DON'T SQUISH BOB
You don't control a character. You control the box. Drag the four walls inward and anything caught between them bursts. Bob, your soft little blob, lives in there too.
How to Play
The play area is a box with four walls. Grab any wall and drag it inward. Spikes caught between a moving wall and the opposite side get crushed. That's your only weapon.
Bob wanders the box, drifting away from the nearest spike when he's scared. A spike that touches Bob costs a heart, and he has three hearts. Lose them all and the run is over.
Hiding Bob under a wall
Walls slide over Bob instead of pushing him. Drag a wall across him and he's pinned flat underneath, completely safe from spikes. But he can't breathe under there. A breath ring around him empties while he's covered. Release the wall before his air runs out, and he pops back up with a big gulp.
The core move: tuck Bob under one wall, purge the box with another, and let him out in time.
What It Looks Like
Warnings and the Shut Box
New spikes don't appear out of nowhere. A pulsing warning marks each spot a few moments before the spike materializes. Warnings give less notice as a run heats up.
Closing the box doesn't cancel anything. Warnings under a wall stay queued, and each one becomes a live spike the instant the wall moves off it. Hold the box shut too long and you'll reopen it to a crowd.
Scoring
- Crushing spikes earns points and builds a combo.
- Fresh spikes don't pay. A spike has to be loose for about a second before crushing it scores. Crushing one the instant it appears still clears it, but it earns nothing and gives a dull thud instead of a chime.
- Survival points only flow while spikes are loose in the box. An empty, shut box earns nothing.
Threat Guide
Bob's box has three kinds of danger. The mix shifts and speeds up the longer a run lasts: after about 40 seconds new spikes move faster, rising toward 75 percent faster late in a run.
| Threat | Appears | What it does | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spikes | From 0:00 | Bounce around the inside of the box. Touching Bob costs a heart. | Let a spike drift for a moment before you crush it so it pays full points. |
| Splitters | Mid-run | Break apart into Minis. | Crush the pieces in the same squeeze. Minis from a scoring Splitter are still worth full value. |
| Minis | With Splitters | Small, fast fragments left behind by Splitters. | Easy to miss. Sweep a wall across the area they scattered into. |
Tips for Longer Runs
- Don't crush on sight. Waiting about a second after a spike appears is the difference between points and nothing.
- Use Bob's hiding spot actively. When the box gets crowded, cover him and clear house.
- Watch the breath ring, not the spikes, while Bob is under a wall.
- Don't camp with the box shut. Warnings pile up underneath and arrive all at once.
- Use opposite walls together. A squeeze from both sides catches spikes in the middle.
- Late in a run warnings are short. Keep a hand near the wall closest to Bob.
FAQ
Does Don't Squish Bob work with a mouse?
Yes. Click and drag the walls. It plays well on touch screens and with a mouse.
Why didn't I get points for crushing a spike?
It was crushed too soon after it appeared. Spikes need to be loose for about a second before they pay.
Where are my scores saved?
In your browser on your own device. Nothing is sent to a server.