizzes (guess the flag, name all the countries in the world), sports quizzes, movie quizzes and even multiple choice quizzes.

5. I’m Feeling Curious 

This activity is a great way to learn random facts that you might need one day, say perhaps in a pub quiz or to impress a stranger.

It’s fairly simple and requires just one phrase.

Type out ‘I’m Feeling Curious’ into your Google search bar, and you’ll learn something new. It is random, but it’s a pretty cool hack.

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