How to Play Temple Run

This wikiHow teaches you how to start a new game in Temple Run, as well as how to use the controls and basic strategies to improve your gameplay.

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Starting a New Game

  1. Image titled Play Temple Run Step 1
    1
    Open Temple Run. This app resembles a gold statue's face. Opening Temple Run will direct you to its home page.
    • If you haven't yet downloaded Temple Run for iPhone or Android, first do so.
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    2
    Tap OPTIONS. It's in the lower-left corner of the screen.
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    3
    Customize your preferences. You can change the following options:
    • Music - Slide left or right to lower or raise the music volume.
    • Sound - Slide left or right to lower or raise overall sound.
    • Tutorial - Slide left to disable the tutorial.
    • Friend Markers - If your friends play Temple Run, leaving this enabled will show their progress.
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    4
    Tap BACK. It's at the bottom of the screen.
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    5
    Tap PLAY. Your new game will begin.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Controls

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    1
    Tilt your phone left or right. This will cause your character to move to the left or right side of the path.
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    2
    Swipe left or right to turn left or right. You'll want to do this as soon as your character reaches a turning point in the path.
    • Swiping left or right while running on a straight part of the path will cause your character to stumble, which will forfeit your current bonus.
    • Stumbling twice in a row will cause the enemies behind you to catch you, thereby ending the game.
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    3
    Swipe up to jump. Doing so will help your character maneuver over low obstacles and broken sections of path.
    • You can also retrieve power-ups by jumping through them.
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    4
    Swipe down to slide. Sliding helps your character avoid high obstacles.
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    5
    Double-tap the screen. If you have any utilities (such as resurrection wings) equipped, doing this will use them.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Playing

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    1
    Understand Temple Run's conventions. In Temple Run, your character starts off running at a reasonable pace through a fairly linear maze. As your time in a specific run progresses, the character's speed and the maze's complexity both increase.
    • If your character stops running at any time (e.g., because of stumbling twice), the game ends.
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    2
    Collect coins when possible. Coins both increase your score and count toward in-game purchases, such as power-ups and character skins. Yellow coins are worth one coin each, red coins are worth two, and blue coins are worth three.
    • Don't prioritize coin collection over safe running if you're going for a high score.
    • The magnet power-up will collect coins for you.
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    3
    Pay attention to the multiplier meter. The vertical bar in the top-left corner of the screen grants you a bonus each time it fills up, meaning your overall score (and resulting reward) grow each time the meter refills. To fill this meter, collect coins.
    • Running into a tree branch or stumbling will reset the meter's progress.
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    4
    Jump instead of sliding when you can. Sliding helps your character maneuver beneath some obstacles, but it also changes your camera angle, which can cause you to fall into another trap. Obstacles you can vault over instead of sliding under include the following:
    • Fire
    • Tree branches
    • Short gaps
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    5
    Purchase power-ups. You can unlock each of the game's power-ups from the STORE section of the home page for 250 gold apiece, though upgrading them after this point will cost significantly more. These power-ups include the following:
    • 50 Coin - Immediately grants your character 50 coins.
    • Coin Magnet - Gathers coins for you so that you don't have to run through them to collect them.
    • Invisibility - Allows you to run through obstacles and over gaps for a brief time.
    • 250m Boost - Makes you invincible and boosts you forward for 250 meters of running.
    • Double Value coins - While not technically a power-up, upgrading this attribute shortens the distance you need to run before coming across red and blue coins.
    • You can also purchase "Utilities", which are items to help you in-game. Tap the screen twice to use them.
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    6
    Pause when necessary. To pause the game, simply tap the "Pause" icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
    • Closing the game while it is paused won't reset your progress.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How do you get over the long broken bridges?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    You jump at the right time. Use the very end of the ground that's still there to jump and get across.
  • Question
    What is "use head start"?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    If you get one head start at the beginning, the game speeds up and you won't have to do a thing until it stops; it usually stops in about five seconds.
  • Question
    How can I run on a half road to collect coins?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Tilt your device right or left as you run down the half road.
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Warnings

  • Try not to jump when you don't need to. Especially in the later phases of the game when your character is moving faster, jumping may cause you to fall into a hole that you couldn't even see on your screen yet.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
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About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
Jack Lloyd
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 307,982 times.
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Co-authors: 32
Updated: June 4, 2020
Views: 307,982
Categories: Multi Platform Smartphone Games
Article SummaryX

1. Open Temple Run and tap Options.
2. Customize your preferences and tap Back.
3. Tap Play.
4. Tilt left or right to collect coins.
5. Swipe left or right to turn.
6. Swipe up to jump.
7. Swipe down to slide.
8. Double-tap to use utilities.

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