Games Like Temple Run: Endless Runners to Play Online
Updated
Games like Temple Run are endless runners: your character runs forward by itself, you steer around obstacles, jump over gaps and slide under barriers, and the run lasts until your first big mistake. Temple Run is a 2011 mobile game by Imangi Studios. Every runner below is an original game by an independent studio, built on the same formula.
How Temple Run plays
In Temple Run an explorer takes a golden idol from an ancient temple and runs from a pack of demonic monkeys. The path never ends: the run is over when you hit a large obstacle, fall, or get caught.
You swipe left or right to turn at corners, swipe up to jump and swipe down to slide, tilt the phone to move from side to side, and spend the coins you pick up on power-ups and new characters.
Temple Run is one of the games that made the endless runner popular: constant forward motion, rising speed and a score for how long you last. On a computer, browser runners swap swipes for keys, and many move you between lanes instead of tilting. Typical keys look like this, but check each game's controls, since some use only taps or clicks:
| Move | On a phone | On a keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Change lane or steer | Swipe left or right | Left and right arrows, or A and D |
| Jump | Swipe up | Up arrow, W or Space |
| Slide | Swipe down | Down arrow |
Closest to Temple Run
These four keep the core of the formula: forward motion you cannot stop and things to collect along the way.
- Relic Runway has the treasure-hunt feel. Run as far as you can, collect coins to upgrade bonuses, pick up relic parts to discover ancient artifacts, and break idols to get new characters. Use the arrow keys or swipes.
- forest dash is a 3D runner down a sunlit forest trail. Switch lanes to dodge rocks and logs, leap over obstacles and scoop up coins for new character skins. It gets faster the longer you run, and a revive can stretch your record distance.
- Momentum sends a doodle character through changing worlds, from animals to aliens. Left and right or A and D move you between lanes, up or Space jumps, and down slides. A day and night cycle changes the look as you go.
- Jungle Runner Animal Dash puts a panda on a jungle run across bamboo bridges and past fallen tree trunks and wild animals. A or the left arrow moves left, D or the right arrow moves right, and Space or W jumps.
Runners with something chasing you
Part of Temple Run's pull is the monkeys at your back. These two keep a chaser in the picture.
- Spooky Forest Run has a skeleton chasing you through the forest. Tap to jump over objects, double tap to double jump, and if the skeleton catches you, the run is over.
- Autumn Endless Runner swaps the skeleton for a pumpkin ghost on an autumn path. Tap to jump over obstacles and animals, double tap to double jump.
Endless runners with a twist
- Code Runner: Binary Confusion adds a rule to every run. Switch lanes with swipes or the arrow keys, read the active rule shown on screen and dodge the wrong digit. Each mistake costs a life.
- Space Traveler rolls a ball through space past asteroids. Coins and magnet power-ups get you new balls, and missions take you to new planets. Swipe or use the left and right arrows to steer, and up to jump.
- Mice Rush is a 3D lane runner with a mouse collecting cheese. Swipe, or drag with the mouse, to switch lanes as the speed climbs.
- Last Train Escape is a side-view run on the roof of a speeding train. Jump over gaps, slide under obstacles and pick a difficulty before you start.
Tips for endless runners
- Look at the path ahead, not at your character. By the time an obstacle reaches you it is too late to choose a lane.
- Treat coins as a bonus. One coin is never worth a crash.
- Know your slide key. Low barriers need a slide, and in Momentum that is the down key.
- Expect the pace to rise. Most runners speed up the longer you survive, so a long run gets harder near the end, not easier.
Games like Temple Run FAQ
Can you play Temple Run on a computer?
Temple Run was made for phones. Most of the runners in this guide take the arrow keys or WASD in a computer browser, a few use the mouse, and several also take swipes on a touch screen.
What is an endless runner?
An endless runner is a game in which your character runs forward on its own for as long as you survive, and all you do is dodge: change lane, jump or slide. The course is generated as you go, and the aim is a high score, usually the distance you covered.
Do endless runners ever end?
Most keep going until you crash and score you on distance. Some add goals on the way: in Space Traveler, missions take you to new planets.
More games where you run, jump and dodge are in running games, one-button runners with set levels in games like Geometry Dash, and obstacle courses with checkpoints in obby games.
