STARLASSO
How to play Starlasso
Every match is two minutes, six pilots, one round arena. You start on a small patch of ground and end with as much of the arena as you can hold. Everything else follows from three rules.
1. Leave your ground and draw a trail
Your dart is always moving. Touch anywhere and drag: a small stick appears under your finger, and the dart heads wherever you push it. Out on the open field it leaves a trail behind it. The trail is yours, and it is your weakness: while you are outside, anyone who crosses it puts you out.
2. Close the loop to claim what is inside
Steer back onto your own ground and the loop closes. Everything the trail enclosed becomes yours, taken from whoever held it. A wide loop claims more and takes longer; a tight loop is safer. Do not cross your own trail: that puts you out as well.
3. Cut a rival before they get home
A rival out on a trail is exposed exactly as you are. Fly across their trail and they are out; their loop never closes and their pilot comes back after a few seconds on a free patch. On your own ground you are safe: a dart that rams you there is the one that goes. Two darts meeting head on in the open both go.
The standings on the right show each pilot's share of the arena. When the clock runs out, the biggest share wins. Being out costs you the seconds you spend coming back, not your ground, so a bold loop is worth the risk when you are behind.
The guided first match
Your first arena walks you through it in four steps: fly, close a loop, cut a rival, and then a real match. The rivals in it wander out and do not hunt, so you can take your time. It can be replayed any time from the settings sheet.
After the match
Every finished match earns Stardust for finishing, placing and each cut, with bonuses for the first match of the day, your first win, milestones, reaching a new tier and win streaks. Stardust earns the portraits and rings in the store; nothing is bought with money. Your place in a ranked arena moves your rating on the season ladder.
Friends and parties
Add a friend by their handle, the callsign and number shown on your friends tab, or find friends through Game Center. A party of up to three enters the same arena together: the leader taps Find match and the lobby waits for the rest.
Ready for the next level? Read how to cut a trail in the open.