How to play Stumpire

Stumpire is a cricket umpiring game. Every ball is simulated; you make the call, then the replay shows whether you got it right.

Watch, decide, review

1. Watch the delivery. Tap Bowl! and the bowler runs in. Watch the front foot as it lands, the ball's line and bounce, and listen as it passes the bat.
2. Make your call. When the fielders appeal, tap OUT or NOT OUT before the timer runs out. A ball down the side is yours to call without an appeal: WIDE or NOT WIDE. Once no-balls come in, tap NO BALL as soon as you see the front foot over the line.
3. Review the evidence. The result shows straight away, and Review replays the ball: ball tracking down to the stumps, an edge detector for the faintest nick, and a freeze-frame of the front foot. Slow it down, and watch it from the umpire's spot, side-on or from the bowler's end.

The calls

• LBW: where it pitched, where it hit, and whether it was going on to hit the stumps. The LBW guide takes you through it.
• Bowled: the bails come off. Check the front foot first, since a no-ball can't be out.
• Caught behind: out only if the ball touched the bat (or a glove on the bat) before the catch. An edge is a sharp tick; the bat brushing the pad is a duller knock.
• Wides: wide if the whole ball passes outside the painted wide line, untouched.
• No-balls: some part of the bowler's front foot must land behind the popping crease. On the line doesn't count.

Controls

On a phone or tablet, tap the buttons on screen. On a computer you can use the keyboard too:

• Space bowl
• O out, N not out (or not wide), W wide, B no-ball
• P pause and carry on, Esc back

Turn your phone whichever way you like: the game plays upright or on its side, even mid-match.

Ways to play

• Learn: four short lessons, one for each tricky call, with the key moment in slow motion. New players start here.
• Career: fixtures at Sunnyside School, then Riverside CC, then the floodlit Grand Oval. Win medals, pass each promotion exam, and make the Final.
• Daily Run: everyone faces the same balls that day, once.
• Endless: three lives, and the balls get harder. You score more for harder balls and quicker calls.

Endless has two world boards: today's Daily Run and the all-time best. They're optional, and you appear under a name made from our word lists, never your own.

Settings that help

• More decision time: half as long again to answer every call.
• Sound rings: see each sound as a ring at the bat, for playing with the sound off.
• Left-handed controls: NOT OUT on the left and OUT on the right.
• Reduce motion: fewer animations and effects.

Your progress

There's no account. In a browser, your progress is saved in that browser, on that device; clearing this site's data clears it. In the iPhone and Android apps, your device's own backup keeps it.