Helix Drop

About Helix Drop

Helix Drop is a one-finger 3D game about falling with style. A bouncy yellow ball sits on top of a tall tower of ring-shaped platforms, each with a gap in it. Spin the tower so the ball drops through the gaps, ring after ring, and keep it off the red danger zones. Every few rings brings a finish ring and a new level.

Also called: helix tower game, ball drop game, spiral tower.

How to play Helix Drop

1. Drag left or right anywhere on the board to spin the tower. On a keyboard, hold the left and right arrows or A and D. The game starts with your first spin.
2. The ball bounces up and down on its own, always to the same height. It lands on whatever part of the ring is under it.
3. Turn a gap under the ball and it drops through to the ring below. Each ring you pass scores one point.
4. Keep the ball off the red danger zones. Landing on one ends the game.
5. Fall through three rings in a row without a bounce and the ball turns orange: the next ring it hits is smashed to pieces, red zones and all.
6. Each level ends with a yellow-and-white finish ring. Bounce on it to clear the level; the bar at the top shows how far through the level you are.
7. Press P or the pause button to pause. The game pauses by itself when you switch tabs.

Rules

• The ball lands on the slot that is directly under its centre at the moment it reaches the ring. Red slots beside it are harmless.
• Every bounce lifts the ball to the same height, so the rhythm never changes. Only the tower turns.
• Right under every gap, the ring below never has a red zone, so dropping straight through is always safe. Turning while you fall is where the danger is.
• A smash is charged after falling through three gaps without touching a platform. The smashed ring breaks, the ball bounces off the pieces, and the charge is used up.
• Levels get longer and the red zones get more common as you go down. Gaps get narrower from level five. No ring ever has more than five red slots.
• Your score is the number of rings passed, including smashed ones. Your best score is saved in your browser.

Helix Drop tips and strategy

• Turn while the ball is high. The top of a bounce is your window: line up the next gap before the ball comes down.
• Small drags beat big ones. A short, steady drag turns the tower a little way. A fast flick keeps it spinning for a moment, which is quick but hard to stop on target.
• Going straight down is safe. After you drop through a gap, don't turn until you have a gap in view on the next ring.
• Chain your drops. Lining up three gaps in a row charges a smash, which takes you through a red ring for free.
• Watch the rings below as well as the one under the ball. You can often see a straight path of gaps and plan two or three drops ahead.
• If a red zone is sliding towards the ball, turn the other way. The ball only cares about the slot under it when it lands.