Drag Racer

How to Play

• Three amber lights count down, then the lights turn green. Pressing before green is a false start and loses the race.
• Press your key once to launch, then press it again to shift up. There are five gears.
• Shifting with the needle in the green zone is a Perfect shift and gives a short boost. Yellow is Good; earlier is Early and costs time.
• The first car past 402 m wins. In one-player mode your time is saved as your best.

Strategy and Tips

• Watch the green lamp, not the ambers. The green comes 0.5 s after the third amber, so learn that rhythm.
• Hitting the rev limiter (red zone) wastes time: the car stops accelerating until you shift.
• An early shift drops the revs below the engine's power band, so waiting a fraction longer is usually faster.
• Perfect shifts add a short boost, so a run of five perfects beats a faster launch with sloppy shifts.

Controls

Player 1 launches and shifts with W; in one-player mode ↑ and Enter work too. Player 2 uses ↑. On a touch screen, player 1 taps the left half and player 2 the right half; alone, tap anywhere.

Background

Organized drag racing grew out of 1950s America, where the quarter mile became the standard distance and the 'Christmas tree' starting lights became its icon. The format translates perfectly to games: it's all about timing, so two players can race side by side on one keyboard.