Tumblekin
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About Tumblekin
Tumblekin is a puzzle game drawn in pixel art and played in the browser, in the spirit of the early 90s classic where a crowd of little walkers marches blindly towards danger. The kins drop from a hatch one by one and walk straight on. They turn at walls, step up small ledges and fall down holes, and if the drop is too deep they do not get up again. Your job is to get enough of them to the lantern-lit stump door before the clock runs out.
You cannot steer the kins. Instead you hand out skills, one at a time, by picking a skill and clicking a kin. A Digger digs straight down through earth. A Basher tunnels sideways. A Builder lays a stair of twelve planks up and forward. A Blocker stands with arms out and turns everyone around. A Climber scales any wall it meets, a Floater opens a leaf and glides down safely, and a Bomber counts down and blows a hole in the ground around it. Earth, roots and planks give way, but grey stone never does. Every level gives you a short list of skills and a fixed number of each, so the puzzle is working out which kin does what, where and when.
Each level also hides three glimmers: small crystals tucked into the rock, on high ledges or off the main path. A kin that touches a glimmer picks it up and carries it, one per kin, and the glimmer only counts if that kin walks in through the door. If the carrier falls or drowns, the glimmer goes back to where it was. Clearing a level is one puzzle; bringing all three glimmers home is a harder one.
The first world is Mossy Hollow, five levels that each teach a new idea: soft ground, plank bridges, root tunnels, a deep stone cellar and Glimmerdeep, where every skill comes back at once. Clear a level to unlock the next. A run goes through the levels in order; a failed level can be retried as often as you like, and the run ends when you clear the last level or choose to stop.
The score counts every kin and glimmer you bring home, a bonus for each level cleared, and a little more for every skill left unused and every second left on the clock. All of the art and music is made in code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tumblekin like Lemmings?
It follows the same idea as the classic puzzle game of the early 90s: a crowd of small walkers that cannot be steered directly, a handful of skills to give them, and a number that has to reach the exit. The kins, levels, glimmers, art and music are its own.
Why did my kins die after a fall?
A kin survives a short fall, but a drop of more than a few body heights is fatal. Give a kin the Floater before it walks over the edge, or use a Builder to lay a stair down in steps.
Why won't my Digger or Basher go through?
Diggers and Bashers only cut through earth, roots and planks. Grey stone is too hard for every skill, even a Bomber. When a Basher runs out of earth in front of it, it stops and walks on.
How do glimmers work?
Every level hides three glimmers. A kin that touches one picks it up and carries it above its head, one glimmer per kin. It only counts when that kin reaches the exit. If the carrier dies, the glimmer returns to its spot, so another kin can try again.
What happens if not enough kins get home?
The level fails, but your run goes on. You can retry the same level as many times as you like, or end the run and keep the score from the levels you have already cleared.
How is the score calculated?
Every cleared level scores 100 points for each kin home and 250 for each glimmer, plus 500 points times the level's number, 20 points for every skill left unused and 2 points for every second left on the clock.
Can I play Tumblekin on my phone?
Yes. In portrait mode the level sits at the top with a small map of the whole level below it and large skill buttons underneath. Tap a skill, then tap a kin, and drag the level or tap the map to look around.
