How to play
Two round wrestlers face each other on a clay ring under festival lanterns. Gold starts on the left and Jade on the right. Push your rival out of the ring and stay inside it yourself. The moment a wrestler’s middle crosses the straw edge, that wrestler loses the round. Win three rounds to win the match, or pick two or five on the menu.
- Gold moves with W A S D and winds up with Space.
- Jade moves with the arrow keys and winds up with Enter.
- Gamepads work too: the stick moves and A winds up. The first pad is Gold, the second is Jade.
- On a phone, hold it sideways. Each player owns one half of the screen: drag to move, and hold the burst button on the outer edge to wind up.
- Playing alone? Choose vs Bot and pick Easy, Normal or Hard.
- P or Esc pauses. The game also pauses by itself when you switch tabs.
Wind up and charge
Bumping into your rival pushes them a little. The real move is the charge. Hold the wind-up button and your wrestler digs in: you move slowly, but you are more than twice as hard to push, and a glowing ring shows your power building. Let go and you charge in the direction you are facing. The longer you held, up to about half a second, the harder you hit. When a charge connects, you plant your feet and your rival flies. After a charge you need about a second before you can wind up again.
Winding up is also a defence. A rival who charges into you while you are dug in bounces off much of their own power.
The slippery edge
The outer band of the ring is wet clay. Near the edge you speed up slowly and stop even more slowly. Run at the edge at full speed and you will slide straight out on your own, which the game calls stepping out. Keep your feet in the middle and make your rival come to you.
Shrinking ring
If a round lasts too long, about eighteen seconds, the straw edge starts creeping inwards and the ring glows red. There is less and less room to hide, so somebody will be pushed out soon. You can switch the shrinking ring off on the menu.
Rounds and draws
If both wrestlers fall out at almost the same moment, nobody wins the round. A match has a limit of rounds, and if it runs out, the wrestler with more rounds wins.
Strategy
Get between your rival and the middle. A push from the middle sends your rival towards the edge. A push from the edge sends them past you, towards safety.
Do not charge into a wall. A rival who is winding up is heavy. Step around them, wait for them to let go, and hit them while they are still recovering.
Sidestep near the edge. If your rival charges at you while you stand near the straw, step to the side, not back. Their charge carries them on towards the edge.
Short winds for quick hits. A small wind-up is fast and still pushes. Save the full-power charge for when your rival is already near the edge.
Fond of shoving matches? Flop Wrestle is a one-button ragdoll brawl, and Puck Duel brings the same two-player bumping to an air hockey table.
If you enjoy Sumo Bump, try Table Kick or Torpedo Reef next.
