Cloud Hopper

Cloud Hopper is a small, gentle arcade game about a round fluffy critter bouncing its way up through a pastel sky. The hero jumps on its own. Your only job is to decide where it lands.

HOW IT WORKS

Before every jump, two clouds appear above the hero: one on the left, one on the right. Tap LEFT or RIGHT and the critter hops onto the cloud you picked. Choose well and it keeps climbing. That's the whole control scheme: two big buttons at the bottom of the screen, easy to hit with your thumbs, no swiping or dragging.

Watch out for clouds that start flashing red. A flashing cloud is about to disappear, so pick the other one. Land on a vanishing cloud and you lose one of your three hearts. Run out of hearts and the run is over.

WHAT YOU CAN PICK UP

- Golden stars sit on safe clouds and add to your score.
- Blue hearts give back one lost life, up to a maximum of three.
- Rainbow drops float on some clouds and are worth grabbing when they show up.

STAR COMBO

Every successful jump earns points. Make five safe jumps in a row and STAR COMBO kicks in: your next jump counts for double. Keep the streak going and you'll see your score climb noticeably faster than if you keep breaking it.

WHAT'S ON SCREEN

The top bar shows your current SCORE, your BEST result and your remaining hearts, so you always know where you stand. The sky itself is soft and calm: a blue-to-lilac gradient, big white clouds, sun rays, little stars and a rainbow in the distance. Clouds come in different shapes, some round, some long, some decorated with tiny flowers or stars.

SCREENS

- Home: the hero sits on its cloud, your best score is shown, and one tap on Play starts a run.
- How to Play: five quick illustrated rules, so new players know what flashing clouds and hearts mean before they start.
- Game: the clouds, the HUD and the two LEFT / RIGHT buttons.
- Result: your score and best score, with Replay to jump straight back in or Home to take a break.
- Characters: three simple color variants of the hero to choose from.

WHY PLAY IT

Cloud Hopper is built for short sessions. A run can take under a minute, which makes it a good fit for a bus stop, a coffee break or a few minutes before bed. There's nothing to learn beyond left and right, but staying alive with flashing clouds and keeping a STAR COMBO going takes a bit of focus, and beating your own BEST is the part that keeps you tapping Replay.

It's a friendly, calm game with cute visuals and no brand tie-ins, suitable for kids and adults alike. If you want a simple one-thumb-per-side arcade game that you can pick up and put down any time, give Cloud Hopper a try and see how high your critter can go.