Looping, the guide: how to throw, how it counts, how to get better

Looping is played with a single move: you throw your phone in the air, it spins, you catch it. The game counts the full turns — the loops — and ranks your best throw against the rest of the world. Nothing to install: it runs in the browser, on iPhone and on Android.

How to play

1. Open Looping, tap “Play”, then “Ready”. A three-second countdown starts.
2. On the signal, throw your phone with some spin and catch it. You have ten seconds to throw.
3. As soon as it is back in your hand, the result shows: the loops, the total rotation, the airtime, the estimated height and the top spin speed.
4. Tap “Again” for another try, or dare a friend: they get a link with your score to beat.

How a throw is measured

Your phone carries two motion sensors: an accelerometer and a gyroscope. When the phone leaves your hand it is in free fall, and the accelerometer reads next to nothing: that silence marks the start of the flight. The flight ends when your hand (or the mattress) stops it.

During the flight, the gyroscope measures the spin speed dozens of times a second. Adding those readings up gives the total angle travelled, in degrees. A loop is 360°. The number on screen is the count of full turns; a turn that is almost closed (from 80 % of it) counts, because to the eye it is one.

The height is an estimate drawn from the airtime: something thrown straight up that stays 0.75 s in the air went about 70 cm high. The leaderboard goes by total rotation: with the same number of loops, a few more degrees put you ahead.

The score is not computed by your phone but by the game's server, from the raw readings of the throw. That is what makes the leaderboards trustworthy: nobody can send a score, only a throw.

Getting your first throws right

• Play over a bed or a sofa. A missed catch must land on something soft.
• Start small: thirty centimetres up and a single turn are enough to be ranked.
• Spin comes from the wrists, not from height. A low throw that spins fast beats a high one that turns lazily.
• Hold the phone with both hands and tip it end over end, like a coin: that is a flip. You can also spin it around its length (a barrel roll) or flat, like a spinning top (a flat spin).
• Catch it by following it down. A gentle catch is noted in the result.
• Look above you: a throw that hits the ceiling only counts up to the bump.

Why a throw can be refused

The game refuses a throw when it cannot measure it honestly. The usual cases:

• Flight too short: the phone stayed less than 0.3 second in the air. Throw a little higher.
• Flight interrupted: the phone was caught, or hit something, almost at once.
• No flight: the phone never left the hand. Spinning it in your hand does not count.
• Sensors outrun: gyroscopes have a ceiling (around 1,150 °/s on some Android phones, 2,300 °/s on others, 4,000 °/s on a recent iPhone). Beyond it the game does not guess: it keeps the minimum it measured and says so, or refuses the throw when it can guarantee nothing.

If you think a throw was refused by mistake, tap “Report this throw” under the refusal and tell how many turns you saw. Refused throws are studied to make the game better.

Phones and browsers

Looping works in Safari on iPhone and in Chrome on Android. On iPhone the game asks once for access to the motion sensors: without it, there is nothing it can measure.

If you opened the link from Instagram, TikTok or another app, their built-in browser often blocks the sensors: open the page in Safari or Chrome. You can also add Looping to your home screen and launch it full screen, like an app.

Without a network you can still throw: the throws are kept on the phone (up to twelve, for seven days) and counted as soon as the connection is back.

Leaderboards, dares, parties and your companion

• The world leaderboard keeps each player's best throw; a weekly leaderboard starts over every Monday.
• A dare is a link: your friend opens it, sees your score, and throws to beat it.
• Party mode lets everybody play on one phone, each in turn, with a ranking of the evening.
• Your companion, an animal drawn at random, grows with every throw: ten turns in all to hatch, a hundred to be an adult, five hundred to become a legend.
• A streak counts the days in a row you made a throw that counts: one throw a day keeps it going.

Safety: read this before you throw

Throwing a phone carries an obvious risk: it can fall, break, or hurt someone. You play at your own risk. Play over a soft surface, away from other people, windows and screens; keep a case on; never throw higher than you know you can catch; stop when your hands are tired or slippery.

Frequently asked questions

Can it damage my phone?

Yes, if you drop it. The game protects nothing: the bed, the case and your catch do. The sensors themselves do not mind spinning.

Do I need to install an app?

No. Looping is a website. Adding it to your home screen is optional.

Is it free?

Yes. The game is paid for by sponsored slots and advertising, always between two throws, never during one.

Do I need an account?

No. At your first throw the game creates an anonymous account, with no e-mail and no name. You can add an e-mail later to find your record again on another phone.

Can people cheat?

Every throw is recomputed by the server from the raw readings, and throws no phone could have made are kept out of the leaderboards.

Why is my score lower than what I saw?

The eye often counts the rotation given in the hand before the release; the game only counts what spins in free flight. And when the gyroscope hit its ceiling, only the minimum it measured is kept.

What data is recorded?

As little as possible: no location, no sound, no contacts. The details are in the legal notice.