Play Where is Waldo Online

Remember those Where’s Waldo? books you used to squint at as a kid? This NES game is basically that, but with a chunky pixelated magnifying glass you control with the D-pad. The first few levels are straightforward—just scan a single screen for Waldo’s striped shirt and dumb little hat. But then the game starts scrolling sideways, and suddenly you’re panicking because the timer’s ticking down while you hunt through a chaotic crowd at a train station.

What’s cool is that Waldo moves spots every time you play, so you can’t just memorize his hiding places. The "Practice" mode lets you take your time in a few scenes, but the real challenge is the harder difficulties where you’ve got barely enough seconds to find him in a sea of tiny, flickering sprites. It’s frustrating in that way only old NES games can be—but when you finally spot him, it’s weirdly satisfying.