Ladder Bounce
Climb to the FINISH rung and land on it exactly. Too many and you bounce back. Single race.
Ladder Bounce is a two-player dice race up a ladder, where you tap your die to climb toward the FINISH plank in the middle. You must land on it exactly, or you bounce back down, and the first pawn on FINISH wins.
Your pawn hops up a wooden ladder rung by rung toward one shared FINISH plank in the middle. Roll too big near the top and it springs past and bounces back down. End on your rival's rung and you knock them down 3.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- Single race
- Length
- About 45 to 90 seconds a race
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Ladder Bounce: quick rules
About 45 to 90 seconds a race; 2 to 4 minutes for best of 3. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Tap your die and climb.
- 2Land exactly on FINISH in the middle. Too many and you bounce back down.
- 3End on your rival's rung and they slide down 3.
- 4Once a match, brake to climb one less.
- 5First on FINISH wins.
Ladder Bounce rules
Setup
- One ladder lies between you. Each player's START plank is at their own end and one FINISH plank sits in the middle, shared.
- Each half has 8 rungs by default (6 or 10 are options), so FINISH is 9 steps from START.
- A coin toss picks who rolls first in a fresh match. In best of 3, the loser of a race starts the next; on a rematch the previous loser starts.
- A 3-2-1 countdown starts each race.
A turn
- Tap your die and your pawn climbs that many steps toward FINISH.
- You must land on FINISH exactly. If the roll is bigger than the steps left, your pawn reaches FINISH and bounces back down for the extra steps. Example: 2 to go and you roll 5, so up 2 and back 3.
- After your move, the turn passes. There are no bonus rolls.
Knocks
- Rungs are counted from each player's own START. End your move on the same rung number as your rival and you knock them down 3 rungs (never below START).
- A bounce that ends on your rival's rung knocks them too.
- A pawn on START can't be knocked. A dashed ring on your ladder always marks your rival's rung, so you can see the threat.
- With the Back to START knock-back option, a knock sends your rival all the way to START.
Brake
- With Brake on (the default), each player has one brake per match. After a roll of 2 or more you may climb one fewer.
- It is only offered when it matters: when one fewer lands on FINISH, knocks your rival when the full roll wouldn't, or the full roll would overshoot.
Winning
- The first pawn to land exactly on FINISH wins the race. There are no draws.
- A match is a single race by default, or best of 3.
- In the very rare case that a race runs extremely long, "Time up!" ends it and the pawn with fewer steps to go wins.
Hints against the bot
- Playing the bot outside a tournament, you can spend 20 coins on a hint when a Brake choice is open. It rings, for two seconds, the number with the better chance of winning.
- Plain rolls have nothing to choose, so no hint. There are no hints against a friend or in a tournament.
Tips to win at Ladder Bounce
- 1Save your brake for the top of the ladder. Near FINISH, climbing one fewer can turn an overshoot into an exact landing.
- 2Keep an eye on the dashed ring that marks your rival's rung. A brake that lands you on it knocks them down 3.
- 3Being close to FINISH isn't always safe. With 1 or 2 steps to go, most rolls bounce you back, so a rival a few rungs behind can still catch up.
- 4Against Knock-back to START, use the brake to knock rather than to edge forward. Sending a rival home is worth more than one rung.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- Your die sits in your own dock at your end of the phone. Tap it to roll and climb.
- When a Brake choice opens, your dock shows two numbers: the full roll and one fewer. Both landing rungs are ringed on the ladder. Tap one.
- Your dock shows how many steps you have left.
- The phone lies flat between you; the ladder reads the same from both seats, and Blue's dock and pawn face Blue.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Rungs each | 68 (default)10 | Quick, Classic or Long: how long the race is. |
| Races | Single (default)Best of 3 | Match length. |
| Brake | On (default)Off | Extra: once a match, climb one fewer than you rolled. |
| Knock-back | Down 3 rungs (default)Back to START | Extra: how far a knocked pawn falls. |
Play Ladder Bounce against the bot
The bot plays Blue and rolls its own die from the same dice as you, never seeing the next roll. The rolls are luck; its levels differ only in how it uses its brake. With Brake off it has no choice to make, so you play a single Bot with no levels.
Easy
Brakes at random, sometimes braking away a roll that would have won.
Normal
Brakes when it lands on FINISH, knocks you or saves a bounce, but brakes on almost every overshoot, even when the bounce would have knocked you.
Hard
Plays both numbers out many times in its head and takes the one more likely to win, and always takes a winning number.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- PlannedOnline play for Ladder Bounce is planned, not available yet. Today you play a friend on the same phone or the bot.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it plays the default options: 8 rungs, a single race, Brake on, knock-back down 3. Hints are off.
- Hints
- Stuck against the bot? A hint lights up the strongest move for a few coins. Never with a friend, online or in a tournament.
Coming soon
- Online play. Play Ladder Bounce against someone on another phone, with a turn clock and the server rolling the dice.
How it feels
- A wooden tock for every rung your pawn hops.
- A bright ring when a pawn touches FINISH, and a spring boing with a "Bounce!" sticker when it overshoots.
- A thump when you knock your rival, who slides down with a shake.
- A fanfare and a burst of sun when someone lands exactly on FINISH.
Accessibility
- Colour is never the only cue: each pawn has its own half of the ladder, and the rival's rung is marked with a dashed ring.
- The screen reader reads positions, for example "Red pawn, 4 rungs to go".
- With reduce motion on, pawns move straight to their rung without hops, bursts or shakes.
- One tap per turn on large buttons, and no clock against a friend or the bot.
Ladder Bounce questions
Roll a die and climb your ladder toward the shared FINISH rung. You must land on it exactly; a roll that's too big bounces you back down. End on your rival's rung and they slide down 3.
Your pawn climbs to FINISH and bounces back down for the extra steps. If the bounce ends on your rival's rung, it still knocks them.
Mostly luck. The one decision is your once-a-match brake, which lets you climb one fewer when it matters.
Yes. With Brake on you can pick Easy, Normal or Hard, and buy a hint with coins on a Brake choice.
Yes. Ladder Bounce in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Not yet. Online play for Ladder Bounce is planned, not available yet. Today you play a friend on the same phone or the bot.
Play Ladder Bounce on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
