Flappy Bird

What it's like to play

Flappy Bird is the 2013 mobile hit rebuilt in Phaser 3 at a fixed 288×512. A random red, blue or yellow bird waits on the left while the instruction card asks for a tap. One flap starts the run, and the card disappears. From then on the screen scrolls at a steady pace and every pipe is a one-hit failure. The bird's colour is picked at random each run, but it has no effect on physics.

Gravity pulls the bird down at 300 pixels per second squared, and each flap sets its vertical speed to −400 for five frames. Pipes move left at 100 pixels per second, with a new pair every 130 frames, roughly every 2.2 seconds. The gap is 98 pixels tall and its centre shifts by up to 120 pixels, so the safe line changes with every pair.

The only bound key is the up arrow. Space does nothing, which breaks the habit of most one-button games; clicking or tapping the canvas works too. Passing a pipe adds one point, and every ten points swaps the day background for night and green pipes for red. The scoreboard uses image digits, so it reads cleanly at any size.

Verdict: The difficulty is the point: five or six pipes is a respectable run, and the restart button appears the moment you hit one. There is no audio at all, and the fixed 288×512 frame leaves wide margins on a desktop. It is still the cleanest version of this game you can play in a browser tab.

Controls

Click or tap the play area, or press the up arrow, to flap; space does nothing. A restart button appears after a crash.