Joust is a one-tap flying arena game. Your blob knight rides a paper bird over a pit of lava, drifting across the cave and turning around whenever it bumps a wall or the side of a ledge. Tap to flap and climb. Enemy riders sweep in waves, and when two lances meet, the higher rider wins. Beaten riders drop eggs you can scoop up for coins before they hatch. Each wave brings more riders and faster hunters, and if a wave drags on, a storm cloud starts sinking from the ceiling. There's a new arena every day, with friends' ghosts flying beside you.
How to play Joust
- Tap anywhere to flap. Each flap lifts you, and gravity pulls you back down.
- Your rider flies on its own and turns around at the walls and ledge sides.
- Hit an enemy rider while you're higher than it to knock it out. Every rider you beat is a point.
- If the enemy is higher, you're out. Falling into the lava ends the run too.
Tips to get a high score
- Height wins. Climb above a rider before your paths cross, then drop onto it.
- Purple hunters chase your height and dark shadow riders try to get above you. Deal with them first.
- If a rider is above you and you can't out-climb it in time, stop flapping and let it pass overhead.
- Scoop up eggs for coins before they crack. Quick knockouts in a row build a combo.
- Don't stall: after a while the storm ceiling sinks and zaps anyone who touches it.
What each wave adds
Wave 1 has three riders, and each wave after adds one more, up to nine. Only a few are in the air at once: three at first, with room for one more every third wave. New riders appear on the ledge farthest from you and flicker for almost a second before they can fight, which is a good moment to get above them.
Bounders are the only riders in wave 1. They cruise along set lanes between the ledges. Purple hunters join from wave 2 and shadows from wave 4, and both make up a bigger share of each wave after that. From wave 3 the bottom ledge over the lava shrinks every wave, and by wave 6 it's gone.
Every rider also speeds up over time. Over the first 70 seconds or so they get almost 40 percent faster, and over the next minute they keep speeding up. A late shadow rider flies faster across the cave than you do.
Scoring and not stalling
Each rider you knock out is one point, and that's the whole score. Eggs are worth a coin if you scoop them up within five seconds, and the combo for quick knockouts is just for show. Neither adds points, so only go after an egg when it's on your way.
The game punishes slow waves. About 25 seconds into a wave, every rider still flying levels up: bounders become hunters and hunters become shadows. Every eight seconds after that, they level up again. At 40 seconds the storm ceiling starts sinking toward the middle of the cave.
So the plan for a long run is to finish waves fast. Take easy wins on bounders while they're still bounders, and don't chase eggs into danger. The gap between waves is your chance to climb to a safe height before the next riders appear.
Winning the height battle
The rule leans your way. You win a clash if you're even slightly higher, but you only lose if the other rider is clearly higher, by more than about a rider's height. Anything in between is a bounce where you both turn around.
Hunters aim for a spot just above you, and shadows aim for one even higher. A shadow tries to sit right at the height that beats you, and it adjusts often. Beat it by flapping just before you meet, so your climb happens after it has picked its height.
Avoid hugging the ceiling. Even before the storm sinks, bumping it leaves you dazed and unable to flap for half a second, which can drop you onto a rider's lance. Flying in the middle of the cave gives you room to climb or dive.
Daily levels and ghost races
Today's Joust level is the same for everyone, and you race the ghosts of other players' runs. How daily levels and challenges work.
FAQ
What happens when two riders are at the same height?
You both bounce off and turn around. You win if you're higher, and you only lose if the enemy is clearly above you.
Can I control which way I fly?
Not directly. Your rider drifts forward and turns around when it hits a wall or the side of a ledge. You decide when to flap, and that decides your height.
Is it free?
Yes. Every Tapamine game is free to play in your browser with no download and no account.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Tapamine is built for phones first: portrait, one thumb, and it works offline after your first visit. It also works with a mouse or the spacebar on a computer.
How do challenges work?
After a run, tap “Challenge a friend” to send a link. Your friend plays the exact same level and races your ghost — a replay of your run — to see who wins.
Add Joust to your site
Joust is free to embed on your blog, class page or website. Paste this code:
<iframe src="https://tapamine.com/embed/joust/" title="Joust: free one-tap game" width="360" height="640" style="border:0;border-radius:16px;max-width:100%" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; web-share" loading="lazy"></iframe>