GameDistribution catalogue games are unavailable on this site. Catalogue examples use publisher notes, not our own play tests. You can play native Sudoku here.
Browser Game Canvas Data: What It Cannot Tell You About Apps
The browser-versus-app debate usually gets argued with adjectives. Convenient. Bloated. Instant. Polished. None of that is checkable.
Here is a version built on one measurable property of our own catalogue: the canvas size each game declares. It explains screen shape, not every difference in play.
What the canvas counts show
Across the current 292 games on this site:
- 237 are landscape (wider than tall)
- 53 are portrait (taller than wide)
- 2 are square
The single most common canvas is 800x600, used by 131 games. After that: 1280x720 (43 games), 1920x1080 (17), 720x1280 (13), 960x600 (12).
The distribution skews toward wide canvases. These records do not tell us which devices the developers designed or tested for.
Questions canvas dimensions leave unanswered
Portrait-screen fit. An 800x600 canvas is wider than an upright phone screen. Max Speed, HOTGEAR and Crazy Tunnel all list that shape. A sideways phone may display more of a wide game, but we have not verified their mobile behavior.
Touch controls are not guaranteed. Some browser games document only keyboard controls. Traffic Racing lists “WASD/Arrow keys” without documenting a touch alternative.
Working offline. GameDistribution catalogue games are unavailable on this site. Their records do not establish offline support for a provider’s player or an installed alternative. There is no playable third-party embed here to test.
What this site actually offers
No catalogue installer from this site. The current catalogue provides details, not playable third-party embeds. Reading a record is not equivalent to launching the game.
Browsing is not a zero-cost performance claim. These pages require time and network access. We have no matched app sample, download measurements or evidence about how the format changes a player’s choices.
No site account. Browsing this catalogue and playing native Sudoku do not require a PlayAlready account. This does not establish account requirements inside third-party games.
Version information is limited. This catalogue does not verify which version a provider serves or whether an installed alternative is current.
Portrait canvases are the interesting middle ground
Portrait canvases fit an upright phone screen more naturally, though that does not establish touch support or tested phone compatibility.
Duel has a 1080x1920 canvas. Sniper Master and Flick Shot Soccer are both 750x1334. Those dimensions are phone-shaped, but check each game’s documented controls before playing on a phone.
The comparison cannot be settled by canvas shape alone. A portrait game may fit a phone screen better than a landscape game, but performance and input support vary.
How to pick a side, per session
Ask what you are doing.
Exploring? The browser library lets you move among ten categories without installing software from this site. Start with the full library or a category like puzzle or arcade.
Returning over several sessions? Check the particular game’s saving, account and connection requirements. Installation alone does not establish offline play or reliable progress recovery. Native Sudoku here has no resumable save; see its session guide.
On a phone, upright, right now? Start by checking portrait titles and their input notes; a landscape canvas may make better use of the screen when the phone is turned sideways.
On a laptop? The 800x600 canvas is common here, but each game’s controls and performance still depend on its implementation.
The part that is not about technology
This article has no evidence comparing app-store funding, provider revenue or player outcomes. For an actual choice, compare the input, saving and availability of the specific product, then use canvas shape only for the limited question it answers. What is free on PlayAlready separates the playable native tool from the unavailable catalogue.