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Spinning Top is a free online spinning top game built on how a real top behaves. Spin runs down; a fast top stands itself up and hums, a slow one wobbles and falls; and the lean does not stay put but swings round the top, faster the slower it spins. You keep it going with a whip. Tap beside the top on the side it leans towards and the stroke adds spin and knocks it upright — dead on is a crack. Every stroke also shoves the top away from you, so waiting for the lean to come round to the right side is how you steer it back from the rim and onto the gems. Twelve stages of 30 to 45 seconds add a smaller table, gusts, a sloping table, sand, rival tops and a dusk with no lean guide. No download, no sign-up — play with a mouse, a finger or the keyboard.
How to play Spinning Top
- Pick a stage and press Start, Space, or tap the table. The top is already spinning in the middle of the table, and the clock starts.
- To whip the top, tap or click on the table beside it, on the side you want to strike from. With the keyboard, hold the arrow keys or WASD to aim and press Space to strike. The whip needs about a third of a second to swing back between strokes.
- Strike the side the top leans towards. The gold arc round the top shows that side: a stroke inside it is a crack, worth 10 points, a stroke near it is clean, and both add spin and knock the top back upright. A stroke on the high side adds no spin and tips it further over.
- Watch the lean swing round. A leaning top does not fall the way it leans: the lean circles the top, and the slower the top spins the faster it circles. Wait for it to come round to the side you want, then strike.
- Every stroke shoves the top away from you. Use that to steer: strike from the rim side to send it back to the middle, or from the far side of a gem to send it over the gem, which is worth 20 points.
- Keep the spin bar above the white hum line. Above it the top stands itself up and every second scores 3 points; below it the lean grows on its own. If the lean bar fills, the top topples over, and if the spin runs out it falls.
- Keep it up to the bell to clear the stage and unlock the next one; that is one star and 50 points more. A higher score earns the second and third stars. Switching to another tab pauses the round.
Tips
- Strike before you need to. A top above the hum line is easy to keep; one below it wobbles faster and circles faster, so every stroke gets harder to place.
- The lean swings slowly while the top is fast. That is the time to steer: wait for the lean to come round to the side opposite where you want the top to go.
- Near the rim, strike from the rim side. Knocking the rim costs spin and tips the top outwards, and scraping along it wears the spin away.
- A crack is worth half a gem. Lots of small, dead-on strokes score more than a few big rescues.
- When the leaf on the rim blinks, a gust is a second away and will blow the way the leaf points. Strike from the downwind side to shove the top into it.
- Sand drags the spin out of the top. Shove it off the patch the shortest way, and do not steer for a gem through sand.
- At dusk there is no gold arc. The top’s crown sits towards the side it leans, and its shadow stretches that way too.
FAQ
Is Spinning Top free to play?
Yes. Spinning Top is free to play online in your browser, with no download, no account and nothing to buy. All twelve stages are here and unlock in order.
How do I keep the top spinning?
Whip it on the side it leans towards. Tap or click on the table beside the top, inside the gold arc, and the stroke adds spin and knocks the top back upright. Keep the spin above the white hum line on the spin bar and the top stands itself up.
Why does the lean go round in a circle?
Because a spinning top is a gyroscope. Gravity tries to tip it over, but the spin turns that push sideways, so the lean circles the top instead of falling. This is called precession, and it really is faster when the top spins slower: in the game, a top at half its full spin circles twice as fast.
How does scoring work?
Every second the top hums above the hum line scores 3 points. A crack — a stroke dead on the lean — is worth 10, each gem is worth 20, and keeping the top up to the bell adds 50 more. The round is lost if the top topples or stops. Lasting the round earns one star; the second and third stars need a higher score.
Can I just tap as fast as I can?
No. A stroke on the wrong side adds no spin and tips the top further over, and the whip needs about a third of a second to swing back. Striking a random side at any steady pace, from as fast as the whip allows to one stroke every two seconds, lasts the round in fewer than 1 in 10 rounds on every stage. A top left alone falls within twelve seconds.
What happens at the edge of the table?
The table has a raised rim, so the top never falls off. A knock against the rim costs spin and tips the top outwards, though, and scraping along it wears the spin away, so it pays to steer the top back towards the middle.
How are the star scores set?
They are measured, not guessed. Three simulated players — a casual, a regular and a sharp one, each with a human reaction time and its own errors in reading the lean, timing a tap and aiming it — play every stage 41 times. Two stars is the regular player’s middle score and three stars the sharp player’s.
Is the game the same whatever my screen’s frame rate?
Yes. The table runs on a fixed clock of 120 steps a second, and every stroke counts from the moment you tapped, not from the next frame drawn. A 60 Hz phone and a 144 Hz monitor play exactly the same round.
How is Spinning Top different from Tightrope Walk or Balance Ball 3D?
In Tightrope Walk you lean a balance pole to stay upright on a wire, and in Balance Ball 3D you tilt a tray to roll a ball. In Spinning Top you never steer directly: the top steers itself round in circles, and you time each whip stroke to the moment its lean comes round.
Does Spinning Top work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Tap beside the top with a finger to whip it. The round table fits a phone held upright, and it plays sideways too.