Slappy Bird

The pitch

Instead of controlling the bird, you control the green pipes. Time your smashes perfectly to crush birds as they fly through the gap and collect coins for every successful hit. But don't let too many escape—missing three birds ends the run. Spend your coins on permanent upgrades to increase coin rewards, reduce smash cooldown, and improve the chance of rare golden birds worth bonus coins. Test your reflexes, beat your high score, and see how long you can keep the skies clear! Key Features: Smash birds to earn coins Endless high-score challenge Permanent upgrades Rare golden birds with bonus rewards Simple controls, fast-paced action

Controls & how it runs

Mobile: Tap anywhere on the screen to smash the pipes. Desktop: Click the left mouse button or press Spacebar to smash the pipes.

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.

Slappy Bird — quick-fire questions

Does Slappy Bird 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 Slappy Bird?

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 Slappy Bird 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. Slappy Bird 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.