How to play
Brick and Pip are siblings stuck at the bottom of an old clockwork mine. A level is cleared the moment Brick stands in the orange mine cart and Pip stands in the green one at the same time. Neither of them can do it alone.
- Brick is big and strong. He jumps only about one block high, but he is the only one who can push a crate, lift it over his head with S (or the hand button on a phone), carry it and set it down in front of him. He is also heavy: if he drops from more than about two blocks, the crash echoes through the tunnels.
- Pip is small and quick. She jumps more than three blocks high, fits through crawlspaces one block tall and slips through iron grates that stop her brother and every crate. She cannot move crates at all; she bumps into them like a wall.
- Two players, one screen. Player one is Brick on A, D and W, with S (also E or Space) to lift. Player two is Pip on the arrow keys. Two gamepads work too: the first is Brick, the second is Pip, and X or a trigger is Brick’s lift button.
- On a phone, turn it sideways. The left half belongs to Brick and the right half to Pip, each with left, right and jump buttons. Brick’s lift button floats above his half.
- Playing alone? Choose 1 player. You move one twin at a time and switch with Tab, Q or the switch button; the other twin waits where you left them.
- R restarts the level and P or Esc pauses. The game also pauses when you switch tabs.
Clockwork sentries
From the seventh level on, the tunnels are watched by wind-up sentries. Each one carries a lantern and you can see its yellow beam on the screen.
- The beam is the danger. A sentry sees everything inside its beam, up to seven blocks ahead. If it spots either twin, the alarm rings and the level starts over. It never sees behind its back.
- Rock, crates and steel shutters block the beam. Grates and wooden scaffolding do not, so a grate is a door for Pip but never a hiding place.
- Wind them down. If Brick walks up behind a sentry and presses his lift button, he turns the key on its back. The sentry freezes for about six seconds with its lantern dark. A crate falling on a sentry’s head does the same.
- Noise. A loud crash (a falling crate, or Brick landing hard) makes every sentry nearby turn towards it and stare for about three seconds. That can ruin a plan, or it can be the plan.
- Plates and levers. A pressure plate works only while someone or a crate stands on it. A lever flips to the direction you walk through it and stays there.
Stars
Each level gives up to three stars: one for escaping, one for collecting all the loot (Brick’s gold bars and Pip’s gear rubies; only the matching twin can pick them up) and one for escaping within the target time. Levels unlock one after another and your stars and best times stay saved in this browser. If you are stuck, you can skip a level from the pause menu by watching a short ad; the level is skipped even when no ad is available.
Strategy
Watch one full patrol first. Every sentry walks the same route at the same speed. Count how long it takes to turn around before anybody moves.
Brick goes in from behind. A sentry walking away is the moment to chase it. Brick runs about four times faster than a sentry, so start running as soon as it turns its back.
Let Pip scout. Pip is silent, fast and fits through holes. Use her to reach levers, plates and the far side of a grate while Brick stays out of sight.
Mind the drop. Before Brick jumps down from a high ledge, check where the sentries are. Climbing down step by step is quiet.
Crates are tools, not just steps. A crate held over Brick’s head is also a platform for Pip, a crate on a plate keeps a door open for good, and a crate dropped at the right moment knocks a sentry out cold.
If you enjoy two-player puzzle platformers, try Lumen & Umbra, where a spirit of light and a spirit of shadow have to cross pools that only one of them survives.
If you enjoy Tunnel Twins, try Turbo Twins or All Fives next.
