Neck Dino

About Neck Dino

Neck Dino is a pixel-art desert runner where raising your head jumps and lowering it ducks. It is the simplest control scheme on the site — one axis, two states — which makes it the game we point people to when the four-direction flick games feel like too much at once.

Underneath the simplicity is a variable-height jump, which is unusual for head control and is what gives the game its depth. A jump launches at 650 units of upward velocity, and gravity depends on what your head does next: keep your head raised and you fall under a gentle 820, return to neutral and normal gravity of 1940 takes over, duck in mid-air and you slam down at 3400. You can hold the light gravity for up to 0.32 seconds. That means a single input direction gives you short hops, long floats and fast drops, and clearing a tight pair of obstacles is about jump shape rather than jump timing alone.

The runner starts at speed 20 and gains a step every 100 points, so difficulty scales with your score rather than with elapsed time. Ducking flattens the character from 94 units tall to 60, and widens it to 104, which matters when you are sliding under something with an obstacle close behind.

How to play

• Raise your head — jump; hold it raised to float longer, up to 0.32 seconds
• Lower your head — duck under high obstacles, or slam down fast in mid-air
• Arrow keys or Space and Down — the same jump and duck
• Speed increases every 100 points
• Hitting an obstacle ends the run

Tips & tricks

• Learn the float. Holding your head up after a jump drops gravity from 1940 to 820, which more than doubles your air time — that is how you clear wide obstacle pairs that a plain hop cannot.
• Use the fast fall. Ducking in mid-air triggers 3400 gravity, letting you land early and be ready for a second obstacle that a floaty jump would have you sailing into.
• Return to neutral between obstacles. Both jump and duck are read relative to your calibrated centre, so a head left slightly high makes the next jump register late.
• Ducking makes you wider, not just shorter. You go from 54 to 104 units across, so do not duck with an obstacle immediately ahead at ground level.
• Difficulty scales with score, not time, so a cautious run is genuinely easier for longer — there is no clock forcing you to take risks.

Frequently asked questions

How does jumping work?

Raising your head jumps. Keeping it raised gives you a floatier, longer jump; returning to neutral drops you at normal speed and ducking in mid-air slams you down fast.

Is Neck Dino free to play?

Yes, free in the browser with no install.

Can I use a keyboard?

Yes. Arrow keys or Space and Down jump and duck exactly as head movement does.

How does the game get harder?

Speed rises one step for every 100 points scored, so difficulty follows your score rather than the clock.

Is my camera recorded?

No. All face tracking runs locally in your browser.