Tap Burst Guide: How to Win Every Race
Tap Burst is a race decided by one number: whoever has tapped more times when the clock runs out wins, and the loser's balloon pops. There's no timing to learn and no trick to find. What separates a win from three stars is how fast the taps come, and how evenly they're spread across the race.
Three worlds, three race lengths
| World | Race | Length | Rivals' pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balloon Carnival | Sprint | 5 s | 3.6 to 7.3 |
| Seaside Pier | Dash | 10 s | 5.0 to 7.8 |
| Thunder Stadium | Marathon | 30 s | 5.4 to 7.7 |
Pace is in taps per second, averaged over a race. Each world has six rivals, the last of which is a boss, and each rival is worth three stars, so a world holds 18.
A win earns one star. Winning with at least 12% more taps than the rival earns two, and 25% more earns three. Against the three bosses that works out like this:
| Boss | Race | Rival taps | For 3 stars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slick the Fox | 5 s | about 37 | 46 |
| Chomp the Shark | 10 s | about 78 | 98 |
| Volt the Cheetah | 30 s | about 231 | 289 |
The last line is the hard one: 289 taps in 30 seconds is close to 9.6 a second, held for half a minute.
Every rival has a shape
Rivals don't tap at a flat rate. Each one follows a curve that decides how its taps are spread over the race, and the average still lands near its listed pace. Knowing the curve tells the player when to worry.
- Doze the Sloth taps at about 90% of his pace, nearly stops between 40% and 55% of the race, then wakes up angry at 145%. An early lead over Doze is not a safe lead.
- Zoom the Hare starts at 150% of his pace and fades steadily to 60%. Falling behind him early is normal.
- Brick the Gorilla stops for a moment around the halfway point to beat his chest.
- Bandit the Raccoon starts at 65% and builds throughout, which is how he sneaks up.
- Ribbit the Frog taps in hops, alternating short fast bursts with near pauses.
The bosses each have a phase, announced when it starts. Slick the Fox loafs at 60% of his pace for the first 45% of the race, then switches to 135%. Chomp the Shark holds steady until halfway and then climbs to 150%. Volt the Cheetah runs fast for the first 30%, slows to 75% until the 60% mark, and then surges past 140%.
That is why the game's own tip says the bosses speed up halfway, and to save some energy. Against Volt in particular, the race is won or lost in its final twelve seconds.
Technique
The game's own list of tips is short and practical:
- Use two thumbs and drum the screen, which the game calls "way faster".
- Tap anywhere on the screen, since every touch counts.
- Keep the thumbs low and close to the glass.
- Don't tap too hard. Light and quick wins.
- In a Marathon, find a steady rhythm.
The race screen also reacts to speed. A rate of 8 taps a second brings up "ON FIRE!", and 11 a second brings up "LIGHTNING!".
The Free Test
Outside the campaign, the Free Test runs a 5, 10 or 30-second race against nobody and gives a rank. The rank is the fastest rival whose pace was matched or beaten, so it reads as a name: averaging 7 taps a second, for example, ranks as Stretch the Ostrich, the fastest rival at or below that pace. Below Shelby the Turtle's 3.6 the rank is "Slower than Shelby", and ten taps a second or more earns "Faster than Lightning".
On a computer, the Space bar counts as a tap.
