Steady line, steady speed
The run carries itself forward, so the only variable under your control is lane position on the course. A clean attempt is therefore one where every change is a single committed slide rather than a string of corrections made between obstacle groups.
One late swerve costs the whole run
One deliberate move per gap
The shortest route through an obstacle group is a single slide into the lane that stays open past it. Aim for one change per gap and hold position in between, because continuous drifting leaves you between lanes exactly when the next group arrives.
Pick the lane with open water after the reward
Compare the next options by what follows the pickup rather than by the pickup itself. A route that stays clear past the item is worth more than the shinier reward that dead-ends into a hazard a moment later.
Centre is the cheapest recovery position
Whenever the course opens up, move back toward the middle. It gives you the longest look at what is coming and keeps both lanes reachable, which makes the following decision a single slide instead of a scramble from one edge to the other.
A steady line is the speed signal
You are reading the course well when each lane change is one clean slide and the character stays centred afterwards. Repeated side-to-side corrections are the warning sign that you committed to a lane which dead-ends at a hazard.
Reset before the next pattern, not during it
After a clip, straighten into a clear lane and settle before the next group. Recovering mid-pattern trades one contact for another, and the safe line costs you at most a single pickup.
Skip the risky reward
A pickup that drags you toward an obstacle is a cost, not a bonus. Letting it pass costs nothing but a small number, while the contact it invites ends the attempt outright, so the safe lane is the correct call whenever the two disagree.
Lane choices and risky pickups
What input does a run actually need?
Lane position is the only thing you touch: slide sideways while the course propels the run forward on its own. Nothing else on the screen is pressable, so the whole input is one committed slide followed by holding that line.
How far ahead should I read the course?
Two or three obstacle groups is enough. Pick the lane that stays open longest, commit to it early, and the next decision should be a single slide rather than a series of corrections.
Is it worth taking every pickup?
No. Take the ones sitting on your safe line and skip any that pull you toward a hazard. Staying alive through a group is worth more than any single reward on it.
Why do I keep losing runs after one mistake?
Because the recovery happens while the character is still weaving, so the next obstacle group catches it halfway between lanes with no escape either way. Straighten into a clear lane and settle there first, then resume collecting once the water ahead is genuinely open again.
Plan a run as three stages with different jobs. The opening stage is about position: get into the centre, because the middle gives the longest view of the approaching groups and keeps both sides reachable. The middle stage is about reading, settling in a lane before a group arrives rather than sliding while it does.
Two or three groups ahead is the useful horizon. A lane chosen earlier than that is chosen while the information in front of you is still changing, and sliding on a guess is what puts you between lanes when the next group arrives. Reading shorter means the decision lands with the group, which is not a decision at all.
Once the groups come faster than you can read them, stop collecting and keep whatever line you are on. That last stage is about holding rather than improving, because an attempt that survives a group is worth more than the pickup that ended it.
