#1608: Hoverboard

My new book, Thing Explainer, comes out today! To celebrate, here’s a small game.

[[A stick figure on a hoverboard can navigate around a field with platforms and barriers, reminiscent of a pinball machine, from top to bottom and left to right. Along the way it can collect coins, and then deposit them in a little terminal down at the center of the bottom. When you do, a message reads, “You got X coins in Y seconds!” and a secondary message depending on how well you did.

X=0 “You successfully avoided all the coins!”

X=1 “It’s a start.”

X=2-4 “Not bad.”

X=5-9 “Terrific!”

X=10-16 (No message.)

X=17 “You found all the coins! Great job!”

However, if you leave the bounds of the playing field in either direction, a message in large red letters will flash:

RETURN TO THE PLAY AREA

When you keep going, you discover a vast world with grassy fields, caverns, mountains, volcanoes, and buildings. There are many little vignettes hidden everywhere, along with more coins.]]