Games to play when you're bored

Boredom has a short window. If it takes ten minutes to get a game going, you've already found something else to do. These are built to get you playing quickly: open the site, pick a game, create a room, and you're in. No account, no download, no tutorial.

If you're on your own, Memory Match, Word Scramble and Hangman all work solo, and most of the rest let you add computer players in the lobby. If there's someone nearby, send them the four-digit code or show them the QR code and they can join from their own phone.

If you have five minutes: Hangman (about three to eight minutes) or Connect 4 (three to ten). If you have fifteen: Word Scramble, Memory Match or Bomb Pass, each around five to fifteen. If it's a long, empty afternoon: Snakes & Ladders takes ten to twenty minutes and Ludo twenty to forty.

If there's a group and you want noise, Bomb Pass has three to twenty players and takes one tap to play. If you want a bit of thinking, Imposter needs at least four and rewards a good bluff.

The same setup works when you're bored in a group, whether that's a waiting room, a long car journey with passengers, or a quiet office corner. One person creates a room and everyone else joins from their own phone, so there's nothing to pass around and no one is left watching.