Skipping stones further in Skimming Stones, Games by Zaweba
Skimming Stones in Games by Zaweba: five throws across a lake. Set the tilt near 20 degrees, throw low and fast and score for every skip and metre.
Skimming a flat stone across still water is one of those small pleasures most people learned as children. Skimming Stones on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba turns it into a game: five throws, a lake, and points for every bounce. A low, fast throw with the right tilt bounces on and on.
Throwing
Press and pull back away from the lake, then let go. A longer pull throws faster. Pulling down as well throws higher. When the stone leaves your hand, its speed and its angle decide how it meets the water.
You also set the stone's tilt before you throw. Click the tilt buttons or use the mouse wheel. On the keyboard, Up and Down change the tilt, and Space carries on to the next throw.
The right tilt
About 20 degrees of tilt skims best. That is the angle the flat face of the stone makes with the water. Stray far from it either way and the stone tends to give up its skips sooner.
Setting the tilt near 20 degrees before each throw is the easiest way to add skips.
Low and fast
The other half of a good skim is the angle at which the stone meets the water. A shallow angle works best. That means throwing low and fast, so the stone comes in almost level with the lake. A high throw comes down steeply and tends to sink after a bounce or two, however good the tilt.
So pull back far for speed, but keep the downward pull small. A long, flat pull usually beats a short, steep one.
Wind, ripples and scoring
Watch the wind and the ripples on the lake. The wind can push the stone off its line or hold it up, and ripples change how it meets the water. A calm patch of lake gives a cleaner run of skips.
Each skip scores ten points and each metre scores one. With five throws, consistency counts. One great throw helps, but five good ones add up to more. Your total is shown at the end with your best, so you always know what to aim for.
Getting more skips
Pick a tilt near 20 degrees and leave it there while you work on the throw. Changing tilt, speed and height at once makes it hard to know what helped.
Then work on keeping the throw flat. Watch how the stone meets the water on each throw: whether it skips cleanly at first or bounces high and drops. That tells you whether to pull further, or pull down less, next time. Try a long pull with very little downward movement and see how many skips you get. Adjust in small steps, and keep the throws that work as your starting point for the next.
After a round of Skimming Stones
Skimming Stones is one of the gentler games on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba, relaxed rather than tense, with wind to read as in Bin It and Long Drive. Games by Zaweba runs offline with no adverts, so it makes a peaceful few minutes. Press Esc to pause and F1 for the rules.
