How to play Night Run
You are on a four-lane expressway at midnight and the car only goes one way: forward, faster every kilometre. Steer between the traffic without hitting it. Driving is worth points on its own, and faster driving is worth more, but the real score comes from the risks you take.
Pass a car with less than a metre to spare and it is a near miss; closer is a close call, and a hand's width is insane. Each one adds to a combo multiplier, up to ×10, and to the combo's pot. The pot is only yours when the combo is banked — that happens when the bar runs out without another near miss. Scrape the rail, clip a car or crash, and the unbanked combo is gone.
Nitro, slipstream and threading the needle
Near misses and slipstreaming fill the nitro tank. Tuck in behind a car to draft it, then pull out and pass for a slingshot. Nitro adds about 30% to your speed, doubles distance points and pays half as much again for every near miss while it burns. Two cars running side by side with a gap between them are an invitation: go through the middle close to both and it is thread the needle.
The garage: real modifications, real maths
Credits come from your score, from missions and from a daily bonus for playing on consecutive days. Each upgrade in the garage is the game version of a real modification, and each links to the calculator that works it out for a real car:
- Tyres make lane changes quicker. On a real car, start with the tire size calculator.
- Coilovers let you take a harder knock on the flank before it counts as a crash. The spring rate calculator sizes the real thing.
- Turbo means longer nitro and faster refills. Size one properly with the turbo size calculator.
- ECU tune adds 6% to every point per level. Real tunes live and die by mixture: see the AFR and lambda calculator.
- Roll cage gives you an extra life per level. It also adds weight, which the power-to-weight calculator will happily put a number on.
FAQ
Is Night Run free, and does it need a download?
It is free and runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. There is nothing to install and no account. It works offline once the page has loaded.
Does my progress save?
Credits, cars, upgrades, missions and your bests are stored in your browser under one key and never leave your device. Clearing site data resets them. Only a finished run's score, with the name you choose, is sent to the leaderboard.
How do I play on a phone?
Drag anywhere on the road to steer: the car follows your finger. Tap the N₂O button to fire the nitro and hold BRAKE to slow down. On a phone the game goes full screen when you press Play; turning the phone sideways shows more of the road.
Can I use a game controller?
Yes. The left stick or the d-pad steers, A fires the nitro, B brakes and Start pauses.
Why did my combo disappear?
A combo is only banked when its timer runs out. Touching the rail, sideswiping a car or crashing loses whatever was still in the pot, which is the point: the longer you chain, the more you have to lose.