Cirit: Javelin Riders

Jereed brings cirit, Anatolia's centuries-old horseback sport, to a top-down arena as a game of timing and reflexes. You ride for the red team: gallop toward the rival line, throw your jereed (a blunt wooden stick) at the right moment, then turn your horse and dodge the rider chasing you. Every round has two jobs, aiming and escaping. And the field has one unwritten rule: never strike a fallen rider. The game has a training ground, a six-city tournament (Erzurum, Kars, Bayburt, Konya, Uşak and the Istanbul Hippodrome) and the endless Arena mode that opens after Konya.

A match is played over several rounds: 4 on the Village square, 4 in each city and 5 in Istanbul. Each round one of the five riders in the rival line is chosen as the target and gets a gold ring around him. Hit that rider with your jereed and you score; dodge the rival's throws on the way back and you deny him points. If your score is higher than the rival's at the end, you win the match.

The score sits in two badges at the top of the screen: red for YOU, blue for RIVAL. Between them you see the round and the Honor you have gathered in this match. Honor is kept separately from points and also affects your progress in the tournament.

When the round starts, your horse runs toward the rival line on its own and drifts into line with the target; you don't steer it. Press and hold the screen: your horse slows down, your rider raises the jereed and a white aiming ring appears ahead of you. The ring moves forward toward the target, comes back at its farthest point and keeps swinging like this. Lift your finger the moment the ring is on the rider inside the yellow circle, and the jereed flies.

The dashed line across the middle of the field is the throwing limit. If you reach it while holding, the jereed is thrown automatically. If you reach it without pressing at all, you see Chance missed and get nothing that round. In later cities the target sways left and right; the game predicts part of that sway for you, the rest is down to your timing. On a computer you can also hold and release Space or the Up arrow.

After your throw your horse turns and heads back to your own line. Once your jereed lands, the rider you targeted (or his teammate next to him, if he fell) starts chasing you and throws from behind. Drag your finger left and right: your horse slides toward your finger. The Left and Right arrows or A and D do the same on a keyboard.

While the rival's jereed is in the air, a red ring shows at the last moment where it will land, shrinking as it counts down to impact. Get out from under that ring. The number of rival throws per round grows city by city: 1 in Erzurum, 2 in Kars and Bayburt, 3 in Konya, Uşak and Istanbul. In later cities the ring appears later and the rival reads your movement better. Once he hits you, the chase ends for that round.

There are two more ways out. Press the Catch button at the bottom right (Space on a keyboard) just as the jereed lands on you and you snatch it from the air for +2; but your hand is up for only 0.15 seconds, and if the timing is off you get hit. The Duck button at the bottom left (Down arrow or S) lays your rider against the side of the horse so the throw passes over. You can duck once per round, and since it takes 0.12 seconds, pressing at the very last moment doesn't help.

In some rounds, as you approach, the target rider either falls from his horse or drops his javelin, and his ring turns white. Either way he is defenseless. A throw that hits still gives +3, but your honor drops by 3, the crowd boos and you lose that match's honor star. Ride to the throwing line without touching the screen and both your honor and your points go up by 2: in real cirit, sparing a rival you could have hit also earns points. If you are aiming at that moment, the aim is cancelled so you never throw by accident. This moment comes once per match in Erzurum and Kars and twice in the later cities.

On first launch a short story plays and the game starts with the Village square training. This 4-round match teaches throwing, escaping, catching and ducking in turn, and finally the honor choice in front of a defenseless rival. Then the Tournament map opens.

• Erzurum: 4 rounds, the rival throws once per round.
• Kars: 4 rounds, the target sways more, 2 throws.
• Bayburt: 4 rounds, a faster aiming ring, 2 throws.
• Konya: 4 rounds, 3 throws. Needs a win in Bayburt and at least 4 total honor.
• Uşak: 4 rounds, 3 throws, a landing ring that shows up later.
• Istanbul: a 5-round final at the Hippodrome, 3 throws. Needs a win in Uşak and at least 10 total honor. The first victory opens a short final story.

Three stars are judged after every match: Win the match, Never hit a horse and Keep your honor. Stars are saved only for matches you win; there are 21 across the 7 arenas. A match that ends level is a Draw.

Winning Konya opens The Arena on the map: a mode with no round limit, played with 3 lives and getting a little harder every round. Each hit costs a life; when they run out, your points, honor and clean escapes are added up and your record goes to the leaderboard. In the Stable on the map you pick horses unlocked with stars (Bay, Chestnut, Grey, Black) and team colors unlocked with honor (Red, Green, Purple, Orange); they only change the look.

Fast horse for this match makes your horse a little quicker when escaping in the next match. Lose a match and Replay the last round appears; when an Arena run ends you can take One more life once. These work with a rewarded ad and are always your choice. In city matches the leaderboard score is (your points - rival's points) × 10, plus the honor of the match, plus 5 for each clean escape. The Statistics screen tracks matches, wins, accuracy, horse hits, sporting passes, dishonorable throws, clean escapes, mid-air catches, Arena record and total honor. Pause with the Pause button or Esc.