Hop Tower guide: time every jump and keep the perfect streak

The goal and how a climb works

You never steer the knight. He runs left and right on his own at 5 metres a second, turning 0.35 m before the end of each platform and at the tower walls, which are 12 m apart. A tap makes him jump, and the jump keeps his running speed, so the only thing you decide is the moment.

Platforms are one-way. The knight jumps up through the one above and can only land on it on the way down. Miss, and he falls to the first platform below that his path crosses, or all the way to the spikes. The run ends the moment he is below the spikes' tips.

The jump in numbers

	Normal jump	Spring jump
Launch speed	19 m/s	26 m/s
Highest point	5.0 m up	9.4 m up
Time to land on the next platform	about 0.8 s	about 1.1 s
Sideways drift	about 4 m	about 5.5 m

The sideways drift is the number to learn. On a normal jump, the knight lands roughly 4 metres from where he took off, in the direction he was running. So the right moment to tap is when he is about 4 m short of the target's centre and running toward it. Higher gaps land a little sooner and drift a little less.

A landing counts if his feet are within half the platform's width plus 0.2 m. A perfect needs his feet within 0.45 m of the centre, which is a window of about 0.18 seconds at running speed.

A jump that reaches a wall bounces off it and reverses his direction in the air. Treat that as a rescue, not a plan.

The four platforms

Platform	Appears from	Width	What changes
Green, still	Start	6 m or 4 m	Nothing moves; learn the rhythm
Blue, sliding	4th platform	4 m	Slides at 1.3 to 3.4 m/s and carries you
Wooden crates	7th platform	4 m	Break 0.8 s after your first landing
Yellow spring	10th platform	4 m	Launches at 26 m/s instead of 19

The first three platforms are always wide green ones. As the climb goes on, the narrow 4 m green platforms become more common than the 6 m ones.

There are a few rules about what follows what. Crates never come twice in a row. A spring never follows a spring or a set of crates, and a sliding platform never follows crates, so after crates the next target is always standing still.

Sliding platforms

A jump from a sliding platform adds the platform's speed to the knight's. If you jump while both are moving the same way, the arc stretches much further. If they are moving opposite ways, it shortens. When jumping onto one, remember the target will have moved by the time you land, about 0.8 seconds later.

Crates

The 0.8 seconds start from your first landing and do not reset. The crates shake harder as the moment approaches. When they go, the knight drops from where he stands. A tap in the last moment is still a jump, but a tap after the crates break is not.

Springs

The next platform after a spring sits 6.2 to 7.8 m higher, well beyond a normal jump. The longer flight means more sideways drift, so tap earlier than on a normal jump.

The spikes

The spikes start 5 m below the ground, stay still for 1 second, then rise at 0.7 m/s, gaining 0.035 m/s every second until they reach 2.4 m/s about 50 seconds in. If you stand still at the start, they reach the ground in about 8 seconds.

They are also pulled up to stay no more than 11 m below the highest platform you have stood on. A fast climb only keeps you level with them; it never builds a cushion.

Scoring

New height: 10 points for each floor above your previous best. Dropping back and landing on an old platform again pays nothing.
Perfect: only on a new floor. 10 for the first, then 20, 30 and 40, and 50 for the fifth in a row and every one after.
Stars: 20. Each sits at the top of a real jump from a still platform.
Gems: 50. Each sits on an arc that lands more than 1.2 m from the centre of a narrow platform, so a gem jump can never be a perfect.

A new landing that is not a perfect resets the streak to zero. Landing on an old platform neither adds to the streak nor breaks it.

Gem or streak?

With a full streak, each perfect floor is worth 60. Taking a gem gives you 60 for that floor too, but resets the streak, so the next four perfects pay 10, 20, 30 and 40 instead of 50 each: 100 points lost. With a full streak, skip the gem. With no streak running, the gem is free points.

An opening plan

The first three platforms are wide and still. Use them to feel the 4 m drift and aim for the white pip at the target's centre.
Build the streak here. Nothing moves until the 4th platform, and a streak of five reaches the 50-point cap.
Do not wait for a perfect when the spikes are close. A landed jump that is not perfect costs you the streak; a missed jump can cost the run.

Mid and late game

On crates, take the first jump that lands. Waiting for a perfect is how the crates break under you.
Watch the blue platform's direction before you tap, not just its position.
When a jump looks awkward, wait for the next pass. The knight crosses a narrow platform in well under a second, so a better moment usually comes soon, except on crates.
Once the spikes reach full speed, you need a new platform roughly every one and a half seconds to keep pace. Rhythm matters more than perfection.

Common mistakes

Tapping when the knight is under the target. He drifts 4 m sideways, so he overshoots.
Holding a streak on crates. The 0.8 seconds do not wait.

If you're stuck

Every platform is checked to be reachable from every way you can arrive on the one below it, so there is always a tap that works. A tap up to 0.12 seconds before landing is kept and used the instant he touches down, so if you are consistently late, tap slightly early and let the game hold it.