Six games, held up to the light.
ZelKorVicQanix is an independent guide to six free browser games. We play each one, then write down what it is, how it is controlled and who it suits. Nothing runs on this site — the games live on Poki.
Open the catalogue
THE VIEW ON THE SCREEN · WHAT A GUIDE IS FOR
PLATE I · THE PROGRAMME
A word before the show
A lanternist looks at a slide before showing it. That is all this site does. We play each of the six games long enough to reach the part where it repeats, then write one page about it: what it is, which keys do what, what is worth knowing in the first few minutes, and who it will suit. We are not Poki and we did not make any of these games.
More about the editors and the methodPLATE II · THE CARRIER
The six in the carrier
One guide each, in the order they sit in the carrier. Every entry carries the same fields, so two games can be compared without reading both pages end to end.
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01 IoFlyOrDie.io
Start as a fly, eat, evolve, and try not to be eaten.
Read the guide -
02 ArcadeCatpad
Bat things around as a cat, stack boxes, collect what glitters.
Read the guide -
03 SimulationHarvest Simulator
Drive the harvester, clear the field, upgrade, do it again on a wider machine.
Read the guide -
04 CasualNails DIY: Manicure Master
Shape the nails, paint them, decorate, take the picture.
Read the guide -
05 RacingUpgrade the Cars
Pick the right gates, arrive with a big number, spend it on cars.
Read the guide -
06 ActionMagic Battleground
Loose-limbed arena fights with magic and a lot of physics.
Read the guide
PLATE III · SIX APERTURES
Six masks, six kinds of game
A lantern slide is cut with a mask — a shaped window in the mount. We give one mask to each genre, and it follows a game everywhere on this site: in the carrier, in the catalogue and at the top of its guide.
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Io
Shared arenas. Other people are playing at the same time, in the same space, and they are not scenery.
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Arcade
Short runs and a score. Learn one loop, then run it better.
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Simulation
A job with tools. Drive, work, sell, upgrade, and go round again.
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Casual
Nothing chases you. Sit down, make something, leave when you like.
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Racing
Forward motion and lanes. Decisions taken at speed.
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Action
Fighting and physics. Short bouts and quick restarts.
PLATE IV · THE KEY SHEET
Keys and gestures, all six at once
Everything you press, on one sheet. Taken from the games themselves and checked against each game's page on Poki.
- MouseSteer the creature
- ↑ ↓ ← →Steer the creature
- TouchDrag to steer
- Mouse moveMove the paw
- Mouse clickBat, pick up, pet
- TapThe same, on touch
- W / ↑Forward
- S / ↓Reverse
- A D / ← →Steer
- EAdjust the camera
- MouseMenus and upgrades
- Tap / clickPick and apply
- Hold and dragPaint
- MouseThe same, on a computer
- Swipe / dragChange lane
- A / DChange lane
- ← →Change lane
- W A S DMove
- ↑ ↓ ← →Move
- X / Y / ZStrike
- Mouse clickStrike
PLATE V · THE LANTERN ROOM
Write to the lantern room
One address, read by the people who write the guides. A control listed wrong, a game that has changed since we checked, a question about how we work — all of it lands in the same inbox.
Contact the editorsPLATE VI · QUESTIONS AT THE DOOR
Asked before the lights go down
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01
Are the games free?
Yes. All six are free to play on Poki. This site sells nothing and has nothing to buy.
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02
Do I have to download or install anything?
No. Every game here runs in a browser tab on Poki. There is no installer and no plugin.
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03
Do I need an account?
Not for this site, and not for the games — Poki lets you play without registering.
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04
What happens when I follow a game link?
It opens poki.com in a new tab, on that game's page. Poki is a separate company with its own terms, privacy policy and advertising.
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05
Can I play on a phone?
All six list computer, phone and tablet support on Poki. Two of them, Nails DIY and Upgrade the Cars, were built for touch first.
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06
Does this site collect anything about me?
Only what the cookie notice describes. There is no account, no newsletter and no form to fill in.
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07
Who writes the guides?
The ZelKorVicQanix editorial team. Until we can publish named authors, guides are signed by the team rather than by invented people.