Playing Zippy the Armadillo in Games by Zaweba

Speed is the point of Zippy the Armadillo, a 16-bit side-scroller on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba. Zippy builds up pace, curls into a ball and bashes through three sunny acts to reach the signpost at the end of each. It's drawn in the style of a 16-bit home computer, and it's one of the games picked out on the app's own page as part of the retro shelf.

Running, jumping and rolling

Left and Right, or A and D, run. Space, Up or X jumps, and holding the button gives a higher jump. Press Down while running to roll. Each of those has its place, and getting comfortable with rolling is what makes Zippy fun.

Bashing critters

There are two ways to deal with critters: jump on them, or roll into them. Either bashes them. Rolling is a run-and-press-Down move, so it comes naturally when you're already moving.

Thornbacks are different. A thornback can only be beaten by a roll or a spin jump from above. Running into one without rolling, or landing on it the wrong way, won't work. When you see a thornback ahead, get rolling.

Gems as protection

Collect gems as you go. They act as a cushion. If you're hit while holding any gems, you only drop them. With none, a hit costs a life. That makes gems more than a score: they're the thing between you and losing a life. If you've just dropped your gems, pick some up again before taking on anything risky.

Building speed safely

Springs fling you high, and lamp-posts are checkpoints: pass one, and that's where you come back if you lose a life. Between the gems and the lamp-posts, the game gives you some room to learn.

Zippy is fast, and the fun is in going fast. But speed brings risk: the faster you go, the less time you have to spot a critter or a thornback. A good balance is to go fast where you can see clearly ahead and to slow a little where you can't. Rolling helps too, since a roll bashes critters as you meet them.

When you're new to an act, take it a bit slower the first time, so you learn where things are. Once you know the act, you can go much faster through it.

Three acts

Run right to the signpost at the end of each act. There are three acts in all, and clearing them all wins the game.

Zippy shares the shelf with other platformers, Castle Knight with its sword and Pip's Rescue with its snowballs, but it's the one built around momentum. Where those reward careful, measured progress, Zippy rewards keeping moving, and the roll is the move that ties it all together.

Esc pauses, F11 gives you the whole screen, and the title card and F1 explain the controls. Games by Zaweba keeps your best score, plays and wins on your PC, and shows your score against your best when the game ends. It runs offline with no adverts and no account.

Roll into thornbacks, keep a few gems in hand, and use the lamp-posts as your safety net.