Score
0
Best
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Side-view surfing: slide up and down the wave face, pump in rhythm to stay ahead of the breaking curl, launch airs off the lip and dodge rocks and foam.
Touch the wave anywhere and slide your finger up and down: the surfer always steers toward the height of your finger on the face, and keeps that line when you let go. Swing down the face and back up about once every 1.3 seconds to pump up speed. Aim above the lip to fly, then slide down until your board matches the dotted ghost board before you touch down. Arrow keys or W/S also work.
Dropping down the face turns height into speed and climbing back up turns it back into height, so on its own a swing gains nothing. The speed comes from the bottom turn: every time you turn back up after a drop at least 15% of the face deep, you get a pump, worth the most when the drop is at least half the face and it comes about 1.3 seconds after the last one. The ring around the speed meter fills from your last bottom turn and turns green inside the window. Holding one spot only coasts, and the flat water at the very bottom of the wave drags you down.
The breaking curl starts 14 m behind you at about 22 km/h and gets 0.06 m/s faster every second, with no limit; the red tick on the speed meter shows its speed, and the tag on the left shows how far back it is. Your board tops out at 54 km/h, so the curl always catches up — every ride ends within about five minutes, sooner if you lose rhythm. Nothing moves and no curl runs until your first touch.
Reaching the lip while climbing at 2.6 m/s or more with your finger at or above the lip launches an air. In the air your finger tilts the board: sliding down lowers the nose. A landing within 18° of your fall is clean (70 points per second of air and a small speed boost), within 36° is sketchy (20 points per second and you lose 30% of your speed), and anything worse is a wipeout. Rocks rise from the bottom of the face and end the ride; floating foam patches cost 45% of your speed. The first 60 m are clear. Your score is the metres you ride plus your air points.
Find the beat before you chase speed. Watch the ring around the speed meter: it starts filling the moment you turn up from the bottom, and the green arc is where the next bottom turn should land. A medium swing, from just above the middle of the face down to about a third of the way up and back, fits that 1.3-second beat at almost any speed. Big top-to-bottom swings feel powerful but usually arrive late, and quick little wiggles arrive early and barely count.
The gap to the curl is your savings account. While the tag on the left says it is far behind, you can afford to go for airs: each one costs speed on the climb and breaks your rhythm, but a clean one pays 70 points per second in the air, and a big air lasts about a second. When the tag turns amber or the red tick on the speed meter gets close to your needle, stop flying and pump — distance is worth more than points once the curl is near.
In the air, do not just slam your finger to the bottom. The board tilts by how far you slide since take-off, so a small air needs a short slide and a big air a long one. Slide steadily and watch the dotted ghost board ahead of you; when your board turns the same angle and the ghost turns green, hold your finger there and you will touch down clean.
Plan your line a little ahead. Rocks only stand in the lower part of the face, so when one is coming, shorten your swing and turn up higher for that beat instead of stopping altogether. Foam can sit anywhere in the middle; pass it above or below, whichever keeps your rhythm. Touching the wave on the right side of the screen keeps your thumb off the surfer and the obstacles coming toward you.