Noodle Rush

What is Noodle Rush?

Noodle Rush is our take on the arena snake game. You steer a noodle around a round bowl of broth, eat the little glowing bits to get longer, and try not to bump your head into anything. The twist that makes this kind of game so much fun is that you can't hit other noodles, but they can't hit you either. If another noodle's head touches your body, it bursts, and you get the credit.

Every round lasts three minutes and you share the bowl with nine bots, each with a name like Soba Sam or Brothy Bo. When the bell rings, everyone still alive is ranked by length. It's free, runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and there's nothing to download.

How to play

You start each round at length 14 with a short shield, so you have about two seconds to get your bearings. After that the basic loop is simple: eat, grow, survive.

• Eat the glowing bits floating in the broth. Bigger bits are worth more. New food keeps appearing all round.
• Don't touch the bowl rim or any other noodle's body with your head. Either one ends your round on the spot.
• Tangle other noodles by getting your body in front of their head. When one bursts, it leaves a trail of big food behind.
• Last until the bell. Surviving the full three minutes is worth a lot more than you'd guess (see scoring below).

Controls on phone and computer

Boosting nearly doubles your speed, but it isn't free. While you boost your noodle shrinks and drops a little trail of food behind it, and once you're down to a length of about 8 you can't boost at all. Bigger noodles also turn a wider circle than small ones, so a long noodle needs more room to get out of trouble.

Toppings

Every few seconds a topping pops up somewhere in the bowl. Run over it to get a short power. There are never more than four on the board at once.

How scoring works

Your score is worked out when the round ends, and it rewards staying alive.

If you get tangled before the bell you keep your length and your tangle points, but you lose the survival bonus and the rank bonus. So a noodle at length 300 that makes it to the bell in first place scores 300 + 75 + 60 = 435, plus tangles. The same noodle tangled with ten seconds left scores 300. That gap is the whole reason to play carefully near the end.

Daily Bowl and leaderboards

The Daily Bowl is the same bowl for every player that day: same food, same bots, same starting spots. Each day also has a twist picked from five:

• Chili Fiesta: extra Chili Rush toppings
• Feast Bowl: double the food
• Crowded Bowl: 12 bots instead of 9
• Egg Drop: lots of Egg Shields
• Big Noodles: the bots start long

Playing the Daily Bowl on back to back days builds a streak. Signed in players can post scores to the classic and daily leaderboards from the trophy button.

Unlocks: the Noodles collection

Every point you score is also added to your broth, a running total that unlocks new noodle looks. Your first round of each day earns double broth, so it's worth a quick round even on a busy day. The noodles unlock at 300 broth (Spinach), 900 (Beet Pink), 1,800 (Carrot), 3,000 (Squid Ink), 4,500 (Butterfly Pea), 6,500 (Matcha), 9,000 (Fat Udon), 12,500 (Chili Oil) and 17,000 (Galaxy). Two are earned a different way: Golden for finishing first at the bell, and Rainbow for playing five Daily Bowls. The looks are just for fun and don't change how your noodle plays.

Tips and strategy

Follow the fights, not the food

A burst noodle turns most of its length into big food right where it popped. Picking up the remains of one medium bot is worth more than a minute of grazing. When you see two bots circling each other, hang back at a safe distance and swoop in when one pops.

Boost to cut, not to travel

Boosting burns your length, so using it just to get somewhere faster is a bad trade. The best use is a short burst to slip your head in front of another noodle so it runs into your side. Aim to cross just ahead of its head, then ease off. Chili Rush is the exception: boost is free for six seconds, so go hunting.

Coil when you're big

Once you're long, you can circle around a smaller noodle and slowly tighten the loop. It has nowhere to go but into your body. Keep your own head on the outside of the loop and watch for a third noodle cutting in.

Respect the rim

The bowl edge is the easiest way to lose a big noodle, especially while boosting, because big noodles turn wide. Stay a body width or two away from it unless you have an Egg Shield, which lets you bounce off safely.

Never go head to head

Some bots are aggressive and will try to cut across you. If a head is coming straight at yours, turn away early rather than trying to win the race. Turning away costs nothing. Losing costs the round.

Play safe in the last ten seconds

When the clock starts ticking, your survival and rank bonuses are on the line. Move into open broth, stop hunting and just stay alive. A first place finish at the bell is also the only way to unlock the Golden noodle.

Use Double Slurp in a feast

Double Slurp lasts ten seconds. If you grab it near a fresh burst trail or on a Feast Bowl day, you can put on a huge amount of length very quickly. Swirl Magnet pairs well with the same trick.

Questions