Platform Countdown — Play Free Online

Platform Countdown is a small browser game that mixes platform jumping with a bit of counting. Instead of sprinting through a level and hoping your reflexes hold, you are looking at a layout of tiles that carry numbers, and working out a route that gets you to the exit before the tiles give out.

That makes it a different kind of jumper from the usual one-more-try climbers. A session is a string of short levels, each one a little puzzle. You read the board, pick a line, and then execute it with the keyboard. When a path collapses you reset and try a cleaner one.

If you came to Doodle Jump for quick sessions that you can start and drop at any time, this fits. Each level is brief, and nothing needs to be installed. It runs in the browser.

How to play

On desktop, move and jump with the arrow keys or WASD, and press R to restart a level when your route falls apart. The game also lists the mouse for aiming and selecting, and on a phone it uses on-screen buttons and taps.

A level usually goes like this:

1. Look over the layout and note which tiles have the highest and lowest counts.
2. Plan a route that touches every tile you need while leaving a path to the exit.
3. Commit to the line, and adjust if something goes differently than you expected.
4. If a tile gives way and cuts off your path, reset and try again with what you learned.

Tips

• Plan the whole route before you press a key. Walking onto fragile tiles without a plan is the quickest way to strand yourself.
• Think backwards from the exit. Knowing the last tile you need helps you decide which tiles you can afford to use up early.
• Use the reset key freely. A restart costs a few seconds and gives you better information than pushing on with a bad route.
• On a phone, take your time with the touch buttons. Precise jumps matter more than speed here.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

Bird Jumper and Helix Jump are the closest if you want a jumping game that is about reflexes instead of planning. Fireboy and Watergirl is a better pick if you like puzzle platforming with routes to work out, and it is also a two-player game. Ovo 2 is a fast precision platformer where timing counts for more than counting.

Platform Countdown suits players who like to think a level through before playing it, and who want a short puzzle that doesn't ask for a long commitment.