Binary Drop

The pitch

Binary Drop turns learning binary into a falling-blocks puzzle. Every row is a line of lights worth 1, 2, 4, 8 and up. Lime rows show a number: tap the lights so they add up to it. Violet rows are already lit: add them up and type the number. From level 3 the rows fall like Tetris, and each level adds more lights and more speed. A gentle first level teaches everything by watching, then streaks, rising melodies and confetti keep you going. Learn decimal-to-binary conversion without noticing you are studying.

Controls & how it runs

Tap or click a light to turn it on or off. Each column is worth a number shown above it (8, 4, 2, 1). Lime rows: light up the lights so they add up to the number on the right. Violet rows: add up the lit lights and type the total with the on-screen keypad or your keyboard (digits, Backspace, Enter). A solved row disappears. From level 3 rows fall down the board: solve them before they land. A landed row costs one heart; lose all three and the round ends. Clear 40 rows to finish a level and unlock the next one on the level path. Keyboard: number keys to type, P or Esc to pause.

Getting a run going takes exactly one press: Press start, up top, and the game boots inside this page — nothing downloads in the background and no form wants your details before the first jump. The cabinet is drawn for a flexible screen and listens to mouse, keyboard or touch, whichever the game prefers. It reshapes itself for tall and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all get the full picture. Given a fullscreen button, use it — scores look better at full size, that's just science.

Pro tips for arcade cabinets

• Treat your first run as a scouting mission. Arcade cabinets hide their cruelty in the second minute, not the first — learn where the difficulty spikes before you start chasing numbers.
• Small scores compound. Grab the easy pickups on every pass instead of gambling the whole run on one heroic line; heroes respawn, banked points don't evaporate.
• Watch the edges of the screen. In classic arcade design the next problem almost always enters from somewhere you weren't looking — build the habit of scanning the borders.

Binary Drop — quick-fire questions

Does Binary Drop cost anything to play?

Not a token. The cabinet is free from the first run to the five-hundredth — no wallet, no sign-up, no toll booth hiding three levels in. The adverts around the page are what keep the floor's lights on.

What sort of game is Binary Drop?

It stands on our Arcade row — that's the family it plays most like. The pitch above is the publisher's own rundown of what it throws at you and what it hands back.

Can I play Binary Drop on my phone?

Happily, yes. It runs inside the browser on phones and tablets the same way it does on a computer. It reshapes itself for tall and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all get the full picture.

Do I need to install anything first?

Nothing whatsoever. Binary Drop is an HTML5 game: hit the start button and it boots on this page, and shutting the tab sweeps the cabinet clean behind you.

Before you wander off

Personal best banked, or still chasing it? Either way the full Arcade row is powered on and waiting — The main floor: 415 cabinets of pure arcade stock — the quick, the loud and the gloriously unfair. If it beeps, flashes and dares you to beat a number, it lives on this row.