Crowd Runner

Mission briefing

Crowd Runner is a one-finger running game about turning a handful of little jelly people into an army. Drag left and right to steer your crowd down the track and pick your gate: x3 and +20 make the crowd swell, -15 and /2 cut it down. Get it right and a dozen runners become hundreds by the time you reach the end. The track fights back. Saws slide across it, hammers swing, crushers drop, flame jets and lasers sweep the lanes, boulders roll at you and TNT waits to be triggered - each one taking a bite out of your crowd but never ending the run on its own. Get to the finish and your runners pile up the victory stairs: the more of them you brought, the higher you climb and the bigger the payout. Some levels end at a boss instead, and there it is simply your numbers against his. Levels are generated, so they never run out, and they roll through eight themes - forest, snow, desert, night, autumn, candy, beach, volcano. Coins buy permanent upgrades (a bigger starting crowd, better income, richer coins), one-run boosts (extra runners, a shield, double coins) and fifteen jelly skins, from plain blue to cowboy, viking, angel and king. There is a seven-day login reward and a treasure chest that opens every three wins.

Field manual

- Hold and drag (or click and drag) anywhere to steer the crowd left and right. There is nothing else to press. - Run your crowd through the better gate: green gates add or multiply your runners, red ones subtract or divide. Read both before you commit. - Hazards knock runners out - saws, hammers, spinners, crushers, flame jets, lasers, boulders, TNT. None of them can end a run by itself, but together they will. - Reach the finish and your crowd climbs the victory stairs; the more runners you have left, the higher you get and the more coins you earn. - On a boss level, your crowd charges the boss: bring enough runners and you win. - Spend coins on permanent upgrades, on one-run boosts before you set off, or on new jelly skins. Boosts and skins can also be earned by watching a short ad. - Win three levels to fill the treasure chest, and come back each day for the daily reward. Controls: touch drag / mouse drag only. No keyboard needed. Works on phone, tablet and desktop.

Launch orders: press Launch mission above and the game loads on this page itself — nothing downloads and no form stands between you and the first move. It is designed for a flexible screen and takes its orders from mouse, keyboard or touch, depending on the mission. It adapts to both upright and wide screens, so phones, tablets and desktops all frame it sensibly. If it offers a fullscreen control, use it — a fight this size deserves the whole screen.

Field notes for action operations

• First run is reconnaissance. Spend it learning where the danger actually spawns from instead of chasing a score — most action games announce their patterns honestly in the opening minute, then repeat them with worse manners.
• Movement is a defensive stat. A moving target at half health outlives a stationary one at full health in nearly every game on this board, so keep relocating between shots, strikes and reloads.
• Learn the exit before the entrance closes. In arena and chase games alike, the players who survive longest are the ones who noticed the second doorway while everyone else was watching the first.

Crowd Runner — questions from the ranks

What does it cost to play Crowd Runner?

Nothing at all. The mission is free from the first order to the last — no sign-up, no download, no paid tier guarding the good levels. The advertising around this page is what keeps the board free.

What sort of mission is Crowd Runner?

Crowd Runner is filed in our Action theatre. Like every operation on this board, it is a browser game — read the briefing above for the publisher's own account of what you are deploying into.

Can I run Crowd Runner on a phone or tablet?

Yes. It plays in the browser on phones and tablets exactly as it does on a computer. It adapts to both upright and wide screens, so phones, tablets and desktops all frame it sensibly.

Do I have to install anything before playing?

No installation of any kind. Crowd Runner is an HTML5 game: press the launch button and it loads on this page, and closing the tab leaves nothing behind.

After-action

Mission complete, or still pinned down? The full Action theatre is one click away — The main hall of the board: 469 operations where something is always moving, exploding, escaping or being chased. If a game has a pulse and a problem, it is probably filed here.