Agar.io

Rating:

8.3

(128,866 votes)

Released:

June 2015

Last Updated:

July 2023

Technology:

HTML5

Platforms:

Browser (desktop-only), App Store(iOS, Android)

Classification:

Wiki pages:

Agar.io is the original .io game. Play as a simple agar cell fighting to become the largest cell in a multiplayer game arena. Avoid the bigger cells and consume the smaller ones to grow larger.

This is a simple game about growing your single-cell organism bigger than other players. We love it in our family because there is a surprising amount of strategy and collaboration. You need to pay attention to other players to decide if you are bigger or smaller than them. Taking your time and hiding behind virus cells is a tactic our youngest used a lot. Best of all though, splitting your cell to offer another player a way to grow is commonly seen as a sign to work together. We’ve had long games where we end up hunting in packs with others. It’s a great way to learn cooperation.

Review by FamilyGamingDatabase.

How to Play

The game has 2 simple rules to follow:

You only can consume targets that are smaller than you to evolve
Larger agar will eat you

Slide around the Agario battleground trying to exist as a single cell looking to evolve. Think like a survivor - don’t just avoid bigger agar, go in for the kill and eat as much as you can!

Pick up all the smaller blobs and eat the other players to grow larger in size. Avoid blobs bigger than you as they will consume you, which means game over! But you can always start the game over and go for your next best record.

Game Modes

There are four game modes in Agar.io. These are:

FFA (Free For All) - everyone fights for themselves
Battle Royale - Everyone fights for themselves in a shrinking arena
Teams - Two teams fight against each other
Experimental - Every player for themselves. Donate your mass to the pellets to get more bits in return!

About Agar.io

Launch

Matheus Valadares announced Agar.io on 4chan on 28 April 2015. Matheus, a 19-year-old Brazilian developer, wrote the game in a few days using JavaScript and C++. The game was announced without a name and users had to connect to Valadares' IP address to play.

It was only later that the name "Agar.io" was suggested by an anonymous user on 4chan. Matheus continued adding new features to the game one week later Agar.io entered Steam Greenlight.

Initial reviews

Initially, the feedback on the game's release was mixed. Some praised the game for its simplicity and game mechanics. Fans of the game even described the game as "a good abstraction of the fierce survival-of-the-fittest competition that you sometimes see on the microscopic level." However, there was also sile criticism on the simple gameplay. This was mainly targeted towards the repetitiveness and the controls of the mobile version. Tom Christiansen of Gamezebo said the game wasn't able to hold his attention and that overall it was highly repetitive.

The success of the game

Nevertheless, Agar.io quickly became a success, mainly because it was frequently propagated through social media and broadcast on Twitch.tv and YouTube. The mobile version of the game was downloaded more than ten million times during their first week, and in 2015, Agar.io was Google's most searched video game. In the same year, it was even listed as the fifth top game on YouTube’s list of top games. Fun fact, Agar.io was also featured in the Netflix TV-series House of Cards!