Hazard guide
Everything that can end your drive in Melbourne Pothole Dodger, what it costs you, and how to get past it. Every hazard is a nod to something Melbourne drivers will recognise.
You start every run with 100 energy, shown as ten bars at the top of the screen. Hits take energy away, and your car also wears out slowly the whole time you drive. When the bars run out, the run ends and the game tells you exactly what finished you off.
Potholes
The everyday menace and the reason the game exists. Potholes appear on their own early on, then in clusters of up to five as the run goes on. Hitting one costs 10 energy and knocks your speed down by about a fifth.
How to dodge: read the cluster as a whole before you steer. The gap you need is usually further ahead than the pothole closest to you. Small, early steering corrections beat big late swerves.
Real-life inspiration: potholes form when water gets into cracks in the road surface and traffic keeps pounding the weakened spot. That is why a wet spell in Melbourne tends to be followed by a fresh crop of them.
Craters and puddles
About one pothole in seven is a crater: wider, deeper and far more expensive at 17 energy and a big loss of speed. The game flashes "CRATER AHEAD!" before you reach one.
When it rains, potholes fill with water and turn blue-grey, which makes them harder to pick out against the wet road. Watch for the flash of light on the water.
The machete bin
A heavy steel bin sitting in the middle of your lane. It doesn't move, it doesn't give way, and it costs 20 energy plus nearly half your speed. After the first minute it can also turn up at the end of a pothole cluster.
How to dodge: the yellow "DODGE THE MACHETE BIN!" banner gives you plenty of warning. The bin sits in one of three lanes, so pick the clearest of the other two early.
Real-life inspiration: Victoria banned machetes from 1 September 2025 and ran an amnesty until 30 November 2025, with safe disposal bins set up outside police stations around the state. In the game, one of them has wandered onto the road.
The lollipop lady
Roadworks arrive in a set order: a diamond "ROAD WORK" sign on the roadside, three pairs of traffic cones, then a traffic controller in hi-vis holding a STOP sign. Each cone costs 4 energy. The lollipop lady costs 22, and she will tell you about it.
How to dodge: the cones are a warning, not decoration. They line up in the same lane she is standing in, so as soon as you see them, move to a different lane and stay there.
Real-life inspiration: anyone who has driven through Melbourne's endless roadworks knows the stop/slow bat. Please obey the real ones.
Stolen car chases
Every half a minute or so a stolen red hatchback comes up from behind at high speed, weaving across the road, with a police car right on its tail. The game flashes "STOLEN CAR CHASE BEHIND YOU!" and you will hear the siren. Getting hit by the stolen car costs 30 energy, and the police car another 25.
How to dodge: flashing red and blue arrows at the bottom of the screen show where each car is behind you. Move away from the arrows. Braking helps too, because both cars pass you sooner and you spend less time guessing which way they will swerve.
The police car
The police car follows the stolen car's line a moment later, so if you only just dodged the first car, you are probably still in the path of the second. Keep moving until both have passed.
The illegal tobacco shop
The only thing on the road that helps you. A brick shopfront with a flashing neon "ILLEGAL TOBACCO PICKUP 24/7" sign appears on the roadside, and a bouncing carton sits in the lane next to it. Drive through the carton for 20 energy, up to a full tank.
These shops turn up more often when your energy drops below about half, so a bad run always has a way back.
Real-life inspiration: the running joke about how many tobacconists seem to open on every shopping strip. The game is satire, so please don't take its advice in real life.
The carton
The carton bounces so it is easy to spot. It always sits on the same side of the road as the shop, a short distance after the sign.
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Things that aren't on the road
The kerb. Drift too far left or right and you end up on Melbourne's bluestone kerbs and footpaths. You slow down, the car shudders, and you lose about 4 energy every second you stay there.
Wear and tear. Your car loses a little energy every second no matter how well you drive. Even a perfect run without a single hit lasts about five and a half minutes unless you collect tobacco along the way.
Rain. "FOUR SEASONS IN ONE DAY!" means a downpour has arrived. Corners pull you towards the outside harder, and potholes become puddles. Showers last 10 to 15 seconds.
Speed. The car accelerates by itself, and its top speed keeps rising for the first two minutes of every run. Everything above gets harder the longer you survive.
Damage at a glance
| HAZARD | ENERGY | SPEED KEPT | WARNING |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pothole | -10 | 78% | None |
| Crater | -17 | 60% | "CRATER AHEAD!" |
| Machete bin | -20 | 55% | "DODGE THE MACHETE BIN!" |
| Traffic cone | -4 | 90% | Roadworks sign |
| Lollipop lady | -22 | 50% | "LOLLIPOP LADY AHEAD!" |
| Stolen car | -30 | 45% | Banner, siren, arrows |
| Police car | -25 | 50% | Banner, siren, arrows |
| Kerb | -4 per second | Slows you | None |
| Tobacco carton | +20 | No change | "PICK UP ILLEGAL TOBACCO!" |
Ready to put this to use? Read the survival tips, then PLAY NOW