Archery

Archery is a bow, a target down the range, and the wind between them. Read the two flags, hold off for it, draw, and let go.

THE ARROW ACTUALLY FLIES

Every shot is simulated: gravity pulls it down over the distance, and the wind pushes it sideways - the flag nearest you counts for twice the one by the target, because the arrow spends its fastest moments in it. Nothing is a random scatter around where you aimed. A hit is a hit you earned, and a miss tells you what to change.

FOUR BOWS, FOUR DIFFERENT HOLDS

A crude longbow, a straight-limbed bow with a sight, a recurve and a compound. They differ in how fast they send an arrow, so they differ in how far you hold over and how much the wind takes. The compound forgives; the longbow asks the most of you.

THE ROUND

Six ends of three arrows, at a range that changes between ends, each with its own wind. Rings score ten down to one, on the real face for that distance - 40 cm at eighteen metres, 122 cm at seventy. The whole round is one number at the end, and the game remembers your best.

PRACTICE UNTIL IT CLICKS

Pick a bow and a distance and shoot as long as you like. Arrows stay in the boss so a group can be read, and the last three scores sit beside the target. This is where a hold is found; the round is where it is tested.

WHAT YOU SEE

The bow turns with your aim and its string leans back as you draw. Let go and the camera follows the arrow down the range. A ring on the target is your sight, and it moves with your thumb rather than under it, so you can trim an aim by a pixel.

MORE

- One screen, no menus to learn

- No account, no sign-in, nothing collected

- Held upright, one thumb to aim and shoot

Free, with ads - a full-screen one only between rounds, never while you shoot.