STICK SWING

Hold to hook the nearest star, let go to fly. Swing a folded-paper figure through 30 levels across five paper worlds.

STICK SWING All games

STICK SWING

Hold to hook the nearest star, let go to fly. Swing a folded-paper figure through 30 levels across five paper worlds.

A one-button swinging game in folded paper. Hold the mouse, a finger or Space to hook the nearest star and swing on it, and let go to fly. Hook the next star, swing and let go again, all the way to the finish.

There are 30 levels across five paper worlds, with bounce pads, floor pillars, hanging blades and moving hooks. Each level gives stars for your time, and every five levels unlocks a new paper skin.

What is in it: A folded-paper figure swings on a rope; obstacles just knock it back and falling restarts the level. No blood, no flashing. More for parents

Report a problem with this game

Controls

  • Hold mouse / touch / Spacehook the nearest star
  • Releaselet go and fly
  • Rrestart
  • Escmenu
  • Mmute
Let go just after the bottom of the swing, on the way up, to fly forward and high. Short swings are often faster than big ones.

Tags

How to play

STICK SWING is a one-button swinging game, made to look like folded paper and layered card scenery. Your little origami figure flies through the air, and you hook onto paper stars hanging on threads to swing from them.

Hold the mouse button, a finger on the screen, Space, W or Up to throw a line to the nearest star in reach and swing on it. Let go to release and fly. Hook the next star, swing, let go, and keep going until you pass the flag at the finish. R restarts the level, Esc opens the menu and M mutes.

You can land and roll on the start and finish platforms, but if you fall off the bottom of the screen the level starts again by itself a moment later. Hitting a pillar or a hanging blade knocks you back and breaks your hook. If you ever come to rest somewhere with no star in reach, the level also restarts on its own, so you never get stuck.

At the finish, a card shows your time, how many flips you did and how many hooks you used. Click, tap or press Enter to go on to the next level.

Tips and strategy

  • Release on the way up. Letting go as you swing forward and upward past the bottom of the arc sends you forward and high. Letting go too late throws you up and backwards; too early sends you low.
  • The nearest star is the one you get. You do not aim. When you press, the line goes to the closest star within reach, with stars ahead of you favoured over ones level with you, and stars you have already passed ignored. Time your press for when the star you want is the best one in front.
  • Hook while falling forward. Grabbing a star while you are dropping and moving forward adds a little extra speed to the swing. Hooking on the way down is usually better than hooking on the way up.
  • Longer holds swing faster. The line slowly reels you in while you hang on, which shortens the swing and speeds it up. A long hold builds momentum; a quick grab just redirects you.
  • Use bounce pads. They throw you back up into the air at speed and always push you forward, which can save a run after a bad release.
  • Watch the obstacles. Floor pillars and hanging blades knock you back and drop you off your hook, and moving stars drift up and down or side to side while you aim for them. A short, quick swing past an obstacle is often safer than a big looping one.
  • Go for time once you know the level. Stars are given for how fast you finish compared with a par time, so a replay with fewer, cleaner swings can earn the full set.

What's in it

Thirty levels across five paper worlds of six levels each, in this order: Dawn Fold (levels 1 to 6), Jade Hills (7 to 12), Dusk Crane (13 to 18), Snow Paper (19 to 24) and Maple Ridge (25 to 30).

The levels get longer as you go, from five stars to swing on in the first level up to eighteen in the longest. New obstacles arrive along the way:

  • Bounce pads from level 3.
  • Floor pillars from level 5.
  • Moving stars from level 8.
  • Hanging blades from level 11.

Levels unlock one at a time, and the menu lets you replay any level you have reached. Each level awards one to three stars for speed. Six paper skins can be chosen on the menu: Washi to start with, then Crimson, Indigo, Jade, Gold and Ink, unlocking as you reach levels 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25.

Behind the game

The swinging works like a rope with real gravity. While you hold on, the line will not stretch past its length, so you swing in an arc under the star; any speed pulling away from the star is taken off, and the rest carries you round. Because the line shortens a little every moment you hold it, you gain speed the way a child pumps a swing. Let go and you fly free under gravity, spinning as you go. Every full turn in the air counts as a flip.

Every level is generated from a fixed recipe and then played by a scripted swinger that hooks when it is falling towards a star and lets go on the upswing. A level is only kept if that swinger can finish it, and its finishing time becomes the level's par. Finish within 15 per cent of par for three stars and within 60 per cent for two. Anything slower earns one. That means three stars are always possible.

The look is paper all the way through: grain and fibres in the paper, folded facets that catch the light, card scenery with drop shadows, a streamer trail behind you and paper confetti at the finish.

Questions

Do I need an account?

No. Your levels, stars and skins are saved in your browser.

Can I play on a phone?

Yes, held upright or sideways. Hold your finger on the screen to hook and lift it to let go.

How do I get three stars?

Finish close to the par time, within 15 per cent of it. Fewer, longer swings with clean releases on the upswing are usually faster than lots of short grabs.

Is it violent?

No. Obstacles just knock you back, and a fall restarts the level.

Does it flash?

No.

Advertisement

your game starts in 5