Swapper

About the game

Swapper is a puzzle game written by RaidTheWeb for Sprig, the open-source game console made by Hack Club that you program in JavaScript. The author calls it an introductory adventure into game development, and it is built around a single idea: you have two squares, a blue one and a red one, and they live in separate parts of the level. To get out you have to use both.

The rooms are made of small details. Red buttons open the doors that match them, but only while something is pressing the button down, so you stand on it, or you push a box onto it to keep it pressed while you walk away. Portals come in linked pairs, and boxes can travel through them as well as you. A purple redo button resets the level if you have made a mistake, and a door that closes on you will crush you, so watch what you are standing on when you let go of a button.

There are eight levels. The first one is a single button and a single door, and it takes a few seconds, but the next ones weave several doors, buttons and boxes together, and the later ones add portals and bigger rooms. A closing screen thanks you for playing when you finish the last one.

You can play alone, swapping between the two squares as needed, or in the two-player mode, where one player uses W, A, S, D for blue and the other uses I, J, K, L for red.

Playing it here

Click Play, choose Singleplayer or Multiplayer with W and S, and press D to begin. The menu also has a short How to Play with five pages that you can page through with A and D. There is music in the menu and in the levels, and short sounds for buttons and doors. The game keeps no save, so closing the page starts you at the first level again.

On a phone or tablet, two groups of buttons appear under the screen, like the eight buttons of the console. On a computer, use the keyboard; the arrow keys work like W, A, S, D.

Controls

Tips

Swap before you step away. Press a button with the square you have, then swap to the other one and use the open door.

Boxes are your third character. A box on a button keeps the door open for as long as you like.

Look at the door before the button. Some buttons control a door far away, and a door that shuts while you are in it ends the attempt.

The redo button is a free reset. If you get stuck, step on it instead of starting the whole level over.

FAQ

Is this an official Sprig game? It comes from the public Sprig game gallery, where anyone can send in a game. This one was sent in by its author, RaidTheWeb, and it runs here unchanged.

What is a Sprig? A small console with a 160×128 screen and eight buttons, made by Hack Club to teach programming by making games. Its games are plain JavaScript programs, and the engine that runs them is open source.

Does it save my progress? No. The eight levels are short.