Tidebeat
Two drums. One song. Every beat felt.
- TypeFree rhythm browser game
- ControlsLeft drum · Right drum · A flam: both drums at once
- Session1–4 minute sessions
- PlatformDesktop and Mobile
- PriceFree, no download
Tidebeat is a rhythm game played on two drums, a left one and a right one, and nothing else. Pick a song from the menu: the first, Riptide, is a composed electronic track that runs for almost three minutes at 128 BPM, with two more songs on the way. Every bar of it is a real drum pattern: steady quarters and single strokes in the opening, doubles and paradiddles once the groove kicks in, flams on the accents, triplet gallops and tresillos in the first drop, and sixteenth-note rolls, drags and syncopated bursts in the peak. The sticking for the bar you are about to play is written out under the notes as R and L, so your hands fall into each pattern the way a drummer's do, and on a phone every clean hit is a short, subtle tap of haptic feedback. Play a gold bar without a miss and you Surge: eight bars of double points while the pads glow and the light cannot drain. Misses and taps with no note drain the light between the drums, and if it goes out the song stops. Long streaks climb the multiplier from x1 to x4, each step in its own colour, and every 25 in a row the combo stamps gold. Finish and the song ends on a graded card from D to S, and your best grade and score stay on the song's menu card.
How to play
- Pick a song from the menu and press Play.
- Notes fall to two drums at the bottom: violet to the left drum, teal to the right.
- Press F or the left arrow for the left drum and J or the right arrow for the right drum as each note lands. On a phone, tap the left or right half of the screen.
- A violet and a teal note joined by a bar is a flam: hit both drums together.
- The bar you are about to play is written out under the notes as R and L, the way drummers write sticking.
- Bars with a gold edge are Surge bars. Play one without a miss for eight bars of double points.
- Misses and taps with no note drain the light between the drums. Hits refill it. If it goes out, the song stops.
| F / ← | Left drum |
|---|---|
| J / → | Right drum |
| Both | A flam: both drums at once |
| Tap | Tap the left or right half of the screen on touch devices |
| Esc | Pause |
Scoring
A Perfect (within about 50 ms of the beat) is worth 300 points and a Good 120, multiplied by your combo. The combo multiplier rises one step for every 12 hits in a row, up to x4, and a miss or a stray tap resets it. A Surge doubles everything for eight bars. Finishing the song pays 5 tickets, and combos of 25, 50 and 100 pay more. The end reveal grades your accuracy from D to S.
Tips
- Read the sticking line. Most patterns alternate hands, so once you see RLRR LRLL you can play the bar without watching every note.
- Do not drum along when there is no note. A stray tap breaks the combo and costs light.
- Triplets feel different from sixteenths: count them in threes and let the gallops roll.
- Save Surge for the gold bars in the drops. Eight bars of double points over a x4 combo is where the big scores live.
- Wide Window from the powerup tray widens the timing for 15 seconds. Use it on the sixteenth-note peak.
Gameplay video
Tidebeat as it plays, a 9-second clip with no sound.
Questions
Is Tidebeat free to play?
Yes. Tidebeat is free to play in your browser, with no purchase required to start.
Do I need to download or install anything to play Tidebeat?
No. Tidebeat runs in the browser. There is nothing to download, nothing to install and no plugin to add.
Do I need an account to play Tidebeat?
No. You can play straight away as a guest, and what you earn is kept in this browser. A free account saves it to your account, so it is not lost when the browser data is cleared and it follows you to another device.
Can I play Tidebeat on a school Chromebook?
Tidebeat runs in Chrome with nothing to install, so it works on a Chromebook. It plays on the keyboard alone, from the start screen to the end screen, so there is no need for the touchpad. Whether a school network allows voidarcade.com is up to the school.
Can I play Tidebeat on a phone?
Yes. Tidebeat has touch controls and works on phones and tablets as well as on a desktop browser.
How long does a game of Tidebeat take?
A run takes about 1 to 4 minutes.
What are the controls for Tidebeat?
Use F / ← to left drum, J / → to right drum, Both to a flam: both drums at once, Tap to tap the left or right half of the screen on touch devices, Esc to pause.
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About Void Arcade
Tidebeat is one of the original games on Void Arcade, the world's first self-evolving online arcade, games here keep changing after release. Read how that works, or browse every free browser game.