How to play Pipstep: rules and the rolling trick
Everything you need to play Pipstep, plus tips to get a better score.
How to play
- Roll the die from the start to the flag, stopping on every painted chip with that chip's number facing up.
- The die starts on the square with the dashed outline, a different way up every day.
- Swipe on the board, tap a square next to the die, or use the arrow buttons to tip the die one square up, down, left or right. On a keyboard: the arrow keys or W A S D. Every roll changes the face on top.
- The small die next to the counter shows the top face, the one facing you and the one on the right. Opposite faces always add up to 7, so rolling towards a face brings up its opposite.
- Each chip shows a number, and each number has its own colour. A chip counts once the die stops on it with that number on top. Every roll is a stop, so rolling across it with the right face counts too; with another face nothing happens: just come back later.
- A done chip flips over to gold with a tick, and gets a tick in the list at the top. It stays done even if you roll over it again.
- The flag stays dimmed (closed) until every chip is done, in any order; meanwhile you can roll across it. Once it's open it glows. Reaching it at par ends the game by itself; with more rolls a Finish button appears: hand it in, or undo and keep trying.
- Wooden blocks are walls: the die can't roll into them or off the edge of the board. A blocked roll does nothing and isn't counted.
- Tap the die (F on a keyboard) to preview, on each neighbouring square and on each arrow, the face that roll would bring up. One step ahead only; the rest of the plan is yours. It can be turned off in Settings.
- Par is the fewest rolls possible. Match par for ⭐⭐⭐, up to 3 over par for ⭐⭐, more for ⭐.
- Undo (Z or Backspace) and start over are free.
- The result shows your rolls and the par. The share line lists the chips' numbers (🎯 ⚃ ⚀ ✅), never your route.
- In Settings: numbers on the die instead of pips, the face preview, sound and vibration.
- Boards grow through the week: Monday and Tuesday 5×5 with 2–3 chips, Wednesday to Friday 6×6 with 3–4, the weekend 7×7 with 5–6 (on Sunday, all six numbers).
Strategy: picturing the roll
The one trick to remember: roll towards a face and its opposite comes up. Opposite faces add up to 7, so the new top face is 7 minus the face looking the way you roll. The 3 is on the right? Roll right and the 4 comes up.
Rolling in a straight line cycles only four faces: top, front, bottom, back. The two faces on the sides never move. If the number you need is on a side face, a straight line will never bring it up: you have to turn.
A detour is how you change the top face without changing where you end up. Stepping aside, rolling on and stepping back costs 2 extra rolls, and you arrive with a different face up. Going round a 2×2 square brings you back to the same square with the die turned.
Plan backwards from each chip: which face must be on top when you land, so which face must be looking the way you arrive? Then work out where that face is now.
Rolls always come in pairs around the par: any route to a square has the same odd or even length, so a mistake costs at least 2 rolls. Undo is free: try a line, look at the die, and step back if the face is wrong.