What Is Zerg Rush?
Zerg Rush is a classic Google Easter egg that turns your search results page into a mini arcade game. When triggered, columns of the letter "O" (from the Google logo) drop onto the page and begin attacking your search results, eating away at them one by one. Your job is to click each O to destroy it before they wipe out the entire page.
At the end, the O's arrange themselves to spell "GG" (gamer slang for "good game"), and you are shown your score — how many O's you defeated and your clicks-per-minute. You can even share your score.
How to Play Zerg Rush
- Go to Google.com
- Search for "Zerg Rush"
- The O's immediately begin dropping and attacking your results
- Click each O repeatedly to destroy it (each O takes a few clicks)
- Try to protect as many results as possible before the page is consumed
- Watch the O's spell "GG" and review your final score
Note: As with all Google Easter eggs, availability can vary over time and by region. If it does not trigger directly, searching "Zerg Rush" will surface playable third-party recreations.
The Name's Origin — StarCraft
The term "Zerg Rush" comes from StarCraft, Blizzard's legendary real-time strategy game. The Zerg are an insectoid alien race whose signature tactic is overwhelming opponents early with huge numbers of cheap units — a "rush." The phrase entered gaming vocabulary to describe any strategy of winning through sheer overwhelming numbers rather than finesse.
Google's Easter egg is a perfect visual pun on this: a swarm of cheap, identical O's overwhelming your defenses through pure numbers. It launched on April Fools' Day 2012 and became an instant favorite.
Zerg Rush and the Barrel Roll — Kindred Easter Eggs
Zerg Rush and the barrel roll are two of Google's most famous interactive Easter eggs, and both are rooted in gaming culture — Zerg Rush from StarCraft, the barrel roll from Star Fox 64. Both transform the static Google interface into something playful and surprising.
The barrel roll is the one you can experience right here, as many times as you want. Try our Custom Generator for 10, 100, or 1,000 spins — far beyond what Google's single rotation offers.
More Google Tricks to Explore
- Google Gravity — the page collapses and falls
- Google Underwater — the page sinks beneath the waves
- Elgoog — Google mirrored and reversed
- All Google Easter Eggs — the complete guide