With every version bump, Android gets a new Easter egg that can be accessed by tapping the “Android version” entry in Settings. For the most part, these have generally been little animations or live wallpapers that depict the Android code name, but starting with version 5.0 Lollipop, things got a bit more interesting.
With Lollipop and Marshmallow, the Android version Easter egg was turned into a Flappy Bird-clone mini game. On the surface, you’d think this was all good news, but the game is so frustratingly difficult that it makes you want to throw your phone out of the window.
Well, developer Avinaba Dalal discovered a simple cheat that will make Android’s Easter egg mini game actually playable, so you might want to give it a second chance. The cheat works by slowing down animations, and it only takes a few seconds, so I’ll show you how to do it below.
Step 1: Enable Developer Options
To access the animation settings that will make the Easter egg game actually playable, you’ll need to enable Android’s hidden Developer options menu first. It’s a simple process—just head to About phone in Settings and tap the “Build number” entry 7 times. We’ve outlined it in more detail at this link, just in case you need more help.
Step 2: Set Animator Duration Scale to 10X
Next, head to your phone or tablet’s main Settings menu and tap the Developer options entry. From here, scroll down a bit and select the “Animator duration scale” option, then set it to 10x. At this point, you’ll just need to turn your screen off and back on to make the new animation settings take effect.
Once you unlock your device, you’ll notice things are moving a little slower, like opening the app drawer.
Step 3: Play the Easter Egg Game
Now you’re ready to play the Easter egg mini game without wanting to punch somebody, so head to the About phone menu in Settings, then tap the Android version entry several times rapidly. From here, tap the screen a few more times, then long-press the logo that pops up to launch the game.
With the animations slowed down, the obstacles that used to pop up all too fast will now leisurely glide onto the screen, meaning they’re a lot easier to avoid. In the future, if you’d like to revert to the old settings, change the Animator duration scale to 1x, then turn your screen on and off.
If you find things a little too easy now, try changing the duration scale to 5x, then give the game another try.
What’s your high score on the Easter egg mini game now? Let us know in the comment section below, or drop us a line on Android Hacks’ Facebook or Twitter, or Gadget Hacks’ Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.
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