Aspects of the technology described herein are directed towards providing a contextual interactive session (or activity) within the context of search. Search is typically a one-way communication with little to no interaction provided to a user. Aspects of the technology can provide an interactive session within search to increase user engagement. The interactive sessions can include games, quizzes, polls, riddles, crosswords, etc. The output may be configured such that interaction with the interactive session does not alter the original output such that a user is able to engage with the interactive session on the same page and is not navigated to a different destination.