2-player games are here, plus a better way to filter the arcade

The arcade quietly crossed 90 games a while back and it started to show. Two things kept coming up in the messages we get: people wanted more games they could play against a friend on the same laptop, and people were scrolling forever to find anything. So that is what this update is about. A batch of new 2-player games, pass-and-play added to a few classics that only had a computer opponent before, and an actual filter sidebar so the arcade is not just one long scroll anymore.

Seven new games you play against a friend

All of these are local pass-and-play. No accounts, no invite links, just two people and one keyboard.

Twin fists is a co-op brawler. You and a friend clear waves of thugs from both sides of the screen and take on a boss together at the end. Duo gunners is the same idea with guns instead of fists, a run and gun level built for two.

If you would rather fight each other than side by side, Pixel duel is a proper versus fighter, punches, kicks, blocks and a fireball, best of three rounds. Sumo spheres is a lot sillier, you build up momentum and try to shove your rival out of a shrinking ring. Block volley puts you on opposite sides of a net for a quick volleyball match, and Neon trails is a light cycle duel where you box each other in with glowing trails until only one of you is left.

For something that takes ten seconds, Quick draw is a reflex duel. Wait for the signal, then draw faster than the other person. It is the kind of game you play once and then immediately demand a rematch for.

Pass-and-play added to the classics

A few board games in the arcade only let you play against the computer, which never made much sense for games that are normally played across a table. Drop four, Reversi and Tic-tac-toe now all have a real 2-player mode. Pick it on the start screen and you pass the device back and forth, same board, same rules, just an actual second player instead of a bot.

A proper filter sidebar, because the list got long

With close to a hundred games, sorting everything into one flat page stopped working. The arcade now groups games into eight categories, word and vocab, logic and puzzles, trivia and guessing, action and arcade, platformer and adventure, versus and 2-player, party and humor, and sandbox and idle, and there is a filter sidebar next to the games so you can narrow things down instead of scrolling past everything to find what you want.

You can search by keyword, tick a category to only see that kind of game, or filter by daily, 2-player or no timer if you just want something relaxed. On mobile the whole thing tucks behind a filter button so it stays out of the way until you need it. Small change, but it makes a real difference once you have this many games sitting in one place.

A few solo games while we were at it

Not everything this round needs a second player. Hop quest is a platformer with four themed levels, grass, tunnel, ice and fire, each with its own hazards. Blaster bots is a run and gun platformer with a boss at the end of each level. If you want something faster, Auto dash is an endless runner that keeps speeding up, and Orbit hook has you swinging from planet to planet trying not to miss the next one. Wobble tower and Stack slice are both about stacking blocks as high as you can without the whole thing toppling over, one with real physics, one with a timing twist.

That is the update. Grab a friend and try Twin fists or Pixel duel first, or just head to the arcade and use the new filters to find whatever you are in the mood for. Free, no sign up, runs in your browser.