How to play

The basics

Gooby falls on his own. Spiked walls rise from the bottom of the screen, each with at least one gap. Steer Gooby left and right so he drops through the gaps. Your score is how far he falls, in meters.

How steering works

On a touch screen, steering is relative. You don't tap where you want Gooby to go. You put your thumb down anywhere and slide it. Gooby moves in the same direction, about one and a half times as far as your thumb. That means:

• Your thumb can rest near the bottom of the screen without covering anything important.
• Small, calm slides are all you need. Big swipes overshoot.
• Lifting your thumb leaves Gooby exactly where he is.

With a mouse, Gooby simply follows the cursor across the game. With a keyboard, hold Left or Right.

Wall types

Every gap is placed so it can be reached from the previous one in time. If Gooby hit a wall, there was a way through.

Things between the walls

• Spiky ball (from 10 s): rolls sideways and bounces off the edges. Touching it ends the run unless you have a bubble.
• Donut: +10 bonus meters. Usually right in the middle of a gap.
• Balloon: pops and halves your fall speed for a moment.
• Bubble: every run starts with one, and more float by every 10 to 14 seconds. Blocks one hit, then gives you a split second to get clear.

Traps (yes, the game cheats)

• Troll walls (from about 6 s): the gap slams shut and reopens on the other side as you approach. You get a split second to swerve. Once you know they exist, you'll catch them.
• Angry trees (from about 8 s): they shake and creak first, then punch a branch across half the screen. Move to the side away from the tree.
• SAFE signs: always point at the spikes. Ignore them.
• Stinky donuts: donuts with green lines over them push Gooby sideways when grabbed.
• There are a few more surprises we're not going to tell you about.

Close calls and combos

Slip through a gap with almost no room on one side and you get a CLOSE!, with a bonus and a ding. Do it on consecutive walls and the combo climbs, with a higher ding and a bigger bonus each time. A comfortable pass through the middle resets the combo.

Speed

There is no slow warm-up. Gooby starts falling fast and speeds up every second, until he hits top speed at about 53 seconds. Gaps also shrink and walls get closer together. The music speeds up along with him.

Donuts, records and unlocks

Every donut you catch is saved, run after run. Collect enough and Gooby gets new looks: sunglasses at 20 donuts, a party hat at 60, a crown at 150, and the legendary Golden Gooby at 300. The result screen shows how close you are to the next one.

Every 100 meters you get a milestone cheer, and the moment you pass your personal best mid-run, the game throws a NEW RECORD party.

The four depths

The Sky (0 to 10 s), Downtown (10 to 20 s), The Sewers (20 to 30 s) and The Core?! (30 s and beyond). Each one gets a big title card and its own set of Gooby comments.

Troubleshooting

No sound on iPhone

Flip the silent switch off. iPhones mute web audio in silent mode. Then tap the game.

Gooby talks but I can't understand him

That's normal. Gooby speaks Gooby. The caption above him is the translation.

It feels choppy

Low Power Mode or battery saver can limit the screen to 30 frames per second. The game keeps the same speed, but it looks smoother with power saving off.

The page scrolls when I try to steer

Make sure your thumb starts on the game itself. Adding the game to your home screen removes the browser bars entirely.