How to play Fuse

Fuse is a timing game for one thumb. You are the spark on a lit fuse, and at the far end a firework is waiting. Hold anywhere to burn fast. Let go to crawl. Reach the firework before the clock runs out. That is the whole control scheme; the skill is knowing when to hold.

Speed

Holding speeds you up to full burn in about half a second. Letting go slows you down to a crawl in less than half a second. The spark never stops completely: even a crawl creeps forward. The speed meter at the top shows three bands: crawl, burn and full.

The clock

Every fuse starts with a number of seconds on the clock. It only starts on your first touch, so take a look at the whole route first. If the clock hits zero before you arrive, the firework goes up without you. The seconds you still have when you light it are your score: your time to spare.

Hazards

Each hazard has one right answer, and a callout tells you what it is as you get close.

• Puddle: keep holding. You need at least half speed to hop the water, or you are soaked.
• Gust: let go before it and keep your hands off until it is behind you. Any touch inside the wind, or arriving too fast, blows the spark out.
• Cut: a gap in the cord. Arrive at full speed to jump it, or you drop.
• Fork: the sign at the split says hold or let go. Your input at the split picks the branch, and one branch is a dead end.

Sparks

Little sparks sit along the cord. Most are collected at any speed. Hot sparks only count at full speed, and drifting sparks only at a crawl, so collecting all of them costs time. Sparks never change the clock; they are a second score.

Relight and the bot

A fizzle is never the end of the day. Tap Relight and the same fuse starts again from the lit end, as often as you want. Your first firework of the day is your result, and fizzles before it are counted. A bot lights every fuse before it is published, with perfect timing, and its time to spare is shown on the fuse. Matching it is hard.

Questions

Is every fuse possible?

Yes. The bot lights every daily fuse and every practice fuse before it is published, and a slower, careful run still lights it.

What does practice do?

Practice is a ladder of fuses, one hazard at a time at first, then harder than any daily. Each one gives up to three stars.

Can I challenge a friend?

Yes. After you light today's fuse, send a challenge link. Your friend plays the same fuse and sees your time to spare to beat.

Is Fuse free?

Yes. The web game is free, needs no account and keeps your progress in your browser.

Ready? Light today's fuse, or read the Fuse tips. Fuse is made by One Thumb Games.