Home / Puzzle / Guide the Ball
Guide the Ball is a free online draw-a-line puzzle: a ball hangs over a sheet of squared paper, a cup waits below, and you draw the ramps that will carry it there. Press Go and the ball drops and rolls along your lines with real momentum — a steep ramp throws it, a gentle one lets it creep. Three stars float on every board; roll through them on the way to the cup to collect them. Twelve boards add a wall to jump, zones where nothing can be drawn, spikes, bounce pads, a launch pipe and a sliding platform. Works with a mouse, a finger or the keyboard. No download, no sign-up.
How to play Guide the Ball
- Look at the board first. The ball hangs near the top, the gold cup waits lower down, and three stars float somewhere in between. Red zones, spikes, green pads and purple platforms join the later boards.
- Press on the board and drag to draw a line. Lift and press again to start another one. Every line becomes solid, and the ball will roll along it exactly as drawn.
- Watch the ink meter. Each board gives you a fixed amount, every line spends it by its length, and the pen stops when it runs out. Undo Line takes back the last line and Clear wipes them all.
- Press Go. The ball drops and rolls with real momentum: it speeds up on a steep line, keeps that speed when it leaves the end of a ramp and flies, and slows on a gentle one. You cannot draw while it is rolling, but Stop puts it back at the start at once.
- If the ball falls off the board, touches spikes or comes to rest, the run ends, the ball goes back to the start and your lines stay, so you can change one thing and press Go again.
- Land the ball in the cup to clear the board. Every star the ball rolled through on that run counts, so a clear is worth one to three stars and the next board unlocks.
- On a keyboard: the arrow keys move a pen (hold Shift for big steps), Space puts the pen down and lifts it again, Enter drops the ball and Z undoes a line.
Tips
- Draw where the ball will be fast, not where it is now. A ramp low down catches a ball that has already fallen a long way, and that speed is what carries it across a gap or over a wall.
- Make the last line point at the cup. A ball leaving the end of a ramp keeps going in the direction the ramp was pointing, then curves down under gravity — aim a little above the cup, not at it.
- A short wall behind the cup is often worth more than a perfect ramp. Something for the ball to hit and drop from turns a near miss into a clear.
- Lines may not cross a red zone, but the ball can fly straight over one. On those boards the job is a ramp that throws the ball across, not a bridge.
- A green pad always throws the ball off at full strength, square to its face. The angle the ball arrives at changes how far it travels along the pad, not how hard it is thrown.
- The purple platform carries anything that lands on it. Where your ramp ends decides when the ball arrives — a longer ramp means a later landing.
- Stuck on a board? Hint draws one way through all three stars as dashed lines. Copy it, or use it as a start and find a shorter route of your own.
FAQ
Is Guide the Ball free to play?
Yes. Guide the Ball is free to play online in your browser, with no download, no account and nothing to buy. All twelve boards are here and unlock in order.
How do you get three stars?
Roll the ball through all three stars on the same run that lands it in the cup. Stars collected on a run that misses the cup do not count, and your best result on each board is kept.
How much ink do I get?
Each board has its own amount, shown on the meter beside it. It is set from a drawing that solves the board with all three stars, plus a third more and rounded up to ten — enough room for a hand that wobbles, not enough to wall in the whole board.
Is every board possible with all three stars?
Yes. Every board ships with a drawing that reaches the cup through all three stars, and the game’s tests replay that drawing through the same physics you play with. They also move every line of it about by a few units, forty times per board, to check that a hand-drawn copy still gets the ball to the cup most of the time.
Can I change my lines while the ball is rolling?
No. Once you press Go the run plays out on its own, which is why the same lines always give exactly the same run. Press Stop, or start drawing, and the ball goes straight back to the start.
What do the red zones, spikes, pads and purple platforms do?
Nothing can be drawn inside a red zone, though the ball can fly over it. Touching spikes ends the run. A green pad throws the ball off hard. A purple platform slides back and forth and carries the ball with it.
Does Guide the Ball work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Draw with your finger — the board stops the page from scrolling while you draw. The board is upright, so it fits a phone held upright best.
Can I play with only a keyboard?
Yes. Click the board once, then move the pen with the arrow keys (Shift for bigger steps), press Space to put it down and again to lift it, Enter to drop the ball, Z to undo a line and Delete to clear them all.