Question 1

What is Ourcade?

Accepted Answer

Ourcade is a little corner of the old internet that someone forgot to shut down. It's an arcade, a water cooler, a junk drawer of the web — a finite, hand-built page you visit, not a feed you fall into. There's no infinite scroll, no recommendation engine deciding what you see next. It's the same page for everyone today, and a different page tomorrow.

Question 2

Why was this built?

Accepted Answer

Because the modern web optimizes you instead of delighting you. Every site is a slot machine tuned to keep you pulling the lever. Ourcade is the opposite of that: a place with edges. You can reach the bottom. It's curated by a human, it ends, and then you go live your life. Nostalgia is the bait; the point is an internet that respects your attention.

Question 3

What can I actually do here?

Accepted Answer

Plenty. The Games shelf has original cabinets you can play in the browser. Today's Arcade (the daily band on the home page) refreshes every day with a tip, the site news, a daily poll, and odd curiosities. The Web Run is a deterministic "old internet maze" — everyone gets the same start and target page each day and races to find the lost page in the fewest clicks. The Water Cooler is the pop-culture page: today's countdown, on-this-day, the buzz, and a Hot-or-Not. /stumble flings you at a random artifact from the web. And there's a Phone you can use to text other Ourcade members.

Question 4

What's the Water Cooler?

Accepted Answer

It's where everyone "gathers" — a 2000s e-zine version of what's-everyone-talking-about. Four date-seeded sections every day: The Countdown (a top-5 chart), On This Day, The Buzz (short gossip blurbs), and Hot or Not (you vote). No algorithm, no feed — just a finite page that's a different place each day. Look for the aqua 💧 WATER COOLER button in the top nav.

Question 5

What are relics? (the little 💾 things)

Accepted Answer

If you have to ask, you probably haven't found one yet. Find one and it's yours, saved to your profile forever — and no, we're not going to tell you where to look. That's the whole point.

Question 6

Do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

No — almost everything works without signing in, and your progress is saved on your device. Claim a free account (the 👤 button) if you want a public profile, a high-score handle, your relic collection and favorites synced across devices, and your own Ourcade phone number.

Question 7

Is this finished? Who made it?

Accepted Answer

It's never finished — new cabinets, relics, and oddities land over time (watch the SITE NEWS for what's new). It's a labor of love built by one person who misses when the web was weird. Thanks for stopping by. Now go play something.

F.A.Q.