Survival tips

Look further ahead

The single biggest improvement most players can make is to stop watching the car and start watching the road a few seconds ahead. Hazards appear small near the horizon and grow quickly. If you only react once a pothole is big on the screen, you are already too late to steer around it smoothly.

Try fixing your eyes about two thirds of the way up the road. Your car stays in your peripheral vision, and you see clusters forming early enough to plan a line through them.

Steer in small taps

Holding a direction for a long time is how most runs end on the kerb. Short taps keep you in control, especially at high speed when the car moves sideways faster. On a phone, quick presses on the arrow buttons work better than holding your thumb on one side of the screen.

On bends the road pulls you towards the outside. Lean into the corner a little before it starts, rather than fighting the pull halfway round.

Use the warnings

Almost every serious hazard announces itself. Flashing banners at the top of the screen tell you a crater, machete bin, roadworks or tobacco shop is coming up, and there is a short beep when they appear. A siren means a car chase is on its way from behind.

Treat the roadworks sign as the start of a lane change. The cones that follow are lined up in the lollipop lady's lane, so by the time you reach the cones you should already be in a different one.

Brake for car chases

The flashing arrows at the bottom of the screen show where the stolen car and the police car are behind you. Most players try to outrun them. It is usually better to brake. Both cars pass you sooner, the weaving stolen car has less time to swerve into you, and you can pick a clear lane once they are ahead and visible.

Remember the police car follows the same line as the stolen car, a moment later. Dodging the first and drifting back is a classic way to get hit by the second.

Manage your energy

Your car loses energy every second, so you can't survive on dodging alone. Tobacco shops are your only way to top up, worth 20 energy each. They appear more often once you drop below about half, so don't panic when the bars turn yellow.

It is worth a small risk to collect a carton when you are low. It is rarely worth a big risk when you are nearly full, because energy above 100 is wasted.

Stay off the kerb

The kerb costs about 4 energy every second and drags your speed down. A few seconds there costs as much as a pothole. If you find yourself on it after dodging something, steer straight back onto the road before worrying about the next hazard.

Drive differently in the rain

When "FOUR SEASONS IN ONE DAY!" appears, the road gets slippery and potholes fill with water. Corners pull harder towards the outside, so give yourself more room on bends and expect puddles to be harder to spot. The rain only lasts 10 to 15 seconds, so play it safe until it clears.

What counts as a good time?

The game gets faster for the first two minutes of every run, and new hazards join in as you go: roadworks after a few seconds, machete bins mixed into pothole clusters after a minute. Surviving past one minute is a solid start. Past two minutes, you're driving at full speed with every hazard in play. Your best time is saved on your device and shown on the title screen, so you always have something to beat.