The Basics
Tackt is built around one mechanic: a shape moves along a fixed path, and somewhere on that path sits a highlighted target zone. Tap the instant the shape is inside it.
- Dead center of the zone = PERFECT — worth double a plain hit, and it's the only kind of hit that builds a streak.
- Anywhere else inside the zone = OK — still scores, but breaks any streak you were building.
- Tapping outside the zone, or letting the round timer run out = MISS — costs a life.
Run out of lives and the run ends. Every 10 successful hits (PERFECT or OK) earns an extra life, up to a maximum of 3.
Lives, Stages & Difficulty
Every 20 successful hits advances you to the next stage, unlocking a new shape mode and ramping up speed and target size on every mode already in rotation.
| Difficulty | Starting lives | Round timer | Score multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 3 | Starts generous, shrinks slowly, floors at 4s | ×0.6 |
| Normal | 2 | Starts moderate, shrinks at a steady pace, floors at 3s | ×1.0 |
| Hard | 1 | Starts tight, shrinks fastest, floors at 2s | ×1.6 |
Each difficulty keeps its own separate leaderboard — Easy's larger score multiplier discount means Easy runs can't out-rank a Hard run with the same raw skill.
Stage unlocks
Stage 1 starts with Dial, Bar, and Pulse. From there: Square unlocks at stage 2, Triangle at stage 3, Pendulum at stage 4, Box at stage 5, and Lock at stage 6. Once unlocked, every shape mode you've reached cycles through a shuffled rotation — every unlocked shape appears once before any repeats, but the order within each cycle is randomized so it can't be memorized.
Grace period
Right after a new stage unlocks, the next 3 rounds ease the difficulty back in slightly before ramping back up to full pace — a brief breather to adjust to a faster world, not a permanent discount.
Scoring In Detail
Every successful hit is worth a base amount, then multiplied up based on how you got it.
Base
A PERFECT is worth 20 base points; an OK is worth 10.
Streak multiplier
Every consecutive PERFECT extends your streak, adding +15% per level, capped at streak 10 (a +150% ceiling — a 2.5× multiplier). A single OK hit resets the streak to zero without ending your run.
Speed multiplier
The more of the round's timer you have left when you tap, the bigger this bonus — up to +100% for tapping in the very first instant the round starts. Waiting until the last moment gives none.
Difficulty multiplier
A flat multiplier from the table above — ×0.6 on Easy, ×1.0 on Normal, ×1.6 on Hard.
Worked example
A PERFECT hit at streak 5, on Hard, with 80% of the round timer still remaining:
= 20 × 1.75 × 1.8 × 1.6
= 101 points
The Eight Shapes
Each mode moves differently, so each one rewards a slightly different kind of timing instinct.
Dial
A needle sweeps a full circle at constant speed. A highlighted arc marks the target — tap the instant the needle crosses into it.
Bar
An indicator bounces back and forth along a straight line. The target is a fixed segment of that line.
Pulse
A ring expands and contracts between an inner and outer radius. The target is a band at a specific radius — tap as the pulse passes through it.
Square
A dot travels the perimeter of a square at constant speed. Unlocks at stage 2.
Triangle
Same idea as Square, but a shorter perimeter means less time between passes of the target. Unlocks at stage 3.
Pendulum
A needle swings within a bounded arc rather than a full circle, naturally slowing at each extreme and accelerating through the middle. Unlocks at stage 4.
Box
A dot bounces inside a 2D box like a billiard ball. The target is a small circular zone somewhere on its path. Unlocks at stage 5.
Lock
Two needles rotate at different speeds — tap the instant the faster needle catches up to and passes the slower one. Unlocks at stage 6.
Direction Changes
From stage 3 onward, Dial, Square, and Triangle rounds carry a chance of reversing direction from that same shape's previous round. When it happens, the track flashes gold briefly at the start of the round — your cue that the shape you know is about to move the other way.
Players & Leaderboard
Add players from the launch screen and mark who's currently playing. With two or more marked active, Tackt runs a pass-and-play session — each player takes a turn, a session summary ranks everyone at the end, and the top run per player is compared against the per-difficulty leaderboard (top 20, ranked by score, then rounds, then longest streak).
Give any player a custom emoji avatar with a long press on their row in Manage Players — or leave it unset for a deterministic default that never changes between sessions.
Race Mode
Race a friend live, on a second nearby device — no shared Wi-Fi network and no internet connection required at all.
How it connects
Race uses Apple's peer-to-peer networking directly between the two devices — over Wi-Fi if available, falling back automatically to a direct peer-to-peer link (the same underlying technology AirDrop uses) if it isn't. Both devices just need Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched on. One player taps Host, the other taps Join and picks the host from the nearby list.
Why it's fair
Once connected, both devices are dealt the exact same seed and play the identical sequence of targets at the identical moment. Nothing about the run is randomized differently between the two of you — the only thing that decides the winner is who reacts better.
If the connection drops
A dropped connection mid-race pauses the round instantly on both sides — nothing is lost, the shape simply freezes in place — and both devices automatically try to reconnect for up to a minute before giving up. Reconnecting resumes with a short countdown, then picks up exactly where it left off.
Difficulty & results
A race always plays at the host's chosen difficulty, so both devices are guaranteed to apply identical target sizes and speeds to the shared seed. Every race that finishes cleanly (not a disconnect) is recorded to the League.
The League
Every completed race builds a running record with your friends over time — a standings table (wins, losses, total score) plus a scrollable match history, with an All-time / This month filter.
League identity follows the player you picked for that race, not the device it was played on — so two different named players can race from the same phone without their records ever mixing together, and renaming a player later doesn't split their history in two.
Tips & Strategy
- Chase the speed bonus, but only when you mean it. Tapping the instant a round starts is worth up to +100%, but a rushed miss costs a life — the bonus only pays off on taps you're actually confident about.
- Watch for the gold flash from stage 3 on. It means Dial, Square, or Triangle just reversed direction from last time you saw that shape — react on reflex and you'll likely miss.
- Box and Lock reward pattern-reading over raw speed. Box's ball follows a fixed billiard path — if you can predict where it's headed next, you can pre-aim your attention before it arrives.
- On Easy or Normal, chase long streaks. The lower score multiplier there means consistency compounds faster than any single risky PERFECT attempt.
- On Hard, even an OK hit is worth a lot. The ×1.6 multiplier means a safe hit often beats a risky attempt at PERFECT if you're not sure you'll land it.
FAQ
Do I need an account?
No — Tackt has no sign-in of any kind. Everything is stored locally on your device.
I can't hear sound effects.
Sound respects your device's physical silent switch and the Control Center mute toggle by design — check both, along with your volume.
Does Race mode need the internet?
No — it's entirely peer-to-peer between the two devices, over Wi-Fi or a direct Bluetooth-negotiated link. No server, no internet connection, no shared network required.
More questions? Visit Support or email [email protected].