Hide and Paint — Play Free Online

Hide and Paint is a browser action game with a hide-and-seek flavour, and it sits in the shooting corner of the Doodle Jump catalogue. Where Doodle Jump is one thumb-sized idea repeated until you beat your own score, this one asks you to move around a small arena, aim with the mouse and work out the best moment to act. It loads on this page, so there is nothing to install and no account to make.

It suits a short break. Rounds are meant to be picked up quickly, and the pointer-driven aiming makes it feel different from the tilt-and-hop pace of the headline game, which makes it a decent change of rhythm if you have been chasing a high score for a while.

How to play

Move with the arrow keys or WASD, and use the mouse to aim and to select things on screen. On a phone or tablet the same actions are done by tapping and swiping. The game starts with a short menu where you pick what to do next, so click through that first and then try a round to see how the arena is laid out.

The page does not come with a long manual, so the quickest way to learn it is to play one round slowly. Watch what the other characters do, notice where you can move without being seen, and keep your aim steady instead of clicking constantly.

Tips

• Spend your first round learning the map rather than chasing a result; knowing the corners and gaps matters more than speed.
• Choose one hand for movement and one for aiming, with the left hand on WASD and the right on the mouse, so you never have to look at the keys.
• If you are on a touch screen, give yourself room for swiping and avoid covering the part of the screen you need to see.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

If you want something faster and more reflex-driven, Helix Jump is a one-button descent and Bird Jumper is a simple tap-to-flap climber. For a cooperative puzzle instead of an action game, Fireboy and Watergirl is the page to open, and Day D Tower Rush is a better fit if you prefer a strategic mix of building and defending.

Hide and Paint works best for players who like a bit of mouse-aimed action and do not mind learning a new game by trying it. It runs in a modern browser on a laptop or Chromebook, and a mouse is more comfortable than a trackpad.