Switchback Yard
Medium course
Beacon Climb's tower, with the turn taken on the pad and no deck to walk.
What it is
Switchback Yard is Beacon Climb's tower with the decks taken away: the turn happens on the pad instead of on a walkway. Twenty-two jumps, 21 cells of climb, in a footprint of 38 by 25 — the same shape as the Easy course it is built from, with the resting places removed.
The route
Four flights again, but the flat sections between them are gone. Every landing is both the end of one jump and the pivot for the next, which is the entire difference between this course and the one it derives from. It never descends, and at 37 solver steps it is the shortest course in the Medium tier.
How to approach it
Play Beacon Climb first, even if you do not need to. This course is that one with a single variable changed, and knowing the shape lets you spend your attention on the turn.
What it teaches: Turning on the landing rather than on the approach.
By the numbers
| Blocks | 399 |
|---|---|
| Footprint | 38 × 25 cells |
| Height | 22 cells |
| Checkpoints | 4 |
| Jumps on the solved route | 22 |
| Widest gap | 3.1 cells |
| Total climb | 21 cells |
| Start to finish | +21 cells |
Measured from the geometry the game builds for switchyard, 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 one place:
- the second-smallest footprint on the ladder — 950 cells of ground
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 | 0:25.70 |
| Gold | 0:29.55 |
| Silver | 0:35.98 |
| Bronze | 0:51.40 |
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 Medium courses
- Cinder Gap — A broken causeway, an S-bend, and a descent that opens up.
- Ratchet — A climb that changes axis on every hop. No straight line until the top.
- The Turnpike — One hard corner, and a plunge on the far side you arrive at already turned.
- The Narrows — Ordinary jumps onto beams one cell wide. Precision, with no clock on it.