How to play Draw a Roller Coaster
Draw a Roller Coaster is a free roller coaster drawing game: you design the track with one line, then ride it. A train full of passengers waits at the top of the lift hill. Draw the rails from the yellow flag to the green flag at the station, press Ride! and watch the train race down your drops, over your hills and through your loops, driven only by gravity.
- Start at the yellow flag and draw towards the station. You can lift your finger and continue from the end of your line.
- Fly through the floating stars and keep away from the rocks.
- Red circles mark problems: the track hits the ground or a rock, or climbs higher than the lift hill.
- When the track reaches the green flag, press Ride!
- Watch the speed and the G meter. Reach the station to pass the level; collect all three stars for a perfect score.
Coaster design tips
- Start with a big drop. All the speed comes from the first fall. The steeper and deeper the first drop, the more energy the train has for everything that follows.
- Every hill lower than the last. Friction and air slowly take speed away, so the train can never get back up to the height it started from. Plan your track so it steps down gradually towards the station.
- Round the bottoms. The riders feel the most force at the bottom of a dip, when the train is fastest. A wide, round valley is fun; a sharp V at full speed makes the G meter spike.
- Big loops, low down. A loop works best right after a drop, near the ground, where the train is fast. Draw it as a wide circle: tiny loops at high speed are too intense.
- Use pieces. You do not have to draw the whole track in one go. Draw a section, check it, then continue from the end. Undo removes the last piece.
The physics behind your coaster
The game simulates the train the way engineers think about real roller coasters: as energy. At the top of the lift hill the train has height but little speed. As it falls, height turns into speed; as it climbs, speed turns back into height, and a little is lost to friction and air every second. That is why no hill can be as high as the start. The G meter comes from the speed and the tightness of each curve: going fast around a small curve needs a big force, which riders feel as being pressed into their seats. Real coasters keep it below about 5 or 6 G, and in the game riders get sick above 12.
Fifteen levels add rocks to fly over or under, floating rocks that force you to stay low, and tracks with one, two or three loops. When you have finished them, Free build gives you an empty park and shows the top speed, number of loops, maximum G and airtime of your best design.
More drawing physics games
Like drawing tracks? Design a kart circuit and race on it in Track Designer Racing, draw a slope for a sledder in Draw Rider, or build a bridge that holds inDraw the Bridge.
Draw a Roller Coaster FAQ
How do I draw a roller coaster?
Press on the yellow flag at the top of the lift hill and draw the track in one go (or in several pieces, continuing from the end of your line) until you reach the green flag at the station. The game smooths your line into a proper coaster track with rails, ties and supports. When the track is complete, press Ride!
Why does my train roll back?
A real coaster has no engine after the lift hill: all its speed comes from falling. The train can never climb higher than where it started, and friction slowly eats its speed, so every hill must be lower than the lift hill and the track should keep dropping towards the station. Parts that are too high are marked in red before you ride.
What does the G meter mean?
G is the force the riders feel, in multiples of normal gravity. Sitting still is 1 G. A tight dip or a sharp corner at high speed pushes it up fast; if it goes above 12 G the riders get sick and the ride fails. Smooth, rounded curves and wide loops keep it comfortable.
Can my coaster do loops?
Yes. Draw a circle and the train goes round it, upside down at the top. A loop needs enough speed, so draw it low down after a big drop, and make it wide rather than tiny to keep the G-force sensible.
How do stars and levels work?
There are 15 levels with rocks to avoid and three stars floating in the air. Finish the ride to pass the level; the train collects every star it touches, and collecting all three earns three stars. Progress is saved in your browser. Free build mode has no rules at all, just your coaster and its ride statistics.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. Draw the track with your finger and tap Ride! The game is free, runs in the browser and needs no download or account.