Doodle swim

1st0 m

0.0

Race Bun!

Bun’s group splashes in the garden pool.

Gold: 0
Races: 0
Best: –

Paused

Gold! You win!

Four lanes, four swimmers, one wall to touch first. Doodle swims in a side-view pool: tap left and right in time with the beat ring to swim fast, hold Dive to duck under rubber ducks and beach balls, and tap Dive at the wall for a flip turn. Bubbles drift in every lane: swim through one to grab a funny thing, like rocket flippers, a dolphin ride, octopus ink, a whale spout or a flamingo ring. Win gold, silver or bronze, race a friend on one screen, and try Bolt the champion over four lengths: a real challenge for grown-ups too.

How to play

Wait for Go!
Tap the moment you see Go! for a perfect dive. Too early? SPLAT! A funny belly flop.
Tap left, right!
Tap ◀ then ▶ in time with the ring. Steady taps go fastest; mashing just splashes.
Dive and flip!
Hold Dive to swim under things that float. Tap it just before the wall to flip.

Controls

Touch: Tap the left and right arrows in turn (or either half of the picture). Hold the Dive button to go under. Tap the item button at the top to use what you grabbed.
Mouse: Click the left and right halves of the picture in turn. Hold the Dive button, and click the item button to use an item.
Keyboard: ← → or A D to stroke, hold ↓, S or Space to dive, Q or Shift to use an item, P or Esc to pause.
Two players: Player one: A D, S to dive, Q for the item. Player two: ← →, ↓ to dive, / for the item. On a touch screen each player has their own buttons on their side.

Funny things to grab

Rocket flippers. A burst of speed for 2 seconds, with a trail of bubbles. ZOOM!
Dolphin ride. A dolphin carries you for 3 seconds, leaping in and out of the water. Wheee!
Octopus ink. Squirts ink at everyone ahead: their lane goes inky for 2 seconds and their rhythm wobbles. Blub!
Whale spout. A whale blows you out of the water, a few meters forward, and you cannonball down. SPLOOSH!
Flamingo ring. The swimmer just ahead gets stuck in a pink ring for 3 seconds: they float slowly and can’t dive. Wiggle with taps to get out sooner. Honk!

Swim through a bubble at the surface to pick one up. You can hold one at a time; the rivals grab and use them too.

Four rivals

Bun: Easy, in the garden pool. 25 m, no turns. Taps slowly and unevenly, and bumps into most things. A forgiving beat.
Kiki: Medium, in the beach lagoon. 50 m with one turn. A steady swimmer who spots most floating things and flips most of the time.
Bruno: Hard, in the indoor pool with flags. 50 m with one turn. A tight rhythm, ducks at the right moment and flips almost every time.
Bolt: Champion, in the pool at night. 100 m with three turns. Hardly loses the beat, rarely bumps a thing and uses every item at the right moment.

Two more swimmers share the pool each time. Each rival you beat earns a medal on the start card, and your best times are saved on this device.

Tips for big players

Follow the ring, not the wall. The ring closes on its target at the best moment for your next stroke. Steady beats fast: taps much quicker than the ring splash and tire you out.
Dive early for a ball. Go under just before a floating thing and come up just after it. Stay up for jellyfish and seaweed.
Flip a half second early. Tap Dive about 0.4 seconds before the wall, not at it: a well timed flip gives a long, strong push-off.
Keep an eye on the bars. A tired swimmer pushes only half as hard. A short dive is also a rest for your arms.
Save inky and flamingo. Octopus ink hits everyone ahead; the flamingo ring hits the swimmer just ahead. They work best when you are behind.

What kids practice

Rhythm and steady tapping. Left, right, left, right in time with the ring.
Timing. Waiting for Go! and flipping at just the right moment.
Planning ahead. Spotting what floats in the lane and choosing when to duck under it.
Taking turns and good sportsmanship. Racing a friend on one screen, and cheering for the swimmer who wins.

For grown-ups

Doodle swim has no ads, no accounts and no trackers. Medals and best times are saved only in this browser on this device. Sound stays off until your child turns it on with the speaker button. Mistakes are funny and never punished: a too-early start is a funny belly flop, a bump is a boing, running out of breath is a “Bwah!”, and every race ends with a podium and kind words, even for 4th place.

Against Bun the beat is forgiving and the rivals are slow, so even uneven tapping finishes happily; the beat gets stricter and the pool busier up to Bolt, so the game grows with your child. With reduced motion turned on in the device’s settings, shakes and slow motion are left out and the crowd stops hopping.

Questions

Is Doodle swim free?

Yes. All four rivals and the two-player race are free to play in the browser, with no ads, no sign-up and nothing to download.

Can a young child play it?

Yes. Against Bun the race is one length (25 m) with no turns, the beat is forgiving, and slow, uneven taps still get Doodle to the wall. Bun and friends tap slowly and often bump into things, so a medal is very likely and gold is well within reach.

How do I dive under things?

Hold the Dive button (or the down arrow or Space) to swim underwater with a dolphin kick, a little faster than a messy surface swim. You pass under ducks, beach balls, the floating flamingo and the lily pad, but not under the jellyfish and seaweed that lurk below, so stay up for those. Diving uses breath: let go to come up and breathe. If you run out you pop up with a “Bwah!” and slow down for a moment.

How hard is the champion?

Very. Bolt swims 100 m (4 lengths, 3 flip turns) at night with a nearly perfect rhythm, ducks under almost everything, flips right at the wall and uses items at exactly the right moment. The beat is stricter, and there is more to dodge in every length.