Goat Rodeo

Goat Rodeo

Build the trap course together. Then race through it.

A party platformer for one phone and up to four friends. Each round, everyone grabs an item and puts it in the level: a plank to help, a saw or a crossbow to ruin a friend’s day. Then you all race to the flag. You score when you make it and the others don’t.

In review at Google Play Free, five levels. Full Rodeo: twelve more for £2.99, once. No ads.
Four players race across the Canyon level past a saw, a crossbow and a wrecking ball, with touch buttons for moving and jumping.

How it plays

Everyone builds the course. Everyone runs it.

  1. PickA box of items appears. Take turns grabbing one: planks, springs, clouds, saws, crossbows, a wrecking ball, a bomb that clears whatever is near it.
  2. PlacePut it anywhere in the level. Help yourself across a gap, or aim it at where your friends will jump.
  3. RunEveryone races from the start to the flag at once. Hold jump to jump higher, wall-jump up the cliffs, stand on a friend’s head.
  4. ScoreReach the flag for 20 points, plus a bonus for being first or the only one. Each friend your trap catches is 5 more. Too easy or too hard, and nobody scores.
The title screen: the goat mark, Play, How to play and Settings, and a card for Pumpkin Hollow, new for Halloween.
The title screen, with Halloween’s free level.
The duck is caught by a flamethrower mid-jump, with the quip “Crispy!” floating above.
Caught. Your trap earns you points.
The goat aims a trap at the other players’ path, with Rotate and Place buttons.
Placing: put it where it will hurt most.
A box of items: plank, spring, saw, crossbow and more, with the bots’ picks already taken.
The box: take turns grabbing one.
Pumpkin Hollow at night: a graveyard level with jack-o’-lanterns, bats and players in witch hats.
Pumpkin Hollow, the free Halloween level.
Block Party: bright toy blocks floating in a blue sky, with a spiky block, a conveyor up to the flag and the players mid-race.
Block Party, the new free level.
The round’s results: bars for each player showing points for the goal, first, solo and traps.
Results, and “Share this moment”.

Play together

Made for one device and a sofa full of people.

  • Pass the phoneEach person picks, places and runs on their own turn, racing the ghosts of the others. Then you all watch the whole round replay at once.
  • One screenEveryone on one screen, with two people sharing a keyboard on a Chromebook or a tablet with one. Touch works too.
  • Bots in three moodsChill, Normal or Wild fill the empty seats, so a match works with two people, or with one.
  • Easy controlsHold an arrow and the goat runs that way, jumping by itself: one big arrow in each corner of the screen. Go the wrong way and the goat points the way on; fall in a pit and you're put back. For small hands.
  • Share this momentAfter each round the game picks its funniest catch and makes a short video of it, ready to send to your friends.
  • Six charactersGoat, duck, frog, cat, pig and penguin, each with its own voice. A match carries on later if you close the app.

Levels

Five levels free. Twelve more in Full Rodeo.

Free

Meadow, Canyon, Rooftops, Pumpkin Hollow, and Block Party: bright toy blocks floating in the sky.

Full Rodeo, £2.99 once

Glacier, Volcano, Barn, Pier, Factory, Castle, Jungle, Sky Islands, Night Town, Wasteland, Dollhouse and Moon Base, with ice, conveyor belts, springs, oil slicks and bouncy beds built into them. On the moon, everyone jumps higher. One payment, yours to keep, restored on any phone with your Google account.

New for Halloween: Pumpkin Hollow. A free graveyard level by moonlight, with bats, tombstones and witch hats for everyone. Mind the pumpkins.

Questions

Good to know

Is Goat Rodeo free?

Yes. The game and five levels are free: Meadow, Canyon, Rooftops, Pumpkin Hollow and Block Party. Full Rodeo is a single payment of £2.99 in the UK (about the same in your own currency elsewhere) that unlocks twelve more levels for good. There are no ads, no subscriptions and nothing to buy inside a match.

How many people can play?

One to four, all on one device. Share one screen (on a Chromebook, two people can share the keyboard), or pass the phone round so each person picks, places and runs on their own turn. Bots fill any empty seats, so you can also play alone.

Does it need the internet or an account?

No. It plays offline, and there is no sign-in. A purchase of Full Rodeo goes to Google Play, and the game asks once whether you’d like to send anonymous play counts; nothing else leaves your device.

Which devices does it run on?

Android phones and tablets, and Chromebooks (Googlebooks), from Google Play, where it is in review now. It works with touch or a keyboard, and every screen fits phones held sideways, small ones included.

Is it good for kids?

It is rated PEGI 7 and ESRB Everyone: the traps are cartoon traps, and caught animals burst into feathers and float away as little ghosts. It is made for teens and grown-ups playing together, and Easy controls (hold an arrow and the goat runs that way and jumps by itself) let younger players join in alongside a grown-up.

I bought Full Rodeo and changed phones. How do I get it back?

Install the game on the new phone with the same Google account and open it: it picks the purchase up by itself. If it doesn’t, Settings → Restore purchase.

What does it collect about me?

Nothing about you. No ads, no account, no crash reports, no tracking, and your settings stay on your device. If you say yes, it sends anonymous play counts once a visit (which levels and items get played, how rounds end) so we can see what to make next; Settings turns that off. The privacy policy lists exactly what they hold.

Who makes it?

Pavel Guzhikov, in London, published by Empatiq Limited. Help, bugs and ideas: apps@guzh.uk.