Ping! The Internet Game help
Most questions come down to a few things. If yours isn’t here, email us and a real person writes back.
Explorer or Engineer?
Explorer is the easier start, for ages 8 to 10: city names on the signs, colours on the packets, and a button that builds your packet for you. Engineer is for 11 and up, with network numbers and port numbers where the names were.
You can switch any time from the home screen. Your stars and coins stay.
Which armor does my message need?
Every packet needs the header helmet and the wheels. After that, read the “This message” panel. If every piece has to get there, snap on the coupler hitch, which sends a lost piece again. If it’s a live video or a call, ski fins are faster and a lost piece is only a glitch. If snoopers are out, add the lock shield. If the message is big, the squeeze press packs it into fewer pieces.
If a run goes wrong, the builder tells you what happened last time and which piece to try.
How do I steer in Cable Runner?
Swipe up or down to change cables, and tap to hop over static. When a cable flashes, lightning is about to hit it, so switch away.
I keep going the wrong way at the routers
Each router has three signs. Find the one that matches where your message is going, and be on that cable before the green dashed line.
On Engineer the signs show network numbers. Match the first three numbers to the address in the top left corner.
A wrong turn doesn’t end the run. The router sends you back round to try again, and it costs a spark off your fuse.
What is the fuse?
Every router you pass burns a spark, and wrong turns burn extra. If the fuse runs out, the packet is dropped. Real packets carry the same thing. It’s called time to live, and it stops a lost packet circling forever.
What are the doors at the end?
The address gets your message to the right computer. The door, called a port, gets it to the right app on that computer. Chat is 5222, mail is 587, games are 3074, video calls are 3478 and the web is 443.
Something is chasing me
That’s a flood of junk traffic, sent on purpose to jam the network. It gains on you when you get hit, and it can only catch you near the end of the route. Keep your combo going to stay ahead, or buy the Firewall in the Garage to slow it down.
How does Router mode work?
You’re the router. Tap a router to change which way it points, and send each packet to its own house. Three lost hearts ends the round, and seven packets home earns a star.
Grey JUNK packets aren’t for anyone. Tap them to drop them.
If a router says BUSY, a long packet is still crossing it. Wait for it to pass.
How do I pause?
Tap Pause in the top right corner. From there you can keep playing, start the message over, change your armor or go back to the home screen. Switching to another app pauses the game too.
How do I unlock Turbo?
Get three stars on any message at Normal speed. On Explorer the speed buttons show up from Carlos’s messages on.
Still stuck?
Email us at pettigrewlabllc@gmail.com.