Cross Road

Cross Road is a hop-by-hop arcade game about a chicken and a stack of rows that never ends. Grass rows are solid footing. Road rows carry cars running left or right, each lane with its own direction and speed. River rows have no floor at all — the only place to stand is a log drifting past. Every hop forward moves you exactly one row and adds one to your score.

There is no finish line and no level select. A run ends the moment a car reaches you, the moment you land in open water, or when a log carries you off the side of the screen. A five-second idle clock adds a fourth way to lose: a ring drains around your score whenever you go too long without a forward hop, and the chicken flashes before it empties. Standing on a log freezes that clock, because waiting for the next one is a legitimate move.

The rows sharpen as you climb. The opening three are always grass, trees only start blocking tiles from row ten, and the mix drifts steadily away from safe ground toward long chains of traffic and water while cars and logs pick up pace. Most runs land between thirty and ninety seconds. Your farthest row is kept in the browser, and a new personal record is called out on the end-of-run card.

How to play Cross Road

A single tap moves the chicken one row forward. Everything else in Cross Road — sidesteps, retreats, waiting for a gap — is about choosing the moment to make that tap.

1. Tap anywhere to hop one row forward. On a keyboard, the up arrow or W does the same.
2. Swipe left or right — or press the left and right arrows, A or D — to shift one tile sideways without advancing, which is how you line up with a gap in traffic.
3. Swipe down (or press the down arrow or S) to hop back a row. Backward hops do not reset the idle clock.
4. On a road row, hold at the edge until the gap between cars is wide enough, then commit. Any contact with a car ends the run instantly.
5. On a river row, aim for a log. Open water ends the run, and once aboard the log carries you sideways — hop off before it drifts past the screen edge.
6. Trees on grass rows seal off the tile behind them: the chicken bumps and stays put, so plan a route around them.
7. Tap the pause button in the top-left corner to freeze cars, logs and the idle clock, then resume, restart or return to the menu.

Tips and strategy

• Your score is the farthest row you reached, not the number of hops you made, so backing off a row to let a car pass costs nothing but seconds.
• A sidestep is almost always safer than pushing forward — it walks you to a better gap without exposing you to a new row of hazards.
• Only forward hops reset the idle ring, so a long shuffle sideways will still time you out. The chicken flashing is your last warning.
• Ride a log toward the middle of the screen before hopping onward; one already near the edge can carry you off it while you are still deciding.
• Neighbouring road rows often run in opposite directions, so read each lane's traffic on its own instead of settling into a rhythm.

Features

• Endless single-run structure — no level cap, and your score is simply the rows crossed
• Personal best stored in the browser, with a new-record callout at the end of a run
• Three row types — grass, traffic and river — generated continuously as you advance
• Tree obstacles that begin sealing off grass tiles from row ten onward
• Five-second idle timer shown as a ring draining around the score, frozen while riding a log
• Pause overlay with resume, restart and back-to-menu
• Milestone feedback — a NICE! flourish every ten rows and confetti every fifty
• Tap and swipe on a touchscreen, or mouse and arrow keys / WASD on a computer; runs offline once loaded

Frequently asked questions

How is my score calculated?

You earn a point for each new row you reach. Hopping backward and forward over the same row adds nothing — only your farthest row counts.

Why did the chicken die when nothing hit it?

That is the idle timer. Five seconds without a forward hop ends the run; the ring around the score shows the time left, and the chicken flashes as a final warning.

Are there levels or an ending?

No — it is one continuous run. Rows keep being generated ahead of you, and the pressure comes from faster traffic and longer stretches of road and river.

Can I move sideways or backward?

Yes. Swipe left, right or down, or use the arrow keys and A, S and D. Sideways hops are the main tool for lining up with a gap in traffic.

What happens on the river rows?

There is no ground to land on, so you have to hop onto a floating log and ride it. Falling into the water or drifting off the side of the screen both end the run.