ATV Games

Quad games take you onto rough terrain at the controls of a four-wheeled ATV: jumps, bumps and slopes. There are around 40, free, in your browser with no downloads, and the settings run from desert to snow.

What a quad is and why it plays differently

A quad is an off-road vehicle with four wide wheels and handlebars, like a motorcycle but more stable. You can feel that in the games: you don't have to balance it as much as a bike, but you do have to control how it lands after a jump and how it behaves on a slope. It sits somewhere between driving a rally car and riding a dirt bike.

The settings

Each game picks a terrain, and that changes how you drive. Dune Bashing in Dubai and Ben10 Sahara ATV are set on dunes, where you're constantly climbing and dropping. Snow ATV, Thrilling Snow Motor and Ice Ride take the quad onto snow and ice, with less grip. Jungle ATV and Mountain ATV are more about dirt, roots and rocks.

Among the quads proper, the standouts are Extreme ATV Quad Racer, ATV Bike Games Quad Offroad, Atv Extreme, Quad Runner and Rapid Ride. With characters you get Mario ATV Trip, Ben10 ATV and Ben10 Sahara ATV. 4 Wheel Madness 3 and 4wheel Fury are in the same family, with four-wheeled vehicles, and Monster Jam 2 and Monster Trucks Nitro trade the quad for something bigger.

Tips

Balance matters more than speed in these games. On jumps, tilt the quad in the air so it lands on all four wheels, because a bad landing costs you time or the run. Going uphill, keep your foot on the gas, and on the way down brake gently so you aren't launched off the next ramp.

• To start easy: Mario ATV Trip or Ben10 ATV.
• To try snow: Snow ATV.
• For something tougher: Extreme ATV Quad Racer.