Surf is a one-button surfing game. You ride along the face of a breaking wave while the curl chases you from behind. Hold to carve up toward the lip, let go to drop down toward the flats. The steep pocket pushes you forward, the flats slow you down, and swinging up and down the face pumps up your speed. Climb hard with enough speed and you launch into the air off the lip. Dodge rocks, jellyfish and low-flying gulls, and see how many metres you can ride before the wave swallows you. There's a new wave every day, with friends' ghosts surfing beside you.
How to play Surf
- Hold anywhere to carve up the wave. Let go to drop back down.
- Stay in the steep part of the face. That's where the wave pushes you forward.
- Don't let the curl behind you catch up. If it reaches you, it's a wipeout.
- Ride over rocks, around jellyfish, and under gulls. Every metre counts.
Tips to get a high score
- Swing up and down the face instead of riding level. Pumping builds speed.
- The flat water at the bottom is slow, and pinning yourself at the lip stalls you. Keep moving between them.
- Climb fast with plenty of speed to launch an air. Dropping back in gives you a burst of speed.
- Watch for gulls hovering above the lip: they mean no airs for a moment.
- Skimming a rock, jellyfish or gull gets a CLOSE! call. It doesn't add metres, but close calls in a row climb in pitch.
How the wave tightens
The curl starts just behind you, moving at a bit under 40% of your top speed. Over the first 70 seconds it speeds up to about two-thirds of your top speed. After that it never stops gaining, and somewhere around the 1:45 mark it's as fast as you can possibly surf. Every ride ends, so the goal is to get as far as you can before then.
The obstacles change on the same 70-second clock. At first it's mostly rocks with the odd jellyfish. Gulls join after roughly 23 seconds, and jellyfish go from under a fifth of the spawns to nearly half. Everything gets closer together, rocks get taller and wider, and jellies get bigger and sit deeper on the face.
From about half a minute in, some rocks come paired with a jellyfish just above them. You have to thread the gap between the two instead of going over the top.
Where your speed comes from
Your score is simply metres ridden. Close calls and landed airs build a combo that lasts four seconds, and every third air in a combo pays a coin. Coins go toward hats and never add metres, so only grab them when they're on your line.
The pocket push is strongest a bit under halfway down the face and fades to nothing near the bottom. The bottom fifth of the face is the flats, which drag you back. Dropping down the face turns into forward speed, and climbing costs less than that, so a steady swing between the upper face and the middle is the fastest way to ride.
Don't try to run away from the curl, though. Once you're well ahead of it, the wave flattens and the pocket push drops to under a third of its strength. The best place to be is a little ahead of the curl, pumping hard in the pocket.
Airs, stalls and the lip
An air needs two things: you must reach the lip climbing fast, and you need a fair bit of forward speed, a little under half your top speed. Hit the lip slowly and you don't launch. You get pinned there instead, losing speed on every frame you hold.
So if you're stuck at the lip, let go and drop. Get your speed back in the pocket and try again with a longer climb from lower down. Landing an air gives you a burst of speed, which makes them worth chasing on open water.
Read each obstacle by where it sits. Rocks rise from the bottom, so staying high clears them. Jellyfish float mid-face, so pick over or under early. Gulls hover just above the lip, so they can hit you in the air or while you're pinned at the top. When you see one, ride a little lower and skip the air.
Daily levels and ghost races
Today's Surf level is the same for everyone, and you race the ghosts of other players' runs. How daily levels and challenges work.
FAQ
How do I go faster?
Pump the wave. Dropping down the face turns into forward speed, and climbing costs less than that, so a smooth up-and-down rhythm in the steep part of the face is faster than riding straight. Airs give a burst too.
What ends a run?
Hitting a rock, a jellyfish or a gull, or letting the breaking curl catch you. The curl speeds up the longer you ride, so every wave ends eventually.
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 Surf to your site
Surf is free to embed on your blog, class page or website. Paste this code:
<iframe src="https://tapamine.com/embed/surf/" title="Surf: 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>