Key Jumper: how to clear the giant keyboard parkour

Controls and the jump that matters most

On a phone, drag anywhere on the course and a stick appears under your finger to steer the slime, then tap the big arrow button to jump. On a computer, use the arrow keys or WASD to move and Space to jump. The first course has no traps at all, and a hand shows you how to steer and when to jump, so spend it getting the feel of the slime before the levels get longer.

The habit that separates a clean run from a frustrating one is jumping late. Run right up to the edge of the key and press jump at the last moment. A jump from the edge covers the widest gap the course can ask for, and every gap in Key Jumper is built so that it can be cleared this way. If you keep falling short, the problem is almost never the gap; it is a jump that started a little too early.

What each key does

Plain white keys sink under the slime with a click and are safe to stand on. The coloured ones change what you should do. Red keys shake the moment you land and drop a second later, so treat them as stepping stones, not places to stop: land and jump again straight away.

Green keys are springs. They throw you high on their own, which is how you cross the widest stretches, so you do not need to time a big jump yourself. Steer forward while you fly instead, because you can still move in the air and a spring that sends you straight up lands you right where you started.

Blue keys slide from side to side over the void. Wait for the key to come towards you, then step on and jump on to the next key before it carries you away. Rushing onto a blue key while it is sliding away is a common reason for a fall.

Reading a course before you run it

Courses are floating keyboards running away from you, and they show their shape early. Holes in a keyboard make you choose a line, so look for the key that leaves you facing the next one squarely. Stepping stones climb upwards, and long single-key bridges test your aim more than your timing: steer gently and keep your finger light on the stick.

As you climb, levels grow longer and bring in new key types one at a time, so a course never springs a new trick on you without a first, simple example of it. Use that. When a new key appears, take a moment on the safe key before it and watch how it behaves.

Checkpoints, falls and the skip button

Long space bars are checkpoints. If you fall, you start again from the last space bar you reached, not from the beginning, so a fall costs you a few seconds and the chance at three stars, nothing more. That makes the space bar the right place to pause, breathe and look at what comes next.

The skip button is for a stretch that keeps beating you. It jumps you ahead to the next space bar. You start with one skip, unused skips carry over, and a short video brings more. Using one is not a failure: you can still reach the Enter key at the end and the next level will not hold the same obstacle.

Three stars: finish without falling

Stars are for a clean run: finish a level without falling and you earn three. That changes how you play a course you already know. Slow down on the tricky stretches, take the safer line even if it looks longer, and do not chase speed through red keys. If you fall late, it is worth restarting from the checkpoint only if the star matters to you; otherwise carry on to the big green Enter key.

Your level, stars and skips are saved in the browser, and the leaderboard ranks the furthest jumpers, so progress is never lost between sessions.

Frequently asked questions

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• Key Jumper — Slime parkour across a giant keyboard