How to play
Mid-Air Games is four free browser games you play with hand gestures and facial expressions, tracked by your webcam. Nothing to download, no account, no payment. Two of the four also play with a mouse if you have no camera.
Do I need a webcam to play?
For two of the four games, yes. AI Gesture Rush and Gesture Glide are controlled by hand gestures or facial expressions, so they need a camera. Gesture Shooter and Globe Explorer both include a Mouse & Click mode that skips the camera entirely, so you can play those with no webcam at all.
Is my webcam video uploaded anywhere?
No. The video never leaves your device. Google's MediaPipe models run inside your own browser tab and work out where your hand or face is; the games read those coordinates and nothing else. No frame, recording or screenshot is ever transmitted, and there is no server and no account — though the pages do load code and assets from third parties, and analytics if you allow it. The privacy page lists every one of them.
Is Mid-Air Games free?
Yes, completely. There is nothing to download, no account to create, no email required, no ads and no in-app purchases. Open the page and play.
What do I need to run it?
A current desktop or laptop browser — Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox — on an HTTPS page. Camera access only works over HTTPS or on localhost. The games are designed for a desktop or laptop; a phone will struggle with the tracking and the layouts assume a wide screen.
Which gestures does AI Gesture Rush use?
Five hand poses: Open Palm, Fist, Peace Sign, Rock On and Point Up. Five facial expressions: Big Smile, Surprise, Kiss/Pucker, Eyebrow Raise and Wide Open. The game shows one and you copy it before the timer runs out.
| Hand pose | How to make it |
|---|---|
| 🖐️ Open Palm | All four fingers extended |
| ✊ Fist | All four fingers curled down |
| ✌️ Peace Sign | Index and middle up, ring and little down |
| 🤘 Rock On | Index and little finger up, middle and ring down |
| ☝️ Point Up | Index finger only |
In solo mode the timer shortens as you climb the stages, and your cumulative score earns belts. Two stages ask for two different gestures at once: Stage 4 ("Double Trouble") and Stage 9 ("The Gauntlet").
How do I pick a game with gestures on the home page?
Hold up one to four fingers on your right hand to highlight a game card, then make a fist with your left hand to launch it. Clicking a card works too — on the home page the gesture controls are optional. Inside the games themselves it depends: AI Gesture Rush and Gesture Glide need the camera, while Gesture Shooter and Globe Explorer have mouse modes.
Can two people play at once?
Yes, on one webcam. AI Gesture Rush has 1v1 modes for both hands and faces, where the first player to 20 points wins. Gesture Glide has a 1v1 Battle mode. Both players share the same camera, so stand side by side in frame.
How the other games are played
- Gesture Glide — move your hand (or your face) up and down to fly a glowing ball through the gaps in oncoming rings. You get five lives, and the speed climbs as you travel through the zones.
- Gesture Shooter — your right hand aims the crosshair and a left fist fires. Five biomes, five weapons from pistol to sniper, and boss fights. Prefer a mouse? Pick Mouse & Click at the control screen and skip the camera.
- Globe Explorer — spin a 3D globe with your hands, your face or the mouse. Explorer mode lets you roam and open individual countries; Quiz mode highlights a country and asks you to name it, ten questions at fifteen seconds each.
The camera will not start. What should I check?
First allow camera access when the browser asks — if you dismissed it, click the camera icon in the address bar and reset the permission, then reload. Close any other app using the camera, since most systems only let one program hold it. If the page sits on a loading message, a content blocker or corporate proxy may be blocking the tracking models from the CDN. And if you would rather not use a camera at all, Gesture Shooter and Globe Explorer both have a mouse mode.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Not well. The games are built for a desktop or laptop screen and the hand-tracking is demanding on mobile hardware. Globe Explorer also has no touch controls yet. Use a computer for the intended experience.
Can I embed a game in my own site or classroom page?
Yes. Embedding is allowed from sites including itch.io and Google Sites. Use an iframe and
include allow="camera" or the framed game cannot request the webcam, for example:
<iframe src="https://mid-air.games/globe-explorer.html"
width="960" height="600" style="border:0"
allow="camera; fullscreen" allowfullscreen
title="Globe Explorer"></iframe>Globe Explorer's quiz mode works with a mouse alone, which makes it the easiest one to drop into a lesson page where students may not have cameras.
Are my scores saved?
Locally, in your own browser. High scores, badges and leaderboards live in your browser's storage, so they survive a reload but do not sync between devices and nobody else can see them. Clearing site data for mid-air.games erases them.