How to play Flap n Dodge
Tap, flap and dodge: how the controls work, what every power-up does, how Seasons and the map work, and how to earn rewards.
What Flap n Dodge is
Flap n Dodge is a one-tap pixel-art runner for iPhone and iPad. Your chick runs by itself; you tap to jump and tap again in the air to flap. Every level takes you somewhere new, from the farmyard to the Moon, and everyone plays the same levels for three days at a time, so the Season leaderboard is a fair race.
Your first run
- Open the game. The first time, a card explains tracking and then Apple asks whether the game may use your data to show more relevant ads. Either answer is fine, and in the UK, EEA and Switzerland Google's consent message follows.
- Tap PLAY. Level 1 is always the countryside.
- Tap to jump over low blocks. Tap again while you are in the air to flap higher: you get up to three flaps before you land and recover them.
- The first time anything new appears, the game pauses and shows a short card explaining it. Tap Got it! to carry on.
- Grab glowing things and dodge the purple tiles with red teeth and a "!".
- When POWER runs out, or you fall in a pit, the run ends. A Continue card may offer five seconds to keep going; otherwise you see your results.
POWER, CHICKEN FEED and the controls
There are no other buttons and no swipes. To get under an overhang, just do not tap. POWER is the green bar at the top: bumping into something takes a chunk off it and you carry straight on, and it comes back slowly while you run clean. Run out and you are cooked. CHICKEN FEED is the yellow bar under it: extra power above the full bar, used up first when you bump. A little pie by your bird shows your flaps. Every obstacle except a pit can be cleared, and a pit ends the run whatever POWER you have left.
What is in your way
Each place dresses its obstacles up differently, but the shape tells you what to do: low blocks need one tap and wide ones an early tap; walls need a jump and then flaps, and you can land on top of one and run along it; overhangs and floating blocks mean staying on the ground; rolling boulders mean taking off earlier than feels right; platforms, ramps and rings help you along. Most levels also hide a pipe: run into its mouth low to the ground and it takes you straight to the next level.
Power-ups and power-downs
Power-ups glow and sparkle. Shield blocks your next bump or power-down, Magnet pulls coins to you, Wings gives six flaps instead of three, Turbo speeds the world up and Slow-mo slows it down, Shrink makes you small, Big and Mega make you huge and unstoppable, and the rare SONIC is triple speed with unlimited flaps. Every place also has a special power-up of its own.
Power-downs sit on a purple tile and every one can be avoided: the Gravy Boat makes you fall faster, Tired cuts you to one flap, Dark dims everything, Dizzy sets the world swaying, Vertigo tilts it and Mirror flips it back to front.
Places, Seasons and the map
- 46 places: every level is somewhere new, and the day turns to dusk, night and dawn as you travel. Some stretches slope, so downhill speeds you up.
- Seasons: a season lasts three days. Everyone plays exactly the same levels, then the places are shuffled and the board starts again. Your ghost replays your best run of the season.
- The map: tap the Level chip on the title screen. Every fifth level is a checkpoint; once you have reached one you can start from it for free, or skip ahead for coins or a video. A run from a checkpoint scores from zero.
- Daily challenge: one course, the same for everyone in the world each day, with its own board.
- Boards: Season, This week, Daily and All-time. Your name is generated and you cannot type one.
Continues, boosters and rewards
- Continue: when you are cooked you have five seconds to keep your run by watching a short video or spending coins - 100 for the first continue in a run, then 200, then 400.
- Boosters sit under PLAY: start a run with a Shield, a Magnet or Double Coins. They cost coins, and once a day you can have one free for a video.
- Every day: a free spin of the wheel, a rewards calendar that grows the more days in a row you play, and three goals with coins for each.
- A free chest opens every few hours, and the Rewards Road pays out as your lifetime score grows.
- The piggy bank collects a coin for every coin you collect; once it holds enough you can break it open in the Shop.
- Chick skins: some are bought with coins, some are won, and you can draw your own. They are looks only; every chick plays the same.
Ads and purchases
Flap n Dodge is free to download and shows ads. Videos are always your choice and always give you something for watching, and a short ad sometimes plays when a new run starts, never during one. Remove Ads in the Shop stops those for good. Coin packs, bundles and the piggy bank are optional, nothing you buy is random, and there are no energy timers: you can always play.
Questions people ask
How do I control the chick?
One finger: tap to jump, tap again in the air to flap, up to three flaps per jump, refilled when you land. There are no other buttons, and to duck under an overhang you simply do not tap.
What happens when I hit something, and what is the yellow bar?
A bump takes some POWER off the green bar and you keep running. CHICKEN FEED is the extra yellow bar above full power, used up first. The run ends when POWER is gone or you fall into a pit.
Why do the levels change every few days?
A season lasts three days. Everyone plays the same levels so the Season leaderboard is fair, then the places are shuffled and the board starts again.
Is it free? Do I have to watch ads?
It is free to download and shows an ad now and then when you start a new run. Reward videos are always optional, and the one-off Remove Ads purchase stops the between-run ads for good.
Do I need an account, and how do my scores reach the board?
No account or sign-in. The game uses a random anonymous ID and a generated nickname, and your best run for each period posts automatically when you are online.
How do I continue after I am cooked, and what does it cost?
When the Continue card appears you have five seconds: watch a short video, or spend coins - 100 for the first coin continue in a run, then 200, then 400.
Can I start further along?
Yes. Tap the Level chip for the map. Every fifth level is a checkpoint; once you have reached one you can start from it free, or skip to the next one for coins or a video.
Will I lose my progress if I change phone?
Progress is stored on your phone only, with no account or cloud save. Restore purchases brings back Remove Ads and the Starter Bundle, but not coin packs.