Dashrift Help

Play

Rules

Race, block, outplay.

Dashrift is a two-player race across a 9x9 board. Blue starts at the top and wins by reaching the bottom row. Red starts at the bottom and wins by reaching the top row. Online games always show your own side at the bottom. Standard casual games use a 5 minute clock with no increment. Very fast moves still count as at least 0.5 seconds on the clock.

  1. On your turn, move your piece one legal square or place a wall.
  2. Walls block movement lines. Under normal placement, you cannot newly trap a visible player with no route to the goal.
  3. Use each special move once per game to create tactical swings. Special moves can temporarily change the normal trap rules.
  4. If your clock reaches zero, you lose on time.

Special Moves

  • Dash: move exactly two squares in a straight line. If the opponent is directly in the way and the square behind them is open, you pass through to that square.
  • Break: remove one normal wall from the board. Mega Walls cannot be broken.
  • Swap: trade places with the opponent inside the marked radius. After a swap, the opponent has a short lockout so the move cannot be mirrored immediately.
  • Vanish: hide your position from the opponent for four of your own movements. Placing walls does not reduce the counter. While vanished, you can be trapped by walls; that is part of the tactic.
  • Push: shove an adjacent opponent one square directly away from you. Push ignores walls between the pieces.
  • Mega Wall: place one three-segment wall per game. It cannot be destroyed by Break and it does not spend one of your normal wall tokens.

FAQ

Can I play without an account? Yes. Guest games are casual and can be played immediately. Ranked games, saved match history, public profiles, and clip exports require an account.

Can I invite a friend? Yes. Create a private room, then share the invite link or the six-character room code.

Why did my opponent disappear? They used Vanish. You will not see their exact position until their movement counter runs out, but they can still move, place walls, and be trapped while hidden.

Can I replay or export games? Finished games can be reviewed move by move. TikTok-style video exports use the same replay data and can be saved from supported replay flows.

Does mobile work? Dashrift supports desktop and mobile play. Desktop has the full helper layout; mobile keeps the board and active controls compact.