Job searching is a grind, and most of the advice about it is "grind harder." EarnHire takes a different view: the breaks are part of the work. The EarnHire Arcade is a pair of free games built into the job board, made for the ten minutes between applications. They are original to EarnHire, they run in any browser on a phone or a computer, and there is nothing to download.
What the EarnHire Arcade is
Two games live inside EarnHire, in the EarnHire Arcade on the home page, and each also has its own page:
- Earn with Words (play it here). A slot-machine word puzzle. Uneven reels of glass letter tiles sit side by side. Swipe a reel up or down to spin it, tap touching letters to spell a word in any direction, and watch the word clear as new letters drop in from above.
- Resume Runner: Battle Against the Job Market (play it here). A three-lane runner through five worlds of the job market, each with its own hero, enemies and boss: Corporate Chaos City, Burnout Beach, the Factory of Rejection, the AI Interview Nebula and the Bureaucracy Temple.
Anyone can play as a guest, with no account. Signing in keeps your progress, streaks and daily milestones with your account.
Why a job board has games
A long search wears people down. Applications disappear without a reply, postings ask for five years of experience for an entry role, and the days start to blur together. Stepping away for a few minutes helps, but the usual places people go for a break (endless feeds, news, messages) rarely leave them feeling better.
The games are built to be the opposite of that: short, bright, and finished in a few minutes, so you come back to your search with a clearer head instead of a heavier one. A two-minute word round is a reset between cover letters. A level of Resume Runner turns the frustrations of the job market into something you can jump over, slide under and laugh at.
They also stay close to the search itself. Words keeps vocabulary sharp, which helps when you are rewriting a resume line for the third time. Resume Runner is a running joke about the hiring process, from the Meeting That Should Have Been an Email to the Hiring Freeze, and the field guide to its bosses explains what each one means in the real job market.
How to play Earn with Words
- Pick a mode. Start Adventure plays the progression, one round after another, each a notch harder. The Daily Challenge is one board that is the same for everyone that day.
- Spin the reels. Swipe a reel up or down to line up letters you can use. On a computer, scroll over the reel.
- Spell a word. Tap touching letters in order to spell a word of four to eight letters (5+ letters is where the points are). A word can run across, down, diagonally, backwards or zig-zag. Tap Play word, or press Enter, to submit it.
- Watch for the extras. Gold slots multiply a word's score. Bonus letters float between the reels for a few seconds and boost your streak. Locked reels open up as you clear words near them, and wild tiles can stand in for any letter.
- Clear the round. Each round asks for a set number of words. Clear it and a new board loads.
Press P or the question mark button at any time to pause; the clock stops while the menu is open. If you are stuck, tap and hold a tile to see which letters a word could reach next. The full rules and scoring are in the Earn with Words guide.
How to play Resume Runner
- Run. Your hero runs on their own. Each level lasts about ninety seconds.
- Jump and slide. Jump over the paperwork and the hurdles (Left on the pad, or the left arrow or A; hold for higher), and slide under the red tape and anything hanging low (the center button, or Space).
- Switch lanes. There are three lanes. Press Up or Down on the pad (or the up and down arrow keys, W and S) to move around blocks and line up with pickups. Each press moves you one lane.
- Throw your resume. Enemies take a resume to stop (Right on the pad, or the right arrow, D, F or Enter). Micromanagers, ATS drones and recruiter bots each have their own pattern, so watch how they move first.
- Beat the boss. Every world ends in a boss fight that takes a stack of resumes. Bosses telegraph their attacks, get angrier as they take damage, and open up for a moment after each attack. That opening is your chance.
The daily run uses the same map for everyone, so it is a fair way to compare runs with a friend.
Tips for a better break
- Play in the gaps. After you submit an application, before you start the next search. Both games are built for short bursts, and a short session is the point.
- Set a stopping point. One Words round or one Runner level is a natural place to stop. When it ends, go back to your search.
- Use the daily boards. The Daily Challenge and the daily run are the same for everyone, which makes them a good small habit, and a good thing to compare with a friend who is also job hunting.
- Turn the sound down at work. Both games play fine muted.
- Sign in if you want to keep your streak. Guest play is free, but your progress and daily milestones stay with your account only when you are signed in.
Free, quick and optional
Both games are free, run in your browser and need no download. Signed-in members keep their progress, streaks and daily milestones from one break to the next. Playing is always optional: the job search, the career map and the resume tools never require it, and nobody is ever asked to pay to play. The games show a small number of ads, which help keep them free. Playing does not pay you anything.
For people who like a little competition, each game has a weekly skill leaderboard. The top three eligible players in each game (a verified email and an account in good standing) win gift card prizes of $25, $15 and $10, released on the 25th of the following month. Prizes are awarded only in weeks when at least 10 verified players played that game. The official rules have the details.
Where to start
Open the EarnHire Arcade on the EarnHire home page and pick a game, or go straight to Earn with Words or Resume Runner. Then get back to your search. That was always the point.