Jelly is a one-tap timing game about a wobbly little jelly climbing a shaft. Every floor is two sliding halves that close together. Tap to jump through the gap while it's open, then land on the floor once it shuts. Jump too late and the halves squish you; wait too long and the rising goo catches you. Every run takes seconds to learn, and there's a new shaft every day.
How to play Jelly
- Tap anywhere to jump straight up. That's the only control.
- Jump while the gap above you is open; the floor closes under you and becomes your new ground.
- If the halves close while you're between them, you're squished. Red bumpers mean they're closing.
- Don't wait too long: red goo rises from below and speeds up the longer you play.
- Each floor you climb is a point. Grab gold coins floating in the gaps.
Tips to get a high score
- Watch the halves, not the jelly. Opening halves are always safe to jump through; closing ones need you to be quick.
- A late jump into a closing gap kills you, but tapping into a fully shut floor only bonks your head. When in doubt, wait for the next opening.
- Coins sit in the gap and get crushed when it shuts, so you only get them by jumping on the first opening.
- Jumping right after you land builds a FAST combo, and squeezing through a nearly shut gap earns a SQUEEZE. Both are for show; only floors count.
- Later floors pause halfway or fake you out by backing off before slamming shut. Don't commit until you've seen which kind it is.
What changes floor by floor
The floors get harder by how high you are, not by time, and the ramp runs from floor 2 to about floor 40. Low down, a pair of halves takes almost two seconds to close and sits wide open for about half a second first. Near floor 40 they close in about 0.6 seconds and barely pause when open.
New kinds of floor arrive along the way. From around floor 12 the halves can meet off-centre, so the gap isn't under you until the last moment. Around floor 13 some floors stop halfway before finishing the close. From about floor 17 you also get fake-outs, which close most of the way, back off, then slam shut.
One jump always climbs exactly one floor, so there's no skipping ahead. Your score is simply the number of floors you've landed on.
The goo is the real clock
The goo starts slow, about one floor every four and a half seconds. By the 70-second mark it climbs a floor every two seconds. After a minute it also gains a little extra speed every second with no limit, so by around 90 seconds you need better than a floor a second to stay ahead.
You can't build a cushion either. Once the goo is more than about a floor and a third below you, it rises faster to catch up. A long careful wait costs you twice: the goo gains and the floors keep cycling.
The plan for a long run is steady rhythm. Take the first safe opening on every floor instead of waiting for a perfect one, and save your patience for the tricky floors higher up.
Bonks, squishes and combos
A jump carries you through the next floor in about a quarter of a second, and once your feet clear it the floor snaps shut beneath you. Whether a too-narrow gap is safe depends on which way the halves are moving. If they're shut, opening, or stopped on a pause, you just bonk your head and drop back. If they're closing, you're squished.
That makes pause floors easier than they look. While the halves wait halfway they aren't closing, so a jump that's too early only bonks you. Fake-outs are the dangerous ones, because the halves start moving inward again right after they back off.
The FAST combo (jumping within about half a second of landing) and the SQUEEZE streak (getting through with only a few pixels to spare) are just for show. Coins appear on about a third of floors and are crushed once the halves are almost shut. They buy hats, so skip any you'd have to rush for.
Daily levels and ghost races
Today's Jelly level is the same for everyone, and you race the ghosts of other players' runs. How daily levels and challenges work.
FAQ
What kills you in Jelly?
Two things: getting caught between two halves as they close (squished), or letting the rising goo reach you. Bumping your head on a floor that's already shut is harmless; you just drop back down.
Do you have to hold the button?
No. Jelly uses taps only. Each tap is one jump, and where you tap doesn't matter, so you can play one-handed.
Does it get harder?
Yes. Floors close faster, stay shut longer, meet off-centre, pause halfway or fake a close, and the goo keeps speeding up. Sooner or later the goo catches everyone, so every run is a race for the highest floor.
Is it free?
Yes. Every Tapamine game is free to play in your browser with no download and no account.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Tapamine is built for phones first: portrait, one thumb, and it works offline after your first visit. It also works with a mouse or the spacebar on a computer.
How do challenges work?
After a run, tap “Challenge a friend” to send a link. Your friend plays the exact same level and races your ghost — a replay of your run — to see who wins.
Add Jelly to your site
Jelly is free to embed on your blog, class page or website. Paste this code:
<iframe src="https://tapamine.com/embed/jelly/" title="Jelly: free one-tap game" width="360" height="640" style="border:0;border-radius:16px;max-width:100%" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; web-share" loading="lazy"></iframe>