Trekking

platformer

A mountain platformer in three levels, from the valley floor to the summit, with three controls and no more: left, right and jump. You choose who climbs, and the choice really does change the climb — Kat goes alone, Simo brings Noè, her poodle, who chases snakes, scorpions, boars and foxes off by himself, and Dave does not drown but swims, so where the other two must cross a ford stone by stone he simply wades through. The mountain is not a backdrop: flat paths, rock steps and gullies, snakes, scorpions and boars patrolling the trail, foxes that clear the rock steps and follow you from terrace to terrace, spiders on threads, squirrels throwing acorns from the branches, crows dropping walnuts, boulders to climb over, holes in the trail, and boulders that break off the rock face and roll downhill. Landing on an enemy takes it out, meeting one head-on costs a life, and each level is capped by a beast to be stomped down: a goat, a wolf, a bear.

Play Trekking

How to play

The goal is to reach the summit across the three levels, on three lives. You lose one by meeting an enemy head-on, dropping into a hole or falling into the void; out of lives is game over and the climb starts again from the bottom. Scoring: two hundred and fifty points for an enemy stomped from above, two hundred for anything swept away with the ice axe, boulders included, a hundred and twenty for each hit on a beast that still has lives, a hundred and fifty for an edelweiss, a hundred each for the ice axe and the boots, sixty for each beast Noè drives off, five hundred for the goat, eight hundred for the wolf, twelve hundred for the bear, and at the end of a level eight hundred points plus two hundred for every life still in hand — so finishing clean pays better than any amount of collecting. Every three edelweiss flowers earn an extra life, and the counter starts again from zero. You start by picking who climbs: left and right arrows, or a tap on the character you want, then Space (or a second tap) to set off. Simo brings Noè, her poodle, along: he trots at her side and, when he spots a snake, a scorpion, a boar or a fox nearby, runs at it and chases it off, then stops for a few seconds to catch his breath. One beast at a time, and only those four. Dave has a gift of his own: the river does not kill him — he floats with the water at his waist and swims across, slower than he walks, then jumps out onto the bank. Where the other two hop from stone to stone, he goes straight through. Your choice is remembered. Keyboard: ← → or A D to move, Space, ↑, W or J to jump, P or Esc to pause, Enter to play again. Touch: the two buttons at the bottom left move you, the one at the bottom right jumps. Holding jump makes it longer, releasing cuts it short. Drop onto an enemy to take it out and bounce; touching one head-on costs a life. Boulders cannot be stomped: they drop from the rock face and then roll downhill, and as one comes down its shadow spreads across the ground right where it will land. A boar patrols its stretch of trail and runs faster than a snake but slower than you: jump on it to be rid of it, and Noè drives it off as he does snakes and scorpions. The second level has foxes: they run faster than a boar and, alone among the beasts, they **clear the rock steps** — up and down — so climbing to the terrace above will not shake one off. They are stomped like anything else, and Noè drives them off too. On the first level squirrels sit on branches and throw acorns: dodge them, or jump onto the branch and stomp the squirrel. Acorns do nothing to Kat, thanks to the bandana, and every now and then Noè catches one in mid-air. Crows cross the sky, over the fords too, and drop a walnut aimed at where you will be if you keep your pace: a moment before, its shadow appears where it will land, and you avoid it by stopping or sprinting. Walnuts hit Kat as well. Boulders block the trail: jump over them, and you can stand on top. Grab the ice axe to make hazards harmless for eight seconds and the boots to run and jump further. Edelweiss flowers sit out of reach and can only be taken in mid-air, and the ones above a boulder only by jumping from its top: every three of them is an extra life. A beast blocks the way at the end of each level and the goal stays dark until you stomp it down: two hits for the goat, three for the wolf, four for the bear, and it pauses to catch its breath between charges. Clear the holes with a running jump: falling costs a life. One hole has a wooden walkway above it: you step up onto it from the ledge beside it, cross on the planks and drop down on the far side, while the boulders pass underneath and fall into the void. Press M, or tap the speaker at the top of the screen, to turn the sound on and off; your choice is remembered. While paused, tap anywhere to resume; on touch devices the pause button sits at the top, next to the speaker.

How it works

Trekking is a climb in three levels, from the valley floor to the summit. You move left and right and jump, and the trail keeps rising: flat paths, flights of rock steps, holes in the ground and, lower down, rivers crossed on stepping stones. Each level ends at a goal, but a beast stands guard in front of it, and the goal stays dark until you beat it.

You start with three lives. Touching an enemy head-on, being hit by a boulder, an acorn or a walnut, falling into a hole or landing in the water each cost one, though what the water and the acorns do depends on who is climbing.
Land on an enemy from above to take it out. You bounce off it, and the bounce can carry you onto the next one. Snakes, scorpions, spiders, boars, foxes and squirrels can all be stomped; boulders, acorns and walnuts cannot, and the crows fly too high.
You come back where you last stood safely, not at the start of the level. Enemies you beat stay beaten, and nothing can hurt you for a second and a half.
Three edelweiss make a life. They float just below the top of a jump, so you have to leap for them. On the first level they sit above the rocks that block the trail, and you can only reach them by jumping from the top. The counter starts again after each extra life.

Hold jump for a full leap and release it early for a short hop. A press just before landing, or just after walking off an edge, still counts.

Who climbs

Before you set off you choose from three climbers, each shown on a card with the one gift that sets them apart. Pick with the arrow keys or by tapping a card, then press Space or tap again to start. The game remembers your choice.

Kat climbs alone, and acorns do him no harm: they break against him wherever they hit. The crows' walnuts do hurt him: the bandana only guards against acorns.
Simo brings Noè, her poodle, who trots beside her and runs at any snake, scorpion, boar or fox he spots ahead, chasing it off the trail. He deals with one at a time and needs about four seconds to catch his breath before the next. Now and then he catches an acorn in mid-air, and rests after that too.
Dave does not drown. Where the other two cross a river from stone to stone, he drops into the water and swims straight across, slower than he walks, and can jump out onto the bank. His card says he fears no cold.

The three levels

Valley Floor Trail ends at a tent, and it is the longest. It has snakes, four squirrels throwing acorns from their trees, four crows, large rocks to climb over with the edelweiss above them, one spot where boulders fall, and two rivers to cross on stepping stones, three for the first and four for the second, with a crow passing over each. Between the fords a snake waits under a squirrel, and at the top of the rock steps a snake has a crow above it. The last stretch belongs to the boars: first one on its own, then one trotting back and forth between two squirrels. The boots are here, and the beast is a goat that takes two hits.

Spider Ledge ends at a mountain hut. Spiders drop on their threads and climb back up, a scorpion joins the snakes, boulders fall in two places and two holes cut the path. There are still large rocks at the start, the first edelweiss sits above one of them, and two crows cross the sky. The foxes are here too, in three stretches: they run faster than a boar and are the only beasts that clear the rock steps, up and down, so climbing to the terrace above will not shake one off. The first is alone, the second has a crow overhead, and the third comes down the steps. The ice axe is here, and the beast is a wolf that takes three hits.

Final Gully ends at the summit cross, with five boulder spots, spiders, scorpions, snakes and two crows, and three holes to jump. A fourth hole is crossed on a wooden walkway, the only thing people built in the whole game: you step up onto the planks from the ledge beside it and drop down on the far side, while the boulders roll underneath and fall into the void. The boots wait at the start and the ice axe halfway up. The last beast is a bear that takes four hits.

Scoring

250 points for stomping an enemy
200 points for anything swept away with the ice axe
60 points when Noè chases off a snake, a scorpion, a boar or a fox
150 points for each edelweiss, 100 for the ice axe or the boots
120 points for each hit on a beast, and 500, 800 or 1,200 for beating the goat, the wolf or the bear
800 points for reaching a goal, plus 200 for every life you still have, and lives carry over from level to level

Your best score is kept in the browser.

Strategy that actually helps

Let the beast charge first. Every beast charges more slowly than you run, so you can always get away. After a charge it stops for about a second to catch its breath, and that is the moment to jump on its head. After a hit it staggers back, which gives you time to set up the next jump.

Read the boulders before you walk under them. Loose gravel falls first, then the boulder drops, and its shadow grows on the ground where it will land. Once down, it rolls along the trail towards you. Each spot drops one every few seconds: let one pass, then go.

Jump the boar, or let it turn. A boar patrols its own stretch of trail, faster than a snake but at half your running speed, so it never catches you. Land on it to be rid of it, or wait for it to turn back and go through behind it.

Change pace under a crow. A crow flies towards you and drops a walnut where you will be if you keep the pace you have. You hear it call as it arrives, and again just before the walnut falls, while a shadow appears where it will land: stop or sprint, and the walnut misses.

The large rocks are ground, not enemies. They are half a jump high; jump over them or stand on top, which is how you reach the first level's edelweiss.

Keep moving near squirrels. A squirrel aims at where you are when it throws, and the acorn takes under a second to arrive. Standing still is what gets you hit. A full jump reaches the branch, and stomping the squirrel stops it for good. Playing as Kat, you can ignore the acorns entirely.

Use the ice axe at once. For eight seconds, anything you touch is swept away instead of hurting you, boulders, acorns and walnuts included, and a beast takes a hit even head-on. The boots make you run faster and jump higher for ten seconds. A blue or yellow glow shows which power is active, and it pulses faster just before it runs out. Both are lost with a life.

Common questions

Is it free? Yes. It runs in your browser, with no signup and nothing to download.

Does it work on a phone? Yes. Two buttons at the bottom left move you and one at the bottom right jumps. The pause and sound buttons sit at the top. It works in portrait and landscape.

What happens when I run out of lives? The game is over and shows your score. Playing again starts from the first level with three new lives.

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Also available in: Italiano