Tunnel Rush is a high-speed 3D skill game where you race through twisting tunnels and exposed courses filled with rotating walls, moving barriers, pillars, rings, and narrow gaps. There are no weapons, upgrades, or special powers to save you—survival depends entirely on reading the next obstacle and steering into the opening before it reaches you.
Tunnel Rush was created by Deer Cat Games, an independent studio based in London. The game became one of the studio’s best-known releases and later expanded with sequels including Tunnel Rush 2 and Super Tunnel Rush.
The current browser version combines 100 selectable levels, three difficulty settings, a star-based completion system, touchscreen support, and a local two-player mode.
How to Play Tunnel Rush
The game automatically pushes you forward. Your only job is to move around the tunnel and avoid every obstacle.
- Look ahead. Identify the opening in the next wall or moving obstacle as early as possible.
- Steer left or right. Rotate around the tunnel until you are lined up with the safe space.
- Avoid all barriers. Touching an obstacle immediately ends the attempt.
- Adjust for moving hazards. Some barriers rotate or shift, so aim for where the opening will be when you reach it.
- Reach the end of the level. Completing a stage unlocks further progress and records your star result.
Small, early movements are usually safer than waiting until the obstacle fills the screen and then making one large correction.
Tunnel Rush Controls
| Action | Desktop | Mobile / Tablet |
|---|---|---|
| Steer Left | A or ← | Press / hold left side |
| Steer Right | D or → | Press / hold right side |
| Pause | P or Esc | Pause button |
For local two-player mode on desktop, one player uses A/D while the other uses the Left/Right arrow keys.
The supplied mobile build uses touch controls and exposes the normal Play option rather than the separate desktop 2 Player button.
Easy, Medium and Hard Difficulty
Every level can be tackled at one of three difficulty settings.
| Difficulty | Completion Reward | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | ⭐ | Slowest |
| Medium | ⭐⭐ | Faster |
| Hard | ⭐⭐⭐ | Fastest |
Difficulty changes your movement speed rather than replacing the level with a completely different layout.
That makes Easy useful for learning a difficult obstacle sequence, while Hard tests whether you can read the same types of patterns with much less reaction time.
Completing a level on a higher difficulty upgrades its saved result. To earn all three stars, finish that level on Hard.
100 Levels and Changing Tunnel Layouts
Tunnel Rush is sometimes described as an endless runner, but the current Poki version is built around a structured 100-level selection screen.
The stages alternate between two main environment styles:
- Inside tunnel stages – you travel around the inner wall of the tunnel.
- Outside stages – your viewpoint and steering orientation change as you travel around the outside of the course.
That switch changes how movement feels and can make familiar-looking obstacles harder to judge.
The level generator also builds stages from predefined sections and obstacle pools rather than storing one completely fixed sequence for every level. Obstacle blocks can be rotated into different orientations, while the current date is also used as part of the build’s selection seed.
As a result, learning the general behavior of an obstacle is more useful than memorizing only one exact screen position.
Obstacles and Increasing Speed
Tunnel Rush uses a surprisingly large variety of obstacle patterns despite its simple left-and-right controls.
You can encounter:
- Large pillars blocking sections of the tunnel
- Rotating bars and walls
- Moving slabs
- Triangular barriers
- Rings and circular openings
- Groups of spinning obstacles
- Oscillating barriers that move back and forth
- Thick pillars with narrow gaps
- Rotating portal-style sections
Some obstacles rotate continuously. Others move according to timed patterns or shift according to their position in the course.
The supplied build also applies a gradual level-based speed factor in addition to the Easy, Medium, and Hard multipliers. This means later levels in this particular build can become faster as well as introducing more demanding obstacle combinations.
Two-Player Mode
Tunnel Rush includes a local 2-player split-screen mode on desktop.
Both players race through the same level at the same time on separate halves of the screen. One uses A/D and the other uses the arrow keys.
The winner is determined by survival:
- If Player 1 crashes first, Player 2 wins.
- If Player 2 crashes first, Player 1 wins.
- If both are recorded as crashed together, the round can end in a draw.
Because both players face the same course, the mode is primarily a test of reaction speed, timing, and precision rather than luck.
Two-player progression is separate from the main Classic campaign and does not increase the saved highest Classic level.
Progress, Distance and Restarting
Your Classic progress is saved locally in the browser.
The game stores:
- Your highest unlocked level
- Your star result for completed levels
- Your selected difficulty
- Your audio preference
During a run, the HUD shows your current level progress, total distance travelled, and speed.
After a crash, you can restart the run. A Continue opportunity can also become available after sufficient progress through a level or after completing at least one level in the current run.
Progress is stored in local browser data rather than a cloud account, so clearing site data or switching browsers may remove or separate your saved progress.
Tips and Tricks
- Look farther down the tunnel. Reacting to the obstacle nearest the camera is often already too late.
- Use short taps. Small steering corrections make it easier to stop directly inside a narrow opening.
- Watch the gap, not the obstacle. Your target is the empty space you need to pass through.
- Predict rotation. Aim for where a moving opening will be when you arrive rather than where it is now.
- Learn on Easy first. Once you understand a difficult pattern, replay the level on Medium or Hard for more stars.
- Correct early. Waiting until the last second usually causes oversteering.
- Expect the perspective to change. Outside stages invert the steering relationship used by the game, so visual orientation can initially feel different.
- Stay calm after several clean obstacles. The biggest mistakes often happen when you start making larger movements because the run feels comfortable.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tunnel Rush?
Tunnel Rush is a fast 3D reflex and skill game where you automatically travel forward and steer left or right to avoid rotating walls, moving barriers, and other obstacles.
How many levels are in Tunnel Rush?
The current browser version has 100 selectable levels in its level-select menu.
What are the Tunnel Rush controls?
Use A/D or the Left/Right arrow keys to steer. On mobile, touch and hold the left or right side of the screen. The supplied build uses P or Escape to pause.
Does Tunnel Rush have a 2-player mode?
Yes. Desktop players can compete locally in split screen, with one player using A/D and the other using the Left/Right arrow keys.
How do you get three stars?
Complete a level on Hard difficulty. Easy awards one star, Medium awards two, and Hard awards all three.
Does difficulty change the obstacles?
No. Difficulty primarily changes the speed. The same level can therefore be learned on Easy before you attempt it at a faster setting.
Does Tunnel Rush get faster?
Difficulty has the biggest direct effect on speed. In the supplied current build, there is also a gradual level-based speed multiplier, so later levels can become faster as progression increases.
Are there power-ups or upgrades?
No. Tunnel Rush is based on steering skill and reaction time. There are no gameplay upgrades or power-ups to rely on.
Can you play Tunnel Rush on mobile?
Yes. Poki supports Tunnel Rush on desktop, phones, and tablets. Mobile controls use the left and right sides of the touchscreen for steering.
Who developed Tunnel Rush?
Tunnel Rush was created by Deer Cat Games, an independent London game studio founded by Andy Gill.
Is Tunnel Rush free?
Yes. The browser version can be played online for free.
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