Run, jump, learn the layout
Hop Kingdom is a side-scrolling platformer in the classic 8-bit mould. You run right across a fixed level, clear pits and walls, deal with a few enemies and reach the flag pole. The three levels, Green Hills, Cloud Steps and Dusk Ruins, never change between runs. Each walker, pit and block sits in the same place every time, so a level you struggle with today is one you will know by heart after a handful of tries.
Getting the jump you want
Your jump has a range, not a single height. Its length depends on how long you hold the button and how fast you are running when you leave the ground.
- Tap for a hop of under two tiles. Use it for single blocks, short steps and small gaps where a big jump would carry you into something.
- Hold for a full leap of a little over four tiles. That clears a three-block wall.
- Run first, then hold for distance. At full speed a held jump carries about seven tiles, and no pit in the game is wider than five.
You keep most of your sideways speed in the air. Letting go of the arrow mid-jump barely slows you. To shorten a jump, press the opposite direction. This matters on narrow ledges, where an overshoot is as deadly as falling short.
A jump still works for a moment after you run off an edge, so at the lip of a wide pit, run right to the edge before jumping. The extra step is free distance.
Here is a worked example. A five-tile pit sits after a short flat stretch. Start running from the far side of the flat, so you reach full speed early. Hold right the whole way. Press jump at the lip and keep it held until you are well past the peak. You land with a couple of tiles to spare. Start the same jump from a standstill at the edge and you fall short.
Enemies on your terms
Enemies stay still until they come close to the right edge of the screen. That puts you in control of the timing. Approach a group slowly and they wake one or two at a time. Sprint in and you meet them all together.
- Walkers are the scoring chance. Each stomp before you touch the ground doubles the last, from 200 up to 3,200. When walkers bunch together, land on the first with jump held. The higher bounce gives you time to steer onto the next.
- Spikers hurt from every side and never walk off a ledge. Wait for one to turn at the end of its platform, then pass behind it. If one walks across a block above you, bump that block from below to launch it for 400 points.
Losing a life resets the enemies, so a group you thinned out will be back at full strength after a respawn.
Points, clock and checkpoints
The flag pays 1,000 points, plus 10 for every second left of the five-minute clock. Clear a level in 100 seconds and the time bonus alone is 2,000, the same as twenty loose coins. Speed pays most on the flat, open stretches. Take tricky sections at a careful walk, and run the easy ground.
Each green checkpoint is worth 250 points and becomes your respawn point. The clock resets to a full five minutes when you lose a life. A death does not cost you time, only the life.
Common mistakes
- Stomping over a pit. A chained bounce can carry you past the safe ground. Break the chain rather than follow it over a drop.
- Chasing every block. Gold blocks pay 200 each, but each detour costs seconds and risk. The one heart block per level is worth finding, since an extra life saves a whole run.
Building up to a full run
Begin with the Gentle preset's five lives and play Green Hills until you can clear it without dying. Cloud Steps brings spikers, higher ledges and wider pits. Dusk Ruins adds tunnels and spike bridges where a lazy jump costs a life. Clearing a level unlocks it in the picker, so you can drill a later level on its own. When you can clear all three on Standard, Hardcore's single life makes every jump count.
