How to play
- Goal
- Ride the unicorn over every numbered fence, in order, and through the finish as fast as you can.
- How it ends
- A round ends at the finish line; a refusal or a run-out sets you back before the fence, so every finished round has jumped every fence.
- Record
- The fastest round on each course; every fault adds four seconds, so a clear round is the one to beat.
- The unicorn canters on its own once the countdown ends; you steer it down the track and over the numbered fences in order, between each fence's white flag (on the left) and red flag (on the right). Hold Gallop for speed, or Steady to slow down; let go of both and it canters. As you come near the next fence a strip of light shows on the grass: press Jump when the unicorn's front hooves reach it. The light is computed from the speed and stamina you bring, so it moves when you change pace.
- Take off before the light and the jump comes down too soon, so the hind hooves catch the fence; take off after it and the front hooves hit it. Every fault adds four seconds to the time: a rail knocked down, a hedge, wall or log hit, a splash in a brook, a refusal (no jump at all) or a run-out (passing outside the flags). After a refusal or a run-out the unicorn is set back before the fence to jump it again. After every fence a line says what happened and how far early or late the take-off was.
- The ring by the clock is the unicorn's stamina. Galloping empties it; a canter fills it slowly and a steady pace faster. A tired unicorn gallops slower and jumps lower, and below a quarter of the ring it cannot clear the big fences, so gallop the long stretches while it is fresh and keep enough for the gallop from the last fence to the finish. Brooks and wide oxers need pace, or there is no light at all; doubles (two fences a stride or two apart, numbered 5a and 5b) want a steady pace so there is room to land and take off again.
Controls
| ← → · A D · ◀ ▶ | Steer |
|---|---|
| ↑ · W · Gallop (held) | Gallop: faster, spends stamina |
| ↓ · S · Steady (held) | Steady: slower, fills stamina |
| Space · Jump | Jump |
| ? | How to play |
| R | Restart the course |
| Escape | Pause (the round then no longer counts for the Top 10) |
The unicorn is a rigged warehouse 3D model drawn with three.js; its gallop, walk and rearing are the model's own animation clips, and its jump is posed by the game from the arc it is judging, so the lowest hoof is drawn exactly where the rules place it. The fences are built by the game at their true heights, and every jump is judged by the game's own rules from where each pair of hooves crosses each bar. Each course was laid out and checked by the builder, which also measured the medal times with simulated riders. The trees, lanterns, sounds and fonts come from the Morass warehouse. A round is sent as the moves you made at their moments, and the records worker rides it again with the same code before it ranks the time. Your progress stays in this browser under morass.unicorn-steeplechase.v1. No ads or analytics run inside the game.
Watch how to play
About Unicorn Steeplechase
A cross-country ride in full 3D, seen from behind a unicorn at the spring fair of the elven vales. Each course is a mown track between white rails with eight to eleven numbered fences on it: birch-brush hedges, post-and-rails, oxers, dry-stone walls, logs and brooks. Steer between each fence's white and red flags, time the jump, and gallop for the finish.
Twelve fixed courses in four places each add something to ride: hedges and rails on the morning downs, brooks and wide oxers in the afternoon vale that need pace, walls and doubles at the abbey at dusk, and everything together by lantern and moonlight in Moonfern Chase.
The unicorn's stamina is the other half of the game. A gallop is faster but empties it, and a tired unicorn gallops slower and jumps lower, so the big fences come down. Ease to a canter or a steady pace and it fills again; whatever is left at the last fence becomes speed on the long run-in. Each course keeps a Top 10 of the fastest rounds, faults included, and the site rides your round again with the game's own rules before it keeps a place.
