Light Trail

A few panels light up in turn; tap the trail back.

Every panel on the board carries a shape, a colour and a soft, glassy note that belong to it alone. A few of them light up in turn; when they have finished, you retrace the trail by tapping them in that same sequence. Each round draws a completely new trail instead of extending the last, so there is never a familiar tune to lean on.

How to play

Watch the panels light up. A panel never glows twice in a row.
When the board says it is your turn, tap the panels in the order they lit.
Get it right and the next trail is one step longer. A wrong tap shows the panel you needed and costs a life; the length stays the same.
Three lives, at most twelve rounds.

Levels and modes

EasyEasy uses four panels at a calm pace and starts with a trail of three.
MediumMedium spreads the trail over six panels.
HardHard uses nine panels, quicker flashes and starts with four steps.

What your result means

The main figure is the length, in steps, of the longest trail you copied without a slip. Points are the sum of the lengths of all the trails you got right, which is why two people with the same best trail may finish on different points.

Tips from the tea table

Say the trail quietly to yourself by shape: circle, star, drop. Words travel further than pictures for many people.
Listen as well as look. Each panel always plays the same note, so a trail is also a little tune.
Group long trails into twos and threes, the way you would remember a phone number.
On the nine-panel board, note where the trail starts and where it ends; the middle is easier to rebuild around fixed ends.

Questions

Is it the same trail getting longer each round?

No. Each round is a new trail drawn from the seed of that game, one step longer after a success.

Can I play with the sound off?

Yes. The sound switch sits in the game header and the board remembers your choice. The shapes and colours carry the whole trail.

Which keys work?

The number keys from 1 up to the number of panels, matching the small numbers shown on the panels.

Why did my trail not grow after a mistake?

A miss keeps the length where it was and costs one of your three lives.

Tea sets with Light Trail

These sets pour Light Trail as one of their three cups:

How each kind of task works