How to play DOPA DASH

Tap anywhere and your creature dashes there, on the beat of the song. Every grey friend you pass through gets booped: they splash into neon paint and join the party line dancing behind you. That is the whole game, and every tap should mean something.

PLAY NOW, FREE

THE RULES IN 30 SECONDS

Tap to dashTap anywhere and your creature flies straight there.
On the beatTap when HIT! pops on the record: PERFECT, and the dash is free.
Boop the greysEveryone in your path splashes into color and joins you.
Grow the lineYour friends follow you. A longer line multiplies every point.
Three vibesA bump costs one. Lose all three and the run ends.
Mind the spikesRed spiky friends and boss slams cost a vibe.
Hit the DROPStay on the beat, fill the groove, tap the drop: PARTY TIME.
EnergyA miss off the beat uses a bolt. On the beat it never runs out.

1. DASH ON THE BEAT

The beat bar sits at the bottom of the screen. Ticks slide in from both sides and meet the record in the middle on the beat, and HIT! pops over the record at that moment. Tap then and your dash is a PERFECT. A little off is GOOD. Too early or too late is OFF, and the game tells you which way you missed with EARLY or LATE.

Dashes on the beat are free. A dash off the beat that boops nobody costs one unit of energy (the lightning bolts next to your hearts). Tap wildly and you run dry; tap with the music and you never do.

PERFECT lands right above the beat bar, in the same place every time.

2. THE PERFECT DRILL

Your first run starts with a short drill. You watch HIT! land twice, then it is your turn: land three PERFECTs and the level begins. The bar in the drill card shows how early or late each tap was, so you can feel the timing before anything is at stake. You can skip it, and replay it any time from Settings as Beat School, which also measures your device's audio delay (Bluetooth earbuds are often a little late).

The drill: three PERFECTs and you are ready.

3. BOOP THE GREYS

Everyone in your dash's path joins you. One dash through a line of five friends is worth far more than five separate dashes, and the paint they leave stays on the floor, so the venue turns from grey to neon as you play. Your party line is your multiplier: as it grows you climb from HANGOUT and PARTY through RAVE and FESTIVAL to WORLD PARTY. Stop booping for a while and friends start wandering off from the back of the line.

A run: the painted friends follow you in a line.

4. KEEP YOUR THREE VIBES

You have three vibes, the hearts at the bottom. Bumping into something that isn't happy to see you, such as a red spiky chestnut, a charging horn friend or a boss slam, costs one vibe and knocks a few friends off your line. They scatter nearby, so swing back through them to get them back. A bump never ends a run by itself: only losing all three vibes does, and then you just get bored. PARTY TIME gives one vibe back.

Chestnuts in the Phonk Garage: boop them when the spikes are down.

5. FILL THE GROOVE, HIT THE DROP

Dashing on the beat fills the groove meter. When it is full the song builds up, counts down three beats in yellow, and hits the DROP. Tap on the drop beat to start PARTY TIME: for a few seconds you can't be bumped, points are doubled and paint floods the floor.

6. GOALS, STARS AND THE MAP

Each level is one song, one goal and a clock of about 45 to 90 seconds: make a number of friends, land PERFECTs, keep a beat streak, boop several friends in one dash, hit drops, catch shinies, hold on until the end, or wake the boss. Meet the goal early and the seconds left turn into bonus points, so the fastest clear is often the three star one. Clearing a level splashes paint on the city map. Read Stages and crew for the six districts.

Home: your creature on its record, the next level and PLAY.

The tour map: every clear paints the city back.

The finale: the goal is met and every grey left joins in.

Results: your score, stars and a card to share.

7. BOSSES

Every district ends with a boss, King Snooze or the Chestnut King. Nobody fights here: the boss slams the floor on the beat, and you dash into it between slams to wake it up. When it is fully awake it joins your party, and the district gets its color back.

A boss level: dash in between the slams.

8. HATCH AND DRAW YOUR CREW

Stars fill your star jar, and a full jar is an egg; every boss gives one too. Tap the egg to hatch it. The creature is made from how you played, so nobody else has the same one, and its shape sets its powers. Dress it in the closet, play as it, or draw your own from scratch.

Draw anything: it hatches exactly as you drew it.

9. FREE PARTY AND THE DAILY

Free Party has no goal and no clock: grow the biggest party you can and climb the world and weekly rankings. The Daily gives everyone the same run with one special rule for the day, and its own ranking. Both open as you go through the tour.

TEN QUICK TIPS

Watch your creature, not only the bar: it lands on every beat.
Aim through lines of friends, not single ones.
If the lightning bolts are empty, wait for the beat before you tap.
Spikes and horns move on the bar. Learn the pattern and dash between.
After a bump, go straight back through your scattered friends.
Save big dashes for PARTY TIME.
On drop goals, stay on the beat to fill the groove, then tap exactly on the drop.
On hold on levels, keep moving near the middle.
For the third star, finish early.
Stuck? Play Free Party for a few minutes: your timing gets better and your crew grows.

CONTROLS ON EVERY DEVICE

PhoneTap where you want to dash. Hold it upright; one thumb is all you need.
ComputerClick where you want to dash. The game fits your window.
KeyboardSpace or Enter starts a level and plays again. Esc or P pauses.
TabletThe same as a phone: tap to dash. The app runs on iPad too.

PLAY NOW, FREE