GUMLINGS: Crowd Runner: play free online

You drag to steer, pick the gate that multiplies your crowd and keep as many Gumlings alive as you can for the final attack.

How to play GUMLINGS: Crowd Runner

Your crowd runs forward by itself, and you only move it left and right with a finger or the arrow keys. Every gate shows what it does, plus ten, times two or minus five, so go through the good ones and stay away from the red ones. Spiked rollers and saws knock Gumlings out of the crowd, and red enemy crowds wait on the road with their number above them: if your crowd is bigger, you run straight through; if not, steer around them. With a second finger or the space bar you split the crowd into two groups, and each half can take a different gate at the same time. Your count sits in the corner of the screen and jumps every time it changes. A run takes about a minute.

The castle and the Gumling King

At the end of every road stands a castle with its own health bar, and on later levels a giant Gumling King guards its gate. The giant sweeps half of the road, and the red side of the road shows where he will strike, so move to the other half in time. Every Gumling that reaches the castle hits the wall, and when the bar is empty the castle is yours. What is left of your crowd climbs a ladder of multipliers for extra gems.

Upgrades and progress

Gems from every run buy upgrades right on the menu and on the results screen: a bigger crowd at the start, more storm power against the castle and more gems per run. The upgrades keep going, so there is always something to aim for, and each level costs a little more than the last. Every ten levels the road moves to a new world with its own light and colours, every fifth level is a boss level, and the daily route, a free chest, a daily gift and daily challenges reward short visits.

Tips for bigger crowds

Two good gates in a row are often worth more than one big one, so look a little ahead. Split the crowd only when both gates help you, and merge again before a narrow spot. Before the castle keep away from the saws, because every Gumling counts in the storm.

It is made for anyone who likes quick, colourful games that you can play with one thumb, with a number that grows in front of your eyes and a castle that falls at the end of every road.

What makes GUMLINGS: Crowd Runner different

Many crowd runners are a straight road with the same gates over and over. Here every road ends at a castle with a health bar and, later, a giant Gumling King who sweeps half the road, so the last seconds of each run are a real fight. Your number lives in the corner of the screen, never on top of your crowd, and upgrades are bought with one tap right before the next run.

Free crowd runner in your browser

GUMLINGS: Crowd Runner is free and plays in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, with nothing to install and no account to make. Levels, gems and upgrades are saved by themselves, so you can start on a phone and carry on at a computer. The game speaks ten languages and picks yours on its own. A run takes about a minute, which makes it a good fit for a short break, and the boss levels give you a goal for a longer session. It is part of the GUMLINGS series; the other game is GUMLINGS: Tower Conquest.