Playing guide
These options and rules describe the current JoyPip version. Choose a mode above before starting; rules are also available during play.
Step-by-step examples
Select a step to see what changes. These are partial examples, not full starting positions.
Detailed rules and controls
Controls
- Touch: drag left or right anywhere on the screen. The crowd moves as far as your finger does instead of jumping under it. The run starts at your first drag or tap.
- Mouse: the crowd follows the pointer left and right. Click to start running.
- Keyboard: ← → or A/D to move, Space, ↑ or Enter to start running or go to the next level, Esc or P to pause.
- The game pauses automatically when you switch apps, the window loses focus or a dialog opens. After resuming, there's a short wait before running again.
Math gates
- Plus and times are blue good gates; minus and divide are red bad gates. The formula on a gate applies directly to your head count.
- Division rounds down but always leaves at least 1 person; subtracting down to 0 wipes out your crowd.
- Of a gate pair you pass only one, judged by which half the crowd's centre is in. A single gate leaves the other side open, so you can go around it. Later levels have gates that slide back and forth.
- The crowd is capped at 9,999. At most 150 figures are drawn; with more people each figure stands for several, so losing one figure costs several people.
Obstacles and enemies
- Saws, spinning bars and sliding walls: anyone they touch falls. Pits and narrow bridges: anyone who steps off the road drops. The bigger the crowd, the wider it is and the harder it is to dodge completely.
- Enemies stand in the middle of the road and can't be avoided: both sides lose one for one and the bigger side remains. A tie counts as a loss.
Finish and scoring
- The castle's or giant's HP is shown above it. Knock it out one for one; whoever is left is your survivor count.
- The stairs have 10 steps from ×1.2 to ×5, and each step you climb leaves a few people behind. Level score = survivors × the multiplier reached + level × 50.
- Stars compare your survivors with the best possible route: 90% earns 3 stars, half earns 2.
- Every level has been run by the computer along the best route: pick the right gates and dodge the obstacles and you can always clear it.
Saving
- The start of each level is saved on this device. If you leave mid-level, next time you continue from the start of that level, with your total score as it was then.
- After a loss you can retry the level (the track is exactly the same) or start over from level 1. This device keeps your best score and the furthest level you reached.
Frequently asked questions
Plus gate or times gate: which one should you take?
With 40 people facing ×2 and +50, ×2 gives 80 and +50 gives 90, so adding wins. With 60 people, ×2 gives 120, beating +50's 110. When a saw sits right behind a gate, also check which gate still leaves you time to dodge.
Do I need a download or a linked email?
Play directly in your browser without a download. Linking email is an optional way to recover your account. Before clearing browser data, consider whether you need to keep your account or local records.
Do matches earn or spend coins?
Earn coins by checking in and spend them on cosmetics. Matches never cost or award coins.