Sumo Jelly

About Sumo Jelly

Sumo Jelly is a one-on-one shoving game played by two soft, wobbly blobs on a wooden plate. Everything about the blobs is simulated: they squash when they land, flatten when they brace, bulge when they collide, and slide when they are hit hard enough. Push the other blob off the plate twice and the bout is yours.

There are two moves that matter. Squash makes you low and wide — very hard to push, but slow, and it burns stamina; run the bar dry and you are winded, with no squash until it refills. Shove is a charge: hold to wind up, release to lunge. A tap is a nudge. A full charge into a standing blob sends it flying; a full charge into a squashed blob mostly bounces off you.

Jumping is the third option. Leap over a lunge, or land on top of a braced blob and roll it off its edge. After twenty seconds the plate starts to shrink from both sides, and a wide, squashed blob is the first to run out of floor.

The dojo ladder has ten rivals, each with a quirk that changes the physics: Boba is heavy and hard to move, Minty is bouncy and ricochets, Toffee grips the plate, Slush is slippery and reckless, Zippy reacts almost instantly and Sensei reads you like a scroll. The ladder was balanced by simulation: the first rivals are for learning the moves, and the difficulty climbs steadily from there. Two people can also fight on one keyboard.

How to play Sumo Jelly

Player 1: A and D to move, W to jump, hold S to squash, hold and release Space to charge a shove. Player 2: arrows and Enter.

Watch the charge bar over their head. When it fills, squash — or jump over the lunge.

Never charge a squashed blob. Wait for them to stand up, or wait for their stamina to run out.

First to two rounds wins the bout. Beat a dojo rival to unlock the next.

How to play Sumo Jelly, bout by bout

1. On the home screen, press "Dojo ladder" to face the next rival you have not yet beaten, or pick anyone you have already beaten from the row of rival buttons for a rematch. "2 players · one keyboard" starts a local bout instead.
2. Each round opens with "hajime!". The bar above the plate shows both scores and a round clock in seconds.
3. Shuffle into range with A and D and hop with W. When you play alone, the arrow keys and Enter control your blob as well, so use whichever hand position suits you.
4. Hold Space to wind up a shove. You cannot walk or jump while winding up, and your blob flattens a little as the charge builds. Release to lunge the way you are facing.
5. Hold S to squash when a lunge is coming, and let go to stand up and let the blue stamina bar recover.
6. A round ends the moment either blob drops off the plate. After two rounds for one side, the result screen shows the round score and points, with buttons for the next bout or a rematch.

Sumo Jelly tips and strategy

• Charge power climbs steeply. Shove strength grows with the square of the charge, so a half charge delivers only about a third of a full one. The bar fills in roughly 0.6 seconds, so a full charge is a short, readable commitment.
• Never run yourself winded. A full stamina bar lasts under two seconds of squashing and takes over three to refill, and you cannot squash again until it is back to about a third. Rivals watch for exactly that moment and answer it with a full charge.
• Stand up before you jump. You cannot leave the ground while charging or while more than half squashed, so a dodge over a lunge has to start from a standing blob.
• Bracing halves your speed. Movement slows by up to half while you are flattened, so squash where you want to be, not on the way there.
• Watch for sweat. A blob close to either rim shows a blue sweat drop. Once the round clock passes 20 seconds it shows a warning sign, and small red markers sit at each end of the plate as it closes in.
• Shoves have a cooldown after release. Roughly half a second passes before you can wind up again, which is the gap to step in after your own lunge misses.
• Win while airborne for a badge. If your rival leaves the plate while you are in the air above them, you earn Skyfall — landing on a braced blob and rolling it off is the usual way.

The ten dojo rivals and what they earn you

The ladder runs Mochi, Pudding, Boba, Minty, Toffee, Slush, Brick, Zippy, Kaiju and Sensei. Mochi is gentle and learns nothing, and Pudding is a little soft — both are there to let you practise the timing. Brick is very heavy with a slow charge, while Kaiju is big, bouncy and mean. Heavier rivals are also drawn slightly larger, so you can see the weight difference on the plate.

Beating a rival for the first time pays 30 points plus 8 for each rung up the ladder; rematch wins pay 10 plus 2 per rung, a lost bout pays 3 and a two-player bout pays 5. Losing to a rival resets your win streak, but never takes back ladder progress, and the home screen keeps your total bouts won and best streak.

The badges are First shove, Brown belt for beating the fifth rival, Black belt for all ten, Flawless for a 2–0 bout, Five straight, Sparring partner for playing a two-player bout, Skyfall, and Comeback for winning a bout after dropping the first round.