BioGames kiosk mode

What the kiosk does

• All the games in English, Portuguese, French, Spanish and Italian, with big language buttons at the top.
• The age and style filters, and a “Surprise me” button.
• Before each game, its page (the original it's a nod to, the science, where it cuts corners), with the links shown as plain text so no one wanders off.
• Each game full screen, with a big “All games” button to go back.
• Tidying up between visitors: after 3 minutes with no key, touch or mouse movement, a game asks “Still playing?” and goes back to the list 20 seconds later; the list returns to its starting language after 2 idle minutes; saved games are cleared, so each child starts afresh. Personal bests stay in that browser.
• Nothing is sent anywhere: no accounts, no cookies, no tracking.

The kiosk's address

This address starts the kiosk in the language of this page:

Open the kiosk →

Other languages (the language buttons at the top switch it too):

• Português: https://david.aragao.eu/biogames/kiosk/?lang=pt
• Français: https://david.aragao.eu/biogames/kiosk/?lang=fr
• Español: https://david.aragao.eu/biogames/kiosk/?lang=es
• Italiano: https://david.aragao.eu/biogames/kiosk/?lang=it

Kiosk mode in the browser

Every major browser on a computer has a kiosk mode: it opens one page full screen, with no address bar, tabs, menus or back button. With the kiosk page, that keeps children in the games rather than out on the open web, and a shortcut on the desktop starts it all with a double-click.

It's a fence, not a lock: Alt+F4 (⌘Q on a Mac) still closes the browser, and anyone can restart the computer. For a stand you keep an eye on, or a classroom, that's usually enough. For more, see “Locking it down further” below.

On Windows

Right-click the desktop and choose New → Shortcut. Paste the line for your browser, click Next, call it “BioGames” and click Finish. Double-click it to start; Alt+F4 closes it.

Microsoft Edge (already on every Windows computer)

Close every Edge window first. If the shortcut opens an ordinary window, Edge was still running in the background: turn off Startup boost (Edge's Settings → System and performance) and try again. Edge's kiosk runs as an InPrivate window, so nothing is kept once it's closed, personal bests included.

Google Chrome

The separate profile folder (--user-data-dir) keeps the kiosk apart from your own Chrome, with no bookmarks, history or saved passwords, and lets the shortcut work even when Chrome is already open.

Mozilla Firefox

Close every Firefox window first, or it opens an ordinary window instead.

On a Mac

Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities), paste the line for your browser and press Return. ⌘Q closes the kiosk.

Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox

On Linux

The same switch works with Chrome, Chromium and Firefox; put the line in a desktop launcher if you like.

Locking it down further

Windows: a kiosk account

Windows 10 and 11 Pro, Enterprise and Education can set up a proper kiosk: a separate local account that only runs Microsoft Edge, on one page. In Settings → Accounts → Other users, choose “Set up a kiosk”, pick Microsoft Edge, then “As a digital sign or interactive display”, and paste the kiosk's address. When that account signs in there's no desktop, Start menu or taskbar, and if the browser is closed it starts again; Ctrl+Alt+Delete is the way out. Windows Home doesn't have this. If you're at a school, ask your IT team: they may already set up computers this way.

iPad and iPhone: Guided Access

Guided Access keeps the tablet in one app. Turn it on in Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access and set a passcode. Open the kiosk's address in Safari, press the side, top or Home button (whichever yours has) three times, draw a circle round the address bar to switch it off, and tap Start. Three presses and the passcode end it.

Android: app pinning

App pinning keeps the tablet in the browser. Turn it on in Settings (usually under Security; on Samsung it's “Pin windows”), with “Ask for PIN before unpinning”. Open the kiosk's address in Chrome, go to the recent apps screen, tap Chrome's icon and choose Pin. The address bar is still there, so it's looser than on a computer; for a stand, a kiosk-browser app from the Play Store can do more.

Before the visitors arrive

• Plug in the power and turn off sleep and the screen saver.
• Set the volume: the music plays from the first game, and S or the ♪ button switches it off.
• Play one game yourself first. On a keyboard the keys are Q, A, O, P and Space; tablets show touch controls.

For teachers and educators

If you use the games with a class or a group, I'd love to hear how it went: what worked, what didn't, what puzzled your students and what's missing. I'd also be glad to work with teachers who'd like to tie the games to their teaching program, so that a game fits a lesson in your curriculum: a question to talk over afterwards, a worksheet, a level that matches what the class is learning. I'm a beamline scientist, not a teacher, so your view of the classroom is exactly what I'm missing. Get in touch, in any of the site's languages.

The games are free to use in teaching: the code is under the MIT licence and the text under CC BY 4.0 (details at the bottom of the games page).