Browser games are easy, until something goes wrong. The game freezes in the middle of a match. The sound cuts out. The picture stutters during a 
Drunken Fighters combo. Below are seven practical fixes for the most common problems, in order of impact.
Work through them from the top. The first three solve most problems on their own. If your only problem is missing sound, jump to the questions at the end.
1. Use Chrome, Edge or Firefox
Browsers do not all run games equally well. Chrome and Edge share the same engine and run most games best. Firefox is close behind. Safari is fine for simple games but can struggle with heavy 3D ones. If a game will not load or acts strangely, try Chrome first. It is the single most useful thing you can do.
2. Close other tabs and apps
Every open tab uses memory, even when you are not looking at it. A video tab in the background can use a lot. If a game feels slow, close everything else first. This matters most in action games like 
Crazy Bar Brawl and racing games like 
Formula Racing Games Car Game, where a steady frame rate matters more than a high one.
3. Turn on hardware acceleration
Hardware acceleration lets your graphics chip do the drawing. It is usually on. On some older laptops it is off.
In Chrome: Settings → System → "Use graphics acceleration when available." Edge has the same switch under "System and performance".
In Firefox: Settings → General → Performance → untick "Use recommended performance settings" → tick "Use hardware acceleration when available."
Restart the browser afterwards. For 3D games, this can make a very large difference.
4. Go fullscreen
Most games have a fullscreen button inside the game frame. For a cleaner view, press F11 first to make the whole browser fullscreen. Then press the game's own button. A bigger picture is easier to read, and nothing else on the page can distract you.
5. Check your connection
A single-player game keeps running once it has loaded. Online games like 
Earthquake io need a steady connection the whole time. If an online match lags, try these:
- Use a cable if you have one
- On WiFi, sit closer to the router
- Pause videos and downloads during the match
- Try a different time of day
6. Clear the cache, but only the cache
A broken cache can leave a game stuck on its loading screen. Clearing it often helps. Be careful what you tick, though. Clear "cached images and files" only. Do not tick "cookies and other site data". Your saved games live there, and that option wipes them.
In Chrome, open Settings, go to Privacy and security, and choose "Delete browsing data". Tick the cache line and nothing else.
7. Turn off extensions, or try a private window
Ad blockers and privacy extensions sometimes break games. The signs are a blank game frame or a play button that does nothing. A quick test is a private window, also called incognito. Extensions are off there by default. If the game works in the private window, one of your extensions is the cause.
Bonus: two players on one keyboard
If keys stop responding when you both press at once, the game is probably not at fault. Many laptop keyboards can only read a few keys at the same time. This is called ghosting. An external keyboard usually fixes it. So does a game with fewer keys. Our zero, one and two button games were made for exactly this. Our same-keyboard guide explains the layouts.
Bonus: playing on a phone
Turn the phone sideways for action games. Use "Add to Home Screen" to put a favourite like 
Sudoku or 
Two Supra Drifters one tap away. Depending on your phone, it opens in the browser or in its own window.
Still stuck? Sometimes the easiest fix is a different game. Browse the full catalogue, or read our mobile browser games guide for more phone tips.
