Surf Rider

Surf Rider is a side-view surfing game where you ride a rolling wave, carving up and down the face to stay ahead of the curl breaking behind you. Launch off the lip for flips, tuck into the barrel for bonus points and dodge what floats in your line. You can play Surf Rider online free in your browser with no download, on a keyboard, a mouse or a phone’s touch screen.

How to play

The wave peels from left to right, and the breaking curl chases you the whole way. Keep moving fast enough that it never catches you.

• Ride the face: move up and down the wave with the arrow keys or W and S. On a phone or with a mouse, hold down on the wave and drag, and the surfer steers toward your finger or pointer.
• Find the speed: the middle of the wave face is the fastest place to be. The flat water at the bottom and the foamy lip at the top both slow you down. Dropping down the face gives you a burst of speed, and climbing back up costs a little.
• Watch the curl: the wave pushes hardest close to the curl, where it is steepest, and flattens out as you get further ahead. The Curl meter in the top-left corner shows how much room you have. If it empties, you wipe out.
• Dodge obstacles: rocks sit low on the face and buoys bob in the middle. Driftwood turns up after 120 m, and seagulls fly just above the lip after 260 m. Touch any of them and you wipe out.

Every wave is generated fresh, so its height rises and falls differently each run, and the curl gets faster over the first 2,000 m. Your score is the distance you surf in meters plus your trick and barrel points. Your best score is saved in your browser.

Aerials and tricks

To get airborne, ride up the face and keep holding up (or drag above the wave) as you reach the lip. If you hit the top with enough upward speed, you launch into the air. More speed means bigger air.

• Flip: in the air, press Left or A to spin a backflip, or Right or D for a frontflip. On touch, lift your finger and touch again: the left half of the game spins you backward and the right half spins you forward.
• Land it: you need to come down roughly upright, with the board under your feet. Landing sideways or upside down is a wipeout, so stop spinning in time for the board to come back around.
• Scoring: a straight air with no spin is worth 100 points plus a bonus for hang time. A full backflip or frontflip scores 500, a double scores 1,300, and landing a flip almost perfectly flat adds 25 percent.
• Barrel bonus: ride in the middle of the face close behind the falling lip and you are in the barrel. Every second inside earns 140 points, but the curl is only a couple of board lengths behind you.

Tips

• Don’t sit at the bottom. If you stop steering, the surfer slowly drifts down the face into the slow flat water, and the curl will catch up. Keep making small moves.
• Pump for speed. Short climbs and drops build speed faster than holding one line when the curl is close.
• Set up your launches. Start your climb from the middle of the face so you are moving up quickly by the time you reach the lip. A slow climb just rides along the top without taking off.
• Count the spin. Take-off tips your nose up a little, which makes a backflip slightly easier to land than a frontflip. Let go a touch earlier on backflips and a touch later on frontflips.

FAQ

Is Surf Rider free?

Yes. It is free to play with no account and nothing to install. Press Start, Space or tap the game to paddle in.

Does it work on phones and Chromebooks?

Yes. On a phone or tablet, drag on the wave to steer and touch again in the air to flip. The game area won’t scroll the page while you play. On a Chromebook or laptop, use the arrow keys or WASD in any modern browser.

Can I pause the game?

Press P or Esc, or use the Pause button. It also pauses if you switch tabs.

What ends a run?

Getting caught by the curl, landing an aerial sideways or upside down, or hitting a rock, buoy, piece of driftwood or seagull.

Like momentum games with tricks? Try Dirt Bike Hill Climb for flips over endless hills, or Stickman Parkour for fast obstacle runs. For more board sports, see the best browser skateboard games.