Ink Lap
Draw your racing line, then watch your car drive it. Round curves are fast, sharp kinks are slow. Beat the bronze, silver and gold ghosts, then challenge a friend with a code.
Controls
- Touch or mouse: press the glowing start square and drag
- Draw your line; the tip follows your finger and slides along walls instead of crossing them
- Touch or mouse: press the tip of your line again
- Carry on drawing from where you lifted your finger
- Touch or mouse: press anywhere on your line and drag away
- Cut the line at that point, get that ink back, and redraw from there (a tap without dragging changes nothing)
- Tap Go / Enter
- Start the race once your line reaches the finish band
- Tap Clear twice / press C twice
- Confirm with the second tap or press within two seconds to erase the whole line and start drawing again
- ↑ to step forward, ← and → to turn, Backspace to erase from the tip
- Draw the line with the keyboard instead of a finger or mouse
- During the race: Skip or Space / Redraw or R
- See the result right away / go straight back to your line
- Pause button / Esc
- Pause, start the track over, open the track map or read how to play
How to play
ObjectiveDraw a route from the start square to the finish band so your car, which drives exactly along it, crosses the line ahead of the bronze, silver and gold ghost cars for up to three stars.
Getting started
- Before drawing, find the longest straight on the track and the bend that leads into it — that bend deserves your widest curve.
- Press the glowing start square and draw toward the finish, keeping an eye on the ink bar and the five start lights at the top.
- If a bend looks wrong, press on the line just before it and drag away to redraw that part with the ink you get back.
- When the line reaches the finish band, tap Go; if the lights run out first, the car leaves on its own and drives only as far as the line goes.
- Watch your car race the three ghosts; the try is over when it crosses the finish, falls into a gap, or stops at the end of an unfinished line.
- On the result screen, read your time and stars, then tap Redraw to fix the magenta parts of your line or Next track to move on.
Tips
- The exit of the bend before the longest straight sets your speed for that whole straight, so draw it wide and round and keep the less important bends tight to save ink.
- After each race the line shows cyan where the car was fast and magenta where it braked; redraw from just before the deepest magenta first.
- Draw slowly: your drawing speed never changes the time, but a hurried stroke leaves wobbles and the car brakes for every visible kink.
- On and just after a boost pad the car cannot brake, so only drive over pads that lead onto a straight; a pad before a hairpin makes the car spin out.
- A ramp needs speed 24 at its edge, so follow the arrow marks in one straight line from the first arrow instead of turning into the run-up late.
- Sand caps the car at a crawl, so cut only the very tip of a corner across it; driving through a wide patch of sand loses more time than the shortcut saves.
- Medal ghosts always drive Hopper, so on a twisty track try Glider and on a track of long straights try Rocket, and redraw the line to suit the car.
FAQ
How do I start a race in Ink Lap?
Tap Play, pick a track on the circuit map, press the glowing start square and draw a line to the finish band, then tap Go. On the very first track a hand draws the route once to show you how.
Do I have to install anything or create an account?
No. Ink Lap runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers, with nothing to install, no sign-in and no purchases.
Can I play Ink Lap on my phone?
Yes, it's made for phones: one finger draws the whole race, held upright or turned sideways. On a computer the same phone-shaped screen plays with the mouse or the keyboard.
Does drawing my line faster make the car faster?
No. Your race time depends on the shape of the line, not how fast you draw it. Draw steadily while watching the five start lights and the ink bar: the lights limit your drawing time, and the ink limits your line's length.
How do I get three stars on a track?
Cross the finish strictly ahead of the gold ghost. Look at the magenta parts of your last line, smooth them out, give the bend before the longest straight a wide exit, and try Glider or Rocket if Hopper keeps falling just short.
How is my score worked out?
A finished race scores 1000 × the bronze ghost's time divided by your time, plus 250 for each ghost you beat. Matching the bronze ghost exactly gives 1000; falling into a gap or stalling scores 0.
Why did my car fall into the gap?
It reached the ramp slower than speed 24, the minimum for the jump. The result shows the speed you had; straighten the run-up along the arrow marks and avoid any sharp bend just before the ramp.
I keep missing the bronze ghost. What can I do?
After three tries in a row without a star on the same track, a button appears while drawing: hold it to see the bronze ghost's line, and let go to hide it. It doesn't stop the start lights or change your line.
How do I challenge a friend?
Send a challenge code for your best completed line. Tap Challenge a friend on the result screen and copy the code. Your friend opens Enter a code on the title screen, pastes it and taps Race this ghost to add it, then taps Race this ghost again to start that track. Each track holds up to five friend ghosts.
When does the daily track open, and how many tries do I get?
The daily track opens once you finish Cone Fork, the fifth track of Neon Park. You get three timed tries each day and the best one counts; after that you can keep driving it as practice, and finishing it once a day keeps your streak going.
How do I unlock new circuits and cars?
Collect stars. Boost Bay opens at 8 ★, Gap Canyon at 20 ★ and Night Mix at 34 ★; Glider unlocks at 12 ★ and Rocket at 26 ★, and all 15 ★ in a circuit add a new trail color.
Is my progress saved, and does it work without internet?
Progress is saved in this browser on this device, with no account and no cloud copy. Once the game has loaded it keeps playing without a connection, but a different browser, a private window or clearing site data starts fresh.
About the game
Draw your racing line, then watch your car drive it. Round curves are fast, sharp kinks are slow. Beat the bronze, silver and gold ghosts, then challenge a friend with a code.
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