Roku’s game lineup has 5 hidden gems you shouldn’t miss

Summary

• Gaming on Roku is both free and fun, offering options like Daily Trivia, Games of Chance, and a variety of Free Arcade Games.
• Enjoy Snake, Carnival Shooter, and more games with simple controls and entertaining graphics.
• Nostalgic gaming options add a playful distraction, letting you effortlessly switch between different games whenever you want.

Whether you’re racing through Mario Kart on your Nintendo Switch or getting lost in The Last of Us on PlayStation, your mind can be taken away for hours on end. It’s easy to escape for hours. But if pricey consoles aren’t in the budget, your smart TV might be the answer.

You can play games on your Roku, and the best part is, many of them are free. All it takes is adding another app to your Roku home screen. You can search for “games” to see what’s available, but if you’re looking for recommendations, here are some of my favorite games on Roku to try out.

1 Daily Trivia

Roku throws this one in for free

Daily Trivia isn’t an app you need to download — it’s actually a section on the left-hand menu of your Roku. The activity is a great way to take a quick break before deciding what to watch and offers a few minutes of blissful distraction. Each round has 10 questions with four answer options, and all you have to do is move the arrow on your remote and press OK to submit your answer.

There’s no time limit, so you aren’t rushing to earn more points by beating the clock with a faster answer. The game simply asks you 10 questions, waits for your responses, and then tells you how many you got right. You can play as many rounds as you want — despite being called Daily Trivia, there’s no limit to the number of rounds or questions you can answer in a day.

2 Games of Chance

Get your casino fix in for the day

If you’re someone who loves a trip to the casino and the thrill of throwing down some chips, you might struggle to find anything on Roku that truly pays off. But the closest thing is Games of Chance, a free app you can download.

This game has a lot going on, with multiple plotlines and plenty of bonuses and boosts to keep things interesting. You’ll start with a bankroll of coins and dive into the action with slots as the first game.

You can spin the slots and rack up power-ups and boosts the more you play. While there are options to spend real money on exclusive rewards and extra features, the free version works just fine if you’re happy watching the colorful slots spin through different themes. You can also choose to watch ads to earn more coins each day, which will keep the fun going without spending a (real) dime.

3 Free Arcade Games

This app has a ton of games built in

What if you aren’t looking for just one game but an entire arcade for you to pick from? Free Arcade Games is an app you should absolutely download. This offers new games frequently and has a bunch listed for you.

All the games are different, making this a must-have app for anyone looking at their Roku for new games.

Some of the options include:

• Cake Puzzle (a matching game that has you sort slices of cake)
• Stick Ninja (a balancing game where you try to jump large gaps with sticks)
• Snake (the classic phone game)
• Temple Maze (collect coins and avoid obstacles in ancient temples)
• Pac-Man (the iconic arcade game)
• Drag Racing (a racing game with the ability to race cars and earn more points to change your car)

Some games in the app are playable right away, while others link you to a separate app that you can download and access from the home screen. The variety of options makes it appealing since you aren’t stuck with just one game. You can play one for a little while and then hop to another one without having to leave the app most of the time.

All the games are different, making this a must-have app for anyone looking at their Roku for new games.

4 Snake

A classic with a few different options

As you might have guessed after looking at the “controller” you have to play with, Snake is a logical choice as a mainstay for Roku games because it only requires the four arrow buttons that are on the Roku remote. There are plenty of Snake games available to download, but the version developed by Romans I XVI stands out for its versatility.

You can switch up the gameplay if you’re looking for new challenges.

It still has that classic design that’ll remind you of playing on your first cellphone — just a line moving across the screen, gobbling up bits. But this version lets you change the colors, adjust the size of the bits, and choose between open or closed boundaries. You can also set the pace to slow, medium, or fast to make things easier or more challenging. While the Roku remote might not allow for the quick turns you could pull off on a phone, this game is still one you can play for hours without getting bored.

5 Carnival Shooter

Spend a day at the local fair and win some prizes

Looking to practice your target shooting? Carnival Shooter is a fun choice that lets you maneuver and shoot at moving targets. It’s similar to the water shooting games you’ve played your local carnival, and in that same vein, it keeps things simple and straightforward. The upgrades are minimal — you can unlock better guns the more you play — but it’s a great way to pass the time for a bit.

This game was found by downloading the app Games Hub which is a large library of game apps that you can download.

The levels get tougher the more you play, and you can shoot at different targets to rack up more points. There’s an Endless Mode that keeps going as long as you do, and an Arcade Mode with distinct levels and a limited number of targets. You’ll find targets of different colors, shapes, and even some that look like animals, adding variety to the game. It’s got a nostalgic vibe that’ll hit home if you loved Duck Hunt on the Nintendo NES.​​​​​​​