How to play
A mine cart rolls down an endless rail and keeps speeding up. You cannot steer or brake; you can only jump and duck. Jump over gaps in the rail and over rock piles, duck under the low wooden beams, and grab the gems that float above the track. One mistake derails the cart.
- Keyboard: Space, ↑, W or Enter to jump; hold the key for a higher, longer jump and release early for a short hop. ↓, S or Shift to duck; keep it held while you pass under a beam. P pauses.
- Touch: the left half of the screen jumps (hold for height), the right half ducks (hold while under the beam).
- The cart starts rolling on your first jump.
Scoring
| Points | |
|---|---|
| Every metre of tunnel (one rail tile) | 1 |
| Gem | 10 |
The score and gem count show at the top; your best score is kept between visits.
The tunnel
The tunnel is built from hand-drawn sections chosen at random as you ride. Easy sections come first: single gaps, single rocks, single beams and rows of gems. Every 22 seconds or so a harder tier opens up, adding wider gaps, rocks right before gaps, beams followed by rocks and double gaps. Speed rises a step every five seconds until it tops out at nearly double the starting pace.
Strategy
- Hold the jump for gaps, tap it for rocks. A full jump carries the cart about four rail tiles at the starting speed and more as you go faster; a tap clears a rock pile without flying over the gem behind it.
- Jump late. The cart can leave the rail a few frames after the last tile and still make the jump, so waiting until the gap is right under the front wheel gives the longest reach.
- Never jump at a beam. Beams hang at head height; the only way through is to duck. If a rock sits right after a beam, duck first, stand up and tap jump.
- Gems hang where the cart should be. Low gems mark the rail line through a section; high gems over a gap tell you where the top of a full jump lands.
- Watch the lanterns. The rail ahead is always lit; obstacles come into view about ten tiles ahead, which is plenty of time at low speed and just enough at full speed.
If you enjoy Cart Rush, try Curling Duel or Dart Duel next.
