Drift Boss

Run-through of the game

The car drives forward by itself along a narrow platform that zig-zags left and right. You never touch the throttle or the wheel. Your only job is to decide, at every corner, how long to drift.

Hold the input to swing the car into the turn and let go to straighten it out. Hold too short and the car runs off the straight edge; hold too long and it slides off the far side. One fall ends the run, and your score is the distance you covered.

As the run goes on, the car gets faster and the corners get sharper, so the timing window shrinks. Along the track you can pick up coins, and Poki lists eight vehicles that these coins unlock. There are also "car insurance" pick-ups that let you carry on after a fall.

Buttons, keys, taps

Four tricks that help

1. No.1Watch the next corner, not the car. The decision you make is about the road ahead.
2. No.2Tap in short bursts on tight sections rather than one long hold.
3. No.3Coins sit on the track, but a clean line matters more than a detour for one coin.
4. No.4If you keep failing at the same speed, take a breath between runs: the rhythm is easier to find when you are not rushing.

Best fit

Anyone who wants a quick, single-input game and does not mind repeating the same road until the timing clicks.

Load and limits

• Runs end on a single mistake, so it can feel unforgiving as the speed rises.
• It runs on Poki, which shows ads; their timing is decided by Poki and can interrupt a streak of runs.
• The idea stays the same throughout, so it is better in short sessions than long ones.

Next to it in the pile

• PlonkyAlso asks for fine timing, but in a physics platformer instead of a road
• Soccer 5Another one-input game, built around holding and releasing

Questions about Drift Boss