How to play
Drive a small robot mouse from its start bay to the green dock as fast as you can. The clock starts when the mouse first moves and stops when it reaches the dock.
The goal
Every maze has one start and one finish. There's no time limit and nothing to lose. Bumping a wall doesn't end the run, it just costs time. Press Reset, or R, to go back to the start with the clock at zero, as often as you like.
Your best run on a maze plays back as a pale ghost mouse. It starts when you do, so you can see exactly where you're gaining or losing time. It never gets in your way.
Controls on a computer
| Action | Keys |
|---|---|
| Drive forward | Hold W or ↑ |
| Steer | A and D, or ← and → |
| Brake, then reverse | Hold S or ↓ |
| Drift, then boost | Hold Space through a turn and let go when it's charged |
| Back to the start | R or the Reset button |
| Pause | Esc |
| Leaderboard | L or the trophy button |
| Controls help | H or the ? button |
| Mute | M |
You can also drive with the mouse. Click on the maze and drag toward where you want to go.
Controls on a phone
Touch anywhere on the screen outside the buttons and drag toward where you want the mouse to go. The spot where your thumb lands is the center of the stick, and dragging farther gives more throttle. Lift your thumb to stop. Hold the DRIFT button with your other thumb to drift through a corner. Portrait works best.
Drifting and boosting
This is where the time is. As you come into a corner, hold drift and steer round the turn. The drift charges while you hold it. Let go when you're lined up with the exit and the mouse gets a burst of speed, which glows amber. That speed carries down the next straight as long as you keep driving.
- Let go too early and there's no boost.
- Hold the turn too long and you'll overshoot the exit.
- Lifting off the throttle, reversing or hitting a wall ends the boost.
- On a phone, the ring around the DRIFT button lights up when the drift is charged.
Driving straight and clean also builds a little extra speed after about a second, so smooth lines beat zigzags.
Floors
Some mazes have patches of a different floor. Many have none at all.
- Blue ice is slippery. The mouse keeps sliding, so start your turns early.
- Brown mud slows the mouse down and wipes out any stored speed.
- Green arrow pads give a short kick of speed, but only when you cross them in the direction the arrows point. Sitting on one does nothing.
Tips
- Look over the whole maze before you go. The clock doesn't run until the mouse moves, and you can turn on the spot without starting it.
- Most daily mazes have more than one way to the finish. A longer route with fewer turns is often just as quick.
- Race your ghost. It shows you exactly which corners your best run took better.
- New to the game? The Launchpad levels teach driving, drifting, boost pads and ice one at a time.