Doodle Race — Play Free Online

Doodle Race is a small racing game that runs straight in the browser, with nothing to install. It is built on the OpenFL framework and runs in a compact window rather than a huge fullscreen 3D track, so it loads fast and suits a quick break between longer sessions.

If you came to this site for Doodle Jump, the appeal is similar: a light, simple game you can pick up in seconds and replay to beat your own result. Where Doodle Jump has you climbing straight up, this one swaps that for steering and speed, so it works as a change of pace from the jumpers that fill most of the catalogue.

How to play

On a keyboard, steer with the arrow keys or WASD. The mouse is used for menus and for aiming or selecting things on screen. On a phone or tablet, tap and swipe instead. The aim is the usual one for a racing game: stay on the track, keep your speed up and get ahead of the clock or the other racers.

Because the game window is small, it is easy to follow what is happening. Keep your eyes on the road a little way ahead of your vehicle rather than right in front of it, and make small corrections instead of big swings.

Tips

1. Use the first race to learn how sharply the vehicle turns before you try to push your speed.
2. Ease off the steering input in corners. Holding a direction down the whole way tends to send you wide.
3. If you play with a mouse for the menus, rest a hand on the keys so you do not lose time switching between them.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

If you want something faster, Helix Jump is a one-button dropper built around timing. Ovo 2 and the OvO game are precise platformers with a speedrun feel, and Fireboy and Watergirl is the pick for two players sharing a keyboard. Doodle Race is the one here that is about steering a vehicle.

It suits short sessions on a laptop or Chromebook, and it also works by touch if you are on a phone.