Drift Rush

Drift Rush is our 3D racing game: a full circuit with hills, forest and fast bends, driven on a real physics engine. There is nothing to install — the race runs in your browser, on a computer or on a phone held sideways.

Up to four drivers share a room. The lights go out for everybody at the same moment, the cars are solid so you can lean on each other through a bend, and the first across the line wins. If nobody is around, race the computer driver instead.

How to start a game

1. 1Open Drift Rush on Alex Play Zone and choose “Play with Bot” or create a room for two to four drivers.
2. 2In the room, open the garage to choose your car and its paint. The host sets the race length — one to ten laps.
3. 3The host presses Start. A loading bar shows the race being prepared; the first race takes the longest.
4. 4When the lights go out, go.

The rules of Drift Rush

Controls

• Arrow keys or W A S D: accelerate, brake and steer. Braking after you have stopped puts the car in reverse.
• Space: handbrake. Tap it going into a bend to swing the tail out and drift.
• R puts the car back on the road if you get stuck; H sounds the horn.
• C switches to the view from the driver’s seat, with a working dashboard and rear-view mirror (on a computer). Drag the mouse to look around.
• On a phone or tablet, hold it sideways and use the on-screen buttons.

The circuit

• Yellow arrow boards stand on the outside of every bend and point the way it turns.
• Grass is slow and slippery — keep your wheels on the tarmac.
• Trees and rocks stop you dead. The arrow boards simply break and fly off.

The race

• One to ten laps, chosen by the host before the start.
• The first car to complete the distance wins.
• Once the winner has finished, everyone else has 60 seconds to cross the line.
• A driver who leaves the room retires; the others race on.

The cars

• Kestrel RS: a compact, quick-off-the-line coupé that is easy to place in a corner.
• Peregrine 2.2: lighter, rear-wheel drive and open-topped — a touch slower away from the line, faster at the top end, with a deeper engine note.
• Both come in eight paint colours. Every driver in the room sees the car and colour you picked.

How to play well

Brake in a straight line

A tyre can brake or it can turn, but it cannot do both at full strength. Finish your braking while the car is still pointing straight, then turn in. Braking and steering together is the quickest way into the trees.

Slow in, fast out

Lap time is made on the straight after the corner, not in the corner itself. Enter a little slower than you think you need to, and be back on the throttle early with the car pointing down the road.

Out, in, out

Approach a bend from the outside edge, touch the inside at its middle and let the car run back out on the exit. That is the widest curve the road allows, and the widest curve is the fastest.

Save the handbrake for the tight ones

A drift looks good and helps in a hairpin, but a sliding car is a slow car. In fast bends keep the handbrake off and let the grip do the work.

Remember: Brake in a straight line before the bend, then turn in — braking and steering at the same time sends you wide into the trees.

Common mistakes

• Holding the throttle flat through a bend and running wide onto the grass.
• Turning in too early, which leaves the car heading for the outside of the corner exit.
• Fighting side by side through a narrow bend — backing off for a moment and passing on the next straight is nearly always quicker.
• Staying stuck against a tree instead of pressing R.

Questions and answers

Do I need to download anything?

No. Drift Rush runs in the browser. The game files are saved by the browser after the first race, so later races start much sooner.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes — hold the phone sideways and drive with the on-screen buttons. The view from inside the car is available on a computer.

How many people can race together?

Two to four drivers in one room, or you against the computer driver.

Do the two cars drive differently?

Yes. They differ in weight, driven wheels, acceleration, top speed and sound; the garage shows each car’s figures as bars.