The Gauntlet
Hard course
A plunge of six 2x2 pads, banked by one checkpoint at the top of it.
What it is
The Gauntlet is a plunge down six 2x2 pads with a single checkpoint at the top of it. It has the second-biggest drop on the ladder at 7 cells and a 5-cell gap, which is the widest jump in the Hard tier.
The route
Twenty-eight jumps in 37 steps across 95 cells, climbing 20 and netting 7 — so most of what it climbs, it gives back. The plunge is the section the course is named for: six pads, each below the last, taken fast because there is no way to take them slowly.
How to approach it
The plunge is banked by one checkpoint and no more. Get to it, then treat everything after as a separate course — because in terms of what a mistake costs, it is one.
What it teaches: Controlled falling, and jumps taken while already descending.
By the numbers
| Blocks | 303 |
|---|---|
| Footprint | 95 × 42 cells |
| Height | 15 cells |
| Checkpoints | 4 |
| Jumps on the solved route | 28 |
| Widest gap | 5 cells |
| Total climb | 20 cells |
| Start to finish | +7 cells |
| Biggest drop | 7 cells |
Measured from the geometry the game builds for gauntlet, not estimated. Route figures describe the course, not a human run.
How it compares to the rest of the ladder
Ranked against all 23 courses on the same measurements, this one holds 2 places:
- the second-widest single jump on the ladder — 5 cells of air
- the second-longest fall on the ladder — 7 cells
Outright places only — ties are not claimed.
Medal times
Derived from this course's own geometry, not typed in — how the times are worked out.
| Medal | Time |
|---|---|
| Author | 0:32.31 |
| Gold | 0:37.16 |
| Silver | 0:45.24 |
| Bronze | 1:04.63 |
Controls
What you need to start
| Move | WASDArrow keys work too. |
|---|---|
| Jump | Space |
| Sprint / lock on | ShiftA latch, not a hold: tap once to arm sprint and a camera lock-on together, tap again to release both. Neither carries over into the next world you open. |
Sprint is a latch rather than a hold — tap it once and it stays on. Every control, keyboard and touch, including respawn, restart and the camera keys, and all of them rebindable.
Other Hard courses
- Vault of Wires — One-cell walkways and a zigzag that turns on every pad.
- Zip Line — Vault's zigzag as the whole course. Sixteen turns, not one cell of slack.
- Needlepoint — Every other landing is a 2x1 pad seen end-on. Straight, and unforgiving.
- Spindle — A tower climbed on a widening spiral, with nothing to bank on the way up.