I didn’t want to play when I picked up mine this weekend. I was actually looking for something else, but I was just idly searching for half of the correct title and staring at it Skipping rope STAR! instead appear at the top of the results. Curious – also because “Hot Rope Jump” was one of my favorite mini-games Mario Party 2 Back then – I clicked on it and was greeted by pictures that looked like something I would tape to my fridge if I were giving it to a 5 year old. It was a “no more saying anything” kind of moment; I bought it immediately.
As the title suggests, Skipping rope STAR! is a jump rope game for Playdate. It offers different modes for solo and co-op play, with the latter involving two players sharing one device. I haven’t seen many multiplayer games for Playdate, so that alone is pretty cool. The game was created by Chris Corciega (Soinksters Games), but the art was designed “by a talented 5-year-old” Maya. And it’s adorable. As you try to reach new highs, you use the crank to control the momentum of a jump rope held by a two-legged bunny and a… striped pig (?). Okay, I’m not entirely sure what the second figure is, but these two are swinging the rope, and the goal is to do so in time with the little stick figure girl’s jumps so you don’t trip her up.
Her timing is not always consistent and she gets faster as she progresses, so after a minute or so it becomes quite difficult. But if you manage perfect swings, you’ll earn points in the star meter located on the side of the screen, and once it’s filled, you can use this power to temporarily slow down time and make more swings while the girl is in the air. In the other modes things get a little more complicated. For example, if you’re playing with a friend in two-player catch mode, one of you has to press buttons to move the girl so she can catch shooting stars while the other person swings the rope. (I found out that it is very difficult to do it alone).
It’s a simple but fun little game, made even better by the fact that you can involve someone else in on the silliness. Both adults and children can enjoy it, and there’s a kids mode for a more forgiving style of play if you don’t want family game night to get too competitive. This seems like another example of that Play date Games – the kind that just seem to fit the device, and to try to make them understand his charm.
