How to play Sky Hopper

Steer a bouncing hopper up an endless sky of drifting platforms, grab three stars to fire the updraft, and never look down.

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Sky Hopper is an endless climb with one rule you never get to break: the hopper bounces whether you are ready or not. Every landing throws it straight back up, so the only question the game asks is where it will be when it comes down.

Steering

Hold and drag, or use the arrow keys, to move sideways while airborne.

The edges wrap. Run off the left of the screen and you reappear on the right, which means the fastest route to a platform on the far right is often to go left. This is easy to forget and it is frequently the difference between reaching a platform and falling.

Your score is the altitude you reach, in metres.

The footing

Solid slabs are what you want and rarely what you get.

Cloud platforms carry exactly one bounce and then crumble, so they are a stepping stone and never a place to steady yourself.

Movers slide sideways, which means aiming at where a mover is will miss — you have to aim at where it is going, exactly as you would lead a moving target.

Springs fling you far higher than a normal hop. They are the main way to make real height quickly, and the main way to overshoot a carefully planned route.

Storms and stars, and what they do

From a few hundred metres up, storm cells drift between the rows. Touching one ends the run, and unlike everything else in the game they move independently of your bouncing.

Stars collect towards an updraft: every third star launches a long climb that passes straight through storms. That makes stars worth a detour in a way most collectables are not — they are not points, they are safety.

How to climb well

Look up, not down. The hopper's bounce is automatic and its height is known, so what matters is which platform you are aiming for two hops from now, not the one you are about to land on.

Prefer solid platforms over clouds when both are reachable, even if the cloud is closer. A cloud costs you the option of a second bounce in that spot, and a second bounce is often what you need when the platform above turns out to be a mover.

Use the wrap deliberately rather than as an escape. A route that crosses the edge is often shorter, and planning it in advance is far better than discovering it while falling.

Do not chase every spring. A spring that launches you past a run of good platforms into an empty stretch of sky is a trap, and altitude gained fast is worth nothing if there is nothing to land on.

Controls

Hold and drag anywhere on the sky to steer the hopper toward your finger. The left and right edges wrap.

Keyboard

Left/Right arrows or A/D to steer.
Enter or Space to restart after a fall.

Strategy tips

Look two platforms ahead. The bounce is automatic and its height is fixed, so the only real decision is which platform you are aiming for after the next one.
Use the screen wrap on purpose. Running off one edge to arrive at the other is often the shortest route, and it is much better planned than discovered.
Lead the movers. Aiming at where a sliding platform is guarantees a miss; aim where it will be when you arrive.
Prefer solid ground over a nearer cloud. A cloud gives you exactly one bounce, so it takes away the second chance you may need.
Detour for stars. Every third one gives an updraft that passes straight through storms, which makes them safety rather than points.
Do not take every spring. Height gained past a run of good platforms into empty sky is height you fall back through.
Watch the storms as separate from the platforms. They drift on their own schedule and they are the one hazard your bouncing rhythm does not account for.
Steer early in the arc. Sideways movement is easiest at the top of a hop, and corrections made on the way down are usually too late.