Racing and driving game

Grave Racers

Play Grave Racers free online. Race hearses and bone buggies through haunted tracks, drift for speed boosts and grab soul orb power-ups in this spooky racer.

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How to Play Grave Racers

Midnight strikes and the dead want to race. Pick a kart, pick a track and line up at the back of a six-racer grid beneath the lantern pillars. When the countdown hits GO, floor it. Three laps decide who rules the graveyard, and the position counter in the top corner tells you exactly how far you have to climb.

Every track bends, rises and drops, so the trick is keeping your speed through the turns. Hold the drift button while you steer into a bend and your kart slides sideways with sparks trailing behind it. Hold the slide longer and the sparks turn from grey to red to pale blue. Let go and you get a burst of speed, and the blue sparks give the biggest one.

Glowing red soul orbs float in rows across the road. Drive through one to fill your power-up box, then use it when the moment is right. Spirit pads painted in red stripes near the road edge also hand out a free boost, but they sit close to the edge, so the fast line is the risky one. Race mode puts you against five rivals. Time Trial is just you, the clock and a Soul Boost from every orb.

Controls

Keyboard

Left and Right arrows, or A and D, steer.
Up arrow or W is the gas. Down arrow or S brakes.
Hold Space while turning to drift, then let go for a speed boost.
Shift or E uses your power-up.
P or Escape pauses, M mutes, Enter starts a race from the menu.

Touch

Hold the left or right side of the steering pad in the bottom-left corner, or choose Tilt in the menu and tilt your phone to steer. Tap the tilt panel to re-center it.
The gas is automatic on phones (you can turn Auto gas off in the menu). The big BRAKE button slows you down, or becomes GAS when Auto gas is off.
Hold DRIFT while steering to slide, and tap ITEM to use your power-up.
The buttons sit below the race screen, so your thumbs never cover the road.

Power-Ups

Each soul orb holds one of five power-ups. Racers at the back of the pack tend to pull the speed and attack power-ups, while the leader gets more defensive ones, which keeps every race close.

Soul Boost

A flame of stolen soul-fire that pushes your kart well past its normal top speed for a second and a half. Save it for a long straight or for the run to the finish line.

Scythe Throw

A spinning spectral scythe that flies down the track, homes in on the racer one place ahead of you and knocks them into a slow spin. If you are already in first, it has nobody to chase.

Bone Trap

A pile of crossed bones dropped on the road behind you. Any rival who drives over it spins out, so drop it on the racing line when someone is right on your tail.

Ghost Mode

Your kart turns see-through for a few seconds and slips straight through tombstones, coffins, stumps, bats, oil and other racers.

Fog Cloak

A grey mist wraps your kart for seven seconds. Scythes miss you, bone traps crumble under your wheels, and rivals stop aiming at you.

Tracks and Karts

There are three tracks, each with its own hazards, and three karts with different strengths. Every track can be raced against rivals or run alone in Time Trial.

Gravewood Cemetery

Rolling hills between rows of tombstones, iron fences and a glowing mausoleum. Toppled headstones block lanes on the road, a puddle of oil of souls can send you sliding, and a thin mist hangs over one stretch.

Hollowmere Town

The twistiest track, through a sleeping town of crooked houses and lamp posts. Coffins lie in the road, bats swoop low across it, and the middle of the lap dives into a long torch-lit crypt tunnel.

Black Mire Swamp

Weeping willows, reeds and red lanterns line a winding causeway. Thick fog banks roll over the road, old stumps and sunken gravestones block lanes, and the oil of souls is everywhere.

Midnight Hearse

The fastest kart on a straight but the heaviest in tight turns. Drift through the sharp bends or it will slide wide.

Coffin Cart

A balanced kart with good speed, grip and boost. The best place to start.

Bone Buggy

Lower top speed, but it launches quickly, turns sharply and gets the biggest boosts from drifts and power-ups.

Tips and Tricks

Drift through every proper bend. A blue-spark drift boost is worth more than taking the corner a little faster without one.
Look ahead for tombstones, coffins and stumps. Each one sits in a lane, so a small move early is better than a swerve late.
Drive off the road and you crawl. Grass, mud and gravestones beside the track all slow you down hard.
Hold on to Fog Cloak or Bone Trap while you are leading. They protect you from the scythes that racers behind you will throw.
Spirit pads near the road edge give a free boost. Line up for them early so you do not clip the edge.
In Time Trial, every orb is a Soul Boost. Use each one right away on a straight so the next orb row can refill it.

About the Game

Grave Racers is a free kart racing game from the Reaper Man Arcade, built for the browser with no download. It draws a classic pseudo-3D road, the kind found in old arcade racers, with hills, curves, a tunnel and fog, all made in code with original art and sound. It is spooky rather than scary: hooded drivers, glowing lanterns and soft ghostly sound effects, with no gore and no jump-scares.

Races last about a minute and a half. The rivals drive fairly and stay close: racers who get far ahead ease off a little and racers left behind push a little harder, so a clean final lap can still win it. Your best race time, best lap and best Time Trial on each track are saved on your device, and every race earns a score you can post to the global Top 10 next to the game.

Grave Racers FAQ

Is Grave Racers free?

Yes. Grave Racers is free to play in your web browser with no download and no sign-up.

Can I play Grave Racers on my phone?

Yes. Steer with the on-screen pad or by tilting your phone, with big buttons for brake, drift and power-ups below the race screen. The gas is automatic unless you turn it off.

How do I drift?

Hold Space (or the DRIFT button) while turning. The longer you hold the slide, the bigger the speed boost when you let go. Blue sparks mean the biggest boost is ready.

How is the race score worked out?

You get points for your finishing place, a bonus for a fast time, and a little extra on the harder tracks. Time Trial runs save your best times but do not post a score.