Jumpy Squirrel

About the game

Jumpy Squirrel is a small one-button game made for the 32blit, the open-source handheld console from Pimoroni, by a developer who goes by ThePythonator. It is a homebrew game, written by an independent author for the device and released under the MIT licence, and here it runs in your browser with no changes.

The idea fits on a post-it. Squirrels can now fly, or at least "jump on air", and this one cannot touch the ground. Press the button and it hops up; do nothing and it drops. Tall tree trunks come at it from the right with a gap between the upper and lower halves, and you have to thread the squirrel through each one. A trunk or the ground ends the run, and the screen goes dark with your score and your best one.

The trunks come less far apart the longer you last, so the early part is relaxed and the later part is not.

Playing it here

Click Play and the game opens in the page. The screen is the console's own 320×240 one, scaled up in whole steps so the pixels stay sharp. Your best score is kept in the browser, and nothing leaves your computer. Clear the site data and it is gone.

On a phone or tablet an A button appears under the screen; tap it to flap. On a computer, use the keyboard.

Controls

Tips

Tap, do not hold. Every press is one hop. Short, even taps keep the squirrel at the same height better than a flurry of presses.

Aim for the middle of the gap, so you have room above and below for the next hop.

The first one is the easiest. The game does not start the squirrel falling until your first press, so take a moment to get the rhythm.

FAQ

Does it save my score? Yes, your best score is saved in this browser.

Is it Flappy Bird? It is the same family of game, a one-button flyer through gaps, with its own squirrel, trunks and sky.

What is a 32blit? A small open-source handheld with a 320×240 screen, a D-pad and four buttons that anyone can write games for. The games run on the device or, as here, on a computer.