Tap to fly through pipes
Tap screen to make the bird fly up
Press Space on keyboard to jump
Avoid pipes and don't hit the ground
Score points by passing through pipes
Timing
Tap at the right moment
Distance
Stay in the middle
Stay Calm
Don't panic tap
Practice
You'll get better!
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Flappy Bird gives you one input. Each tap lifts the bird slightly, gravity pulls it down continuously, and you must pass through gaps in a series of pipes without touching anything.
The difficulty is entirely in the rhythm. The controls are trivial to understand and unforgiving to execute, which is exactly why the format became so widely copied.
Rhythm rather than reflex. A steady tapping pattern that keeps the bird level is far more reliable than reacting to each pipe as it arrives.
Because the bird rises sharply and falls gently, so corrections are asymmetric, and the gaps demand precision from a control scheme that offers almost none.
The pipe spacing stays consistent, so difficulty comes from sustaining concentration rather than from increasing speed.