One throw. Eight planets.
Snack Lob is a slingshot game about feeding hungry plush monsters. Every planet has its real gravity and its real air, so a throw that works on Earth sails right past everybody on the Moon. Try one.
Coming to iPad first, then iPhone and Android. Plays offline. No account.
How far the same apple goes
One apple, thrown at 23 miles an hour and a 45 degree angle from a kid's shoulder. The arm never changes. Only the gravity and the air do.
| Where | Gravity (Earth = 1) | Lands | In the air |
|---|---|---|---|
 JupiterTwo and a half times Earth's gravity. The apple barely leaves your hand. | 2.53 | 5.1 m | 0.7 s |
 VenusAlmost Earth's gravity, but air about 50 times thicker. It is like throwing through soup. | 0.90 | 5.7 m | 1.5 s |
 EarthNormal gravity. The one you're used to. | 1.00 | 11.5 m | 1.6 s |
 MarsAbout three eighths of Earth's gravity, and the air is really thin. | 0.38 | 29.7 m | 4.1 s |
 MercuryThe same gravity as Mars, with no air at all. | 0.38 | 29.8 m | 4.1 s |
 TitanSaturn's biggest moon. Weak gravity and thick air, so the apple floats down slowly. | 0.14 | 46.8 m | 9.4 s |
 The MoonAbout a sixth of Earth's gravity, and no air to slow anything down. | 0.17 | 66.8 m | 9.1 s |
 PlutoAbout a sixteenth of Earth's gravity. The apple is up there long enough to get bored. | 0.06 | 173.0 m | 23.7 s |
These are the same gravity and air numbers the game runs on. In the game the slingshot gets a little weaker where gravity is low, so a whole level still fits on the screen.
Where the numbers come from. Gravity figures are NASA's. The throw distances are worked out from them with the air each place has, the same way the game does it. NASA Planetary Fact Sheet, NASA on Titan.
Pick a place
Each of these has the number, what it does to your weight, and a throw you can try there.
Your weight on other planetsSix monsters. All hungry.
They get grumpy when you take too long. Our kids liked that part the most. Tap one to feed it.
the little one
Stands closest. Easiest to feed, worth the least.
the middle one
Stands on whatever's around: a stump, a moon rock, a cloud.
the big one
Furthest back, with a lid for a head. Worth the most of the three.
the tall one
Way up there. The snack has to drop in from above.
the rock face
Lives in the wall, so you throw it straight in.
the bat
Hangs upside down. You feed it on the way up.
You name them. You dress them too: clearing a level wins a scarf, a cape or a pair of goggles.
What you do in it
Snacks have weight.
A grape is light and flies far. An apple weighs as much as 30 grapes, fills a belly in one go, and drops short.
Sixteen short trips.
Each level crosses a few planets. Keep everybody fed until the rocket leaves, then do it again somewhere the gravity is different.
Today's Feed.
One set of planets a day, the same for everyone in the house. Only your first try counts.
Endless.
No finish line. See how many planets you last.
What it does and doesn't do
- It plays offline. There is nothing to sign up for and no account.
- It is free. The plan is one ad between levels at most, never during a throw, and $1.99 once to turn them off.
- It is built for an iPad on its side. iPhone and Android come after.
- It isn't out yet. Send us an email and we'll write back once, the day it is.
Gravity questions, answered
How strong is gravity on Mars?
Gravity on Mars is 3.71 m/s², about 38% of Earth's. Something that weighs 100 pounds on Earth weighs 38 there. An apple you could throw 11.5 meters on Earth goes about 29.7 meters on Mars, because it takes 4.1 seconds to come back down.
How strong is gravity on the Moon?
Gravity on the Moon is 1.62 m/s², about a sixth of Earth's. There is no air to slow things down either, so the same apple goes about 66.8 meters and stays up for 9.1 seconds.
How strong is gravity on Jupiter?
Gravity at Jupiter's cloud tops is 24.79 m/s², about two and a half times Earth's. A 100 pound person would weigh about 253 pounds. The same throw that goes 11.5 meters on Earth lands about 5.1 meters away and is back on the ground in 0.7 seconds.
How far could you throw a ball on the Moon?
About six times as far as on Earth. The Moon's gravity is a sixth of ours and there is no air, so a throw that goes 11.5 meters here goes about 66.8 meters there. On Pluto the same throw goes about 173.0 meters.
How much would I weigh on other planets?
Multiply your weight on Earth by the planet's gravity next to Earth's: 0.17 on the Moon, 0.38 on Mars and Mercury, 0.90 on Venus, 2.53 on Jupiter, 0.14 on Titan and 0.06 on Pluto. A 70 pound kid weighs about 12 pounds on the Moon and 177 on Jupiter.
Is Snack Lob out yet?
Not yet. Our family is playtesting it on an iPad. iPad comes first, then iPhone and Android.
Throw snacks. Feed monsters.
Somewhere around Pluto, your kid works out what gravity does. Nobody has to say the word.
Tell me when it's out