Drift Games Tips: Throttle, Handbrake, Angle and Scoring
Updated
To drift in a browser game, turn into the corner, tap the handbrake to break the back loose, keep the accelerator on so the slide carries on, and steer the other way to hold it. Points usually come from how long, how fast and how cleanly you slide. Below is how throttle, handbrake and angle work together, and how the games below score a drift, with games from the drift games collection.
What a drift is
Wikipedia's article on drifting defines it as oversteering on purpose, with the rear tires losing grip, while the driver keeps control through the whole corner. The front wheels often end up pointing the opposite way to the turn, which is called opposite lock or counter-steering.
The same article lists four classic ways to start a drift: a clutch kick, power oversteer (too much throttle on purpose), weight transfer, and a handbrake turn. Browser games give you two of them, the throttle and the handbrake. Real drift competitions are judged on speed, angle, showmanship and the line through the corner, and game scoring borrows from that.
Drift keys in the games below
Most keyboard drift games here drive on WASD or the arrows and put the handbrake on Space.
| Game | Drive | Handbrake | Also |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drift City | WASD or arrows | Space | F nitro, C cycles 4 cameras |
| Drift Racer | WASD or arrows | Space | Left Shift boost, C camera |
| Zed Car Drift | W gas, S brake and reverse | Space | N next car, C next camera |
| Crazy Mafia Drift Car | WASD or arrows | Space | R repairs the car, C camera |
| Japan Drift Racing Car Simulator | WASD or arrows | Space | F boost, C camera |
| Zombie Drift: Steel Rage | W throttle, S brake | Shift or F | Space or E nitro |
If the keys do nothing, click inside the game once so it has focus. More on common keys is in keyboard controls for games.
Handbrake: start the slide
The handbrake locks the rear wheels for a moment and lets the back of the car step out.
- Turn into the corner first, then tap the handbrake. Pulling it on a straight just slows you down.
- Let go as soon as the back starts to slide. Holding it scrubs off speed.
- For a tighter corner, hold it a little longer or tap it twice.
- Top Drift Racing gives the handbrake its own button for starting a drift, and lets you burn the tires doing donuts.
Throttle: keep the slide going
Power oversteer, the second method on Wikipedia's list, is the reason the accelerator matters. Once the car is sliding, keep some throttle on rather than letting go: the slide needs power to carry on.
- If the car spins round, you gave it too much throttle or too much steering.
- If the car snaps straight and grips, you lifted off too early.
- Find the middle by changing one thing at a time: same throttle, different steering, or the other way round.
Angle and counter-steer
As the back swings out, steer the other way, toward the outside of the corner. That is the opposite lock from Wikipedia's definition, and it is what stops the slide turning into a spin.
Keep the corrections small. Wikipedia notes that competition judges give a higher style score the fewer corrections a driver makes, and in a game smooth steering also keeps the slide going longer. A wide, steady angle through the whole corner is worth more than a big flick that ends in the wall.
How drift scoring works in games
Each game rewards a slightly different thing, so read its goal before the first run.
- Pocket Drift has 5 cars on 5 tracks and awards points for the distance and the style of each drift.
- Drift Challenge asks you to slide as much as you can to reach a target score, and also to cross the line before a target time to open the next level.
- Drift City pays drift points that buy new cars, and drift bonuses appear around the city for a while to raise your score.
- Neon City Drift Racing rewards chaining slides together through the corners and precise driving, and lets you chase your own high scores.
- Crazy Mafia Drift Car has a Drift Trial where every smoky turn adds to your points.
- Zombie Drift: Steel Rage turns drifting into a weapon: the sharper the drift, the faster your nitro rage builds and the harder the spiked bumper hits, up to 2.5 times the ramming damage.
To score more, link the corners. Come out of one slide already set up for the next instead of straightening up between them, and keep your speed, since a slow drift is a short drift. Stay off the walls, too: Drift Challenge sets a target time as well as a target score.
One-tap drift games
Some drift games take the keyboard out completely. The skill becomes timing.
- Drifting Mania has you tap, hold and release a rope to stay on the road. Drifting earns money for 13 car options, and there are 30 achievements.
- Sling Drift Cars is endless: tap to drift.
- Drifty Race Online accelerates for you, so you concentrate on the timing of the drift as you tap at each curve.
- Drift At Will puts you on a tricycle: slide to move and release for nitro, and shields protect you from crashes.
Release a hold-and-release drift when the car points down the next straight, not when it is still turning. Late is easier to fix than early.
Keyboard drift games to practice on
- Sports Car Drift and Arcade Drift keep it simple: WASD and Space for the handbrake, with several cars and, in Arcade Drift, two environments.
- Nitro Car Drift has you drift, collect gold and buy better cars.
- Drift Master adds F for nitro, and the same Space handbrake.
- Japan Drift Racing Car Simulator is an open city with six drift cars and traffic to avoid.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the handbrake on the straight instead of in the turn.
- Lifting off the throttle the moment the car slides.
- Steering into the slide instead of against it.
- Making big corrections that turn a drift into a spin.
- Straightening up between corners and losing the combo.
Drift games FAQ
How do you drift in a browser game?
Turn in, tap the handbrake (Space in most of the games above), keep the throttle on and counter-steer to hold the angle. In one-tap games such as Drifting Mania, timing the tap or hold does the same job.
How do you get a high drift score?
Keep the slide long, fast and smooth, link one corner into the next, and collect any bonuses on the track, such as the ones that appear in Drift City.
Can you play drift games on a phone?
Yes. The one-tap games above suit a touch screen, Zombie Drift: Steel Rage has a floating stick and drift and nitro buttons, and Neon City Drift Racing has on-screen brake and nitro controls. The site works in the browser of a phone, a tablet and a computer.
More slides, donuts and stunt ramps are in the drift games collection.
