Track Trio
Three events in a row. Sprint to build speed. Jump at the right moment. Throw on the right angle. Three numbers add up to one score. No practice rounds; the first run counts.
What it is
Track Trio is our nod to the arcade decathlon games of the 1980s, stripped down to one input and three events. Event 1 is a 100m sprint — you tap to a rhythm; tapping on-beat builds speed, tapping off-beat doesn't. Event 2 is the long jump — your sprint speed carries over; you press once to jump on the line, then a second tap sets the take-off angle. Event 3 is the throw — a power meter sweeps up and down; you release when the meter is at the angle you want.
How to play
- Event 1 · Sprint. A pulse beats on the side. Tap when the pulse is at peak. Each clean beat adds speed; missed beats lose a little.
- Event 2 · Jump. The runner from event 1 sprints toward a line. Tap to take off as close to the line as possible (over it = foul, distance zero). A second tap sets the angle; 45° gives the longest distance.
- Event 3 · Throw. An angle meter sweeps. Tap to lock the angle; another tap to throw. The closer to 45°, the further the throw goes. Sprint speed multiplies into power.
- Final score is the sum of the three event distances (in metres). Best is saved in this browser.
The trick
Most beginners chase the sprint and score 7-9 metres on the long jump because they tap too late and foul. The actual trick is to treat the sprint as a warm-up for the jump, not as a separate score. A solid (not maximal) sprint with a clean jump scores better than a maximal sprint with a fouled jump. On the throw, the angle meter is harder than it looks because it accelerates near 45°; you have to commit half a beat early.
What this scored well on
- Three games in one. Each event has a different input character — rhythm, single-press timing, release timing — and the carry-over between them creates a real "run".
- Honest scoring. Distance in metres, no multipliers, no streak bonuses. The number means what it says.
- The sprint feel. We spent a long time on the cadence; it's just slow enough that you can match it on the second beat, and just fast enough that mistakes hurt.
What it gets wrong
Track Trio is the only game in this batch where a bad start can lock you out of a good total — there's no "retry just the jump". We considered allowing per-event retries and decided against it; the carry-over of speed between events is core to the design, and segmenting it makes the game smaller. The compromise is that runs are short (about 25 seconds), so a bad start is at most that costly.
Who it's for
Track Trio is for anyone who has fond memories of Track & Field-style arcade machines and wonders what they'd look like with a single input. It's also the closest thing in this batch to a "session game" — a small ritual with a clear end, suitable for the gap between two emails.
Where we'd point you next
If you liked the rhythmic part, try Pulse Lock (#01). If you liked the release-timing, watch for Trail Drag (#13 — single-finger curve tracing) in the second batch.
Released · 12 May 2026 · Editor's score 4.1 / 5 · Reviewed by Bill