🏁 Zigzag Drift
Hold to drift right, let go to drift left.
How to play
- Choose a car and a road, then press Start Drifting.
- Tap, click or press Space to set off. The car drives by itself and speeds up as you go.
- Hold the mouse button, your finger, Space or the right arrow to drift right. Let go to drift left.
- Start each turn just before the corner so the car swings round and lands in the middle of the next stretch.
- If the car drops off the edge of the road, the run is over. A shield gives you one free save.
- Finish a turn right on the middle line for a Perfect corner. Perfect corners in a row build a combo.
- Drive through coins for extra points. The magnet pulls in nearby coins for eight seconds.
- Press P to pause. On phones and tablets, touch and hold anywhere on the game.
A one-button drift game in the sky
Zigzag Drift is a free 3D drifting game with the simplest controls there are: one button. Your car races along a narrow road that zigzags left and right, high above the fields, the sea, a red canyon or a glowing neon grid. The car steers itself straight ahead. Press and hold, and it throws its tail out and drifts round to the right. Let go, and it swings back to the left. That is all there is to it, and that is exactly why it is so hard to put down.
The road has no barriers. It is just a strip of asphalt with red and white kerbs, held up by tall pillars, and if your car slides over the edge it drops away into the clouds. So every corner is a small test of timing. Turn too early and you clip the inside edge. Turn too late and you run off the outside. Get it just right and the car slides round in a smooth arc, leaving skid marks and a puff of tyre smoke behind it.
Perfect corners and combos
Distance earns points all the time, one point for every metre, but the best drivers score much more with Perfect corners. Finish a drift with your car sitting right on the middle line of the next stretch and you get a Perfect bonus. Do it again on the next corner and the combo climbs, all the way up to twenty points a corner. One sloppy corner and the combo starts again from nothing, so a long run of perfect drifts is worth chasing.
Some stretches of road have a line of spinning gold coins, each worth five points, and they count towards your total coin collection. Now and then you will find a power-up floating over the road. The red magnet pulls every coin within a few metres towards you for eight seconds. The blue shield wraps your car in a bubble, and the next time you slide off the road it puts you straight back in the middle of the stretch you just left, ready to carry on.
It gets faster and narrower
Every run starts gently, with a long straight and a wide road. The further you drive, the faster the car goes and the narrower the road becomes. Short hops between corners turn up more often, so you have to flick left and right quickly without over-steering. Because the car always turns with the same radius, a corner feels the same at any speed. It just comes at you sooner, so your timing has to get sharper.
Four roads, three goals each
Easy Rider is the place to learn, with a wide road over green meadows and a gentle top speed. Classic Zigzag is the classic sky road over the sea. Sunset Canyon is faster and narrower, over red rocks in the evening light. Neon Night is the toughest, a dark glowing road above a neon grid at the highest speed of all. Each road has three score goals, and each goal you beat earns a star.
Stars unlock new cars: the Street Hatch you start with, the red Drift Coupe, the black and yellow Night Muscle and the Golden Comet. The cars are there for style. Every car drifts in exactly the same way, so a new car never gives anyone an unfair advantage, and your high score is all down to your own timing.
Why one-button games are so good
One-button games are easy to start and hard to master. Anyone can pick up Zigzag Drift in a few seconds, but getting a long run takes rhythm, focus and good judgement of distance and speed. Short runs make it perfect for a quick break, and it is always tempting to have one more go to beat your best. It is great practice for reaction time, timing and concentration.
Zigzag Drift is free, needs no download or account, and keeps your scores, stars and coins only in your own browser. It works with a mouse, keyboard or touchscreen, on computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones. See the Parents & Safety page for details. For more driving, try Drift Master, Highway Traffic Rush, Parking Pro 3D, or the rest of our Car Games.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zigzag Drift free?
Yes. It is a free 3D drifting game that runs in a web browser with no download, account or plugin.
How do I control the car?
With one button. Hold the mouse button, your finger, the Space bar or the right arrow key to drift right, and let go to drift left. The car speeds along by itself.
What is a Perfect corner?
When a drift ends with your car right on the middle line of the next stretch of road. Perfect corners in a row build a combo worth up to twenty points a corner.
What do the magnet and shield do?
The magnet pulls in nearby coins for eight seconds. The shield saves you once: if you slide off the road, it puts your car back on the road so you can carry on.
Do the unlockable cars drive differently?
No. Every car drifts in exactly the same way. Stars unlock new looks, so your score is always down to your own timing.
Does it work on phones and Chromebooks?
Yes. It runs in any modern browser with 3D graphics (WebGL). On a touchscreen, touch and hold anywhere on the game to drift right.