How to Play osu!

Last Updated: December 9, 2022

osu! is a rhythm game, played with a mouse, pen, mouse and keyboard, pen and keyboard, or touch screen. This wikiHow will show you how to play this game.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Installation and Registration

1
Register. Go to osu.ppy.sh, then go to the upper right hand side. Click "register", then enter a username and password.
- Registration is optional, but it is strongly recommended as it allows for online multiplayer play as well as downloading of additional beatmaps.
2
Install the client. Click the first hyperlink to start download.The osu! site provides information on how to download the client.

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3
Open the application.
4
Enter your credentials that you've made previously onto the client.
- Time to get started!

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Playing the Game

1
Click on the huge osu! circle. This circle is in the center of the screen.
2
Click on the "Play" button. This is the first option on the menu.
3
Click on the "Solo" button that pops out. This is the first option on the menu.
4
Scroll to a song that you want to play. When you find a song you want to play, click on it, then click on "osu!".

Playing osu!

1
Click on the circles. When the ring closes around the circle, click on it. This will count as a hit.
- You should see one of the four of the following when this happens: a blue 300, a green 100, an orange 50, or a red "X."
2
Drag the sliders. When the ring closes around the circles on the beginning of the sliders, click and drag your cursor to stay within with the slider circle/ball.
- If you see an arrow pointing in the opposite direction, then move your cursor back to the start. You may have to oscillate on the slider for a while.
3
Spin the spinners. When a spinner appears, click your mouse and move it in circles as fast as you can. The faster you spin, the more extra points you can get.

Playing osu!taiko

1
Hit circles to the beat. When the circle overlaps the bigger circle by the drum, press the appropriate key. For red circles, hit X or C. For blue circles, hit Z or V.
2
Hit larger circles to the beat. When a larger circle overlaps the area in front of the drum, press the two appropriate keys together. For red circles, hit X and C at the same time. For blue circles, hit Z and V at the same time.
3
Do a drumroll. When a yellow line approaches the drum, spam the X or C key. If a big yellow line approaches the drum, spam either ZX or CV until the drumroll is done.
- Note that you will only get points for hitting notes to the beat of the small circles in the center of the drumroll line.
4
Clear the shakers. To do so, alternate between pressing either Z and X or C and V. Keep on doing so until the shaker is cleared (i.e. the number is down at zero).
5
Get 50% or more health to pass the map. If the health bar is below 50%, you will fail the map. You gain health by completing taiko notes. You also gain points for accuracy.

Playing osu!catch

1
Move your catcher by using Left or Right key. Some notes are not reachable by using either of those keys so you will have to use the Shift key to dash. Some notes cannot even be reached by using the Shift key and that's when the note before it is red, which when hit will give you a boost while dashing making you able to hit the next note.
- Big fruits will add 300 points to the score and if missed will bring your combo down to 0, and will decrease your accuracy. Middle sized fruits, or ticks, will add 100 points to the score, and just as the big ones, if missed will bring your combo down to 0 and decrease your accuracy. The smallest fruits will add 10 points to the score, and the amount added will stay the same the entire map. If missed, they will not bring your combo down, but will still decrease the accuracy.
- Spinners, or bananas add 1100 points to the score the entire map, and if missed will not bring your combo down to 0, nor will they decrease your accuracy.

Playing osu!mania

1
Press the appropriate key when the note hits the judgement line. There can be anywhere from 1 to 9 keys, but the most common ones are the 4 key and 7 key maps. Controls for these are as shown, from the leftmost track to the right.
- 4 Keys: D F J K
- 7 Keys: S D F Space J KL
- For tap notes, press the corresponding key when the note comes in contact with the judgement line. For hold notes, press and hold the key until the end of the note reaches the judgement line, in which you must release the key.
- For every note, there are 6 different outcomes for scores; a rainbow 300, 300, 200, 100, 50, and a miss. A rainbow 300 gives slightly more points than a regular 300. The maximum possible score for a beatmap is 1,000,000.

Community Q&A

Question

What if there is more than one ring around the circle?

Felicia Axelsson

Community Answer

Do as you normally would, following along with a slider or clicking the circle when the ring is as close as possible. When there are more than one ring, there are as many circles as rings, so you have to repeat until no circles or rings are left.
Question

Is a pen viable for osu!?

Blaziken77g

Community Answer

If by "pen" you mean tablet (art tablets specifically), then yes. I use an art tablet for Osu! standard and found the transition from mouse to art tablet pretty easy. However, the more you've played with mouse (especially 3*+), the harder the transition will be. It isn't instant improvement, but rather, gradual improvement. Remember, getting an art tablet is a commitment as the good ones can range from $60 (the low end cost of a AAA video game) upwards to $1000! Last thing to note, getting an art tablet for Osu! doesn't make you better. Rather, it makes your skill cap higher.
Question

Should I use D F J K? I feel it's a bit too close, so I use A S K L now. I've heard of Q W O P and Z X comma period, but would A S and something on the NumPad because of natural shoulder position?

Iamchocomintosu

Community Answer

No, absolutely not. As an osu!mania players, DFJK buttons are just too near from each other. This may lead to mispressing or chocking. You should change your binding to ASKL or QWOP (mine is ZX,.)

Warnings

Take breaks from time to time.

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osu! community rules prohibit the creation of second accounts to play. If you run into problems with your osu! account, contact accounts@ppy.sh.

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Don't play maps that have a higher star rating than you can play. Try playing maps that are slightly more difficult (about 0.5 stars higher) than you can comfortably play.

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