STAIR BALL

Every single stair in this game wants you dead. That's the joke and the whole appeal of Stair Ball: a staircase that looks bright and friendly and is actually lined with black cone spikes waiting for you to slip up.

You control a small ball climbing that staircase, sliding left and right to dodge gaps and spikes as the steps scroll past. Nail a run of clean dodges and you start chaining "perfect" moves into combos that pad out your high score. Miss one, and the run just stops, no warning, no mercy.

Rubies scattered along the way aren't just decoration either - collect them and you unlock new balls and styles to climb with. The higher you get, the faster the stairs come at you, so this stays firmly in Action games territory once the pace picks up.

If you like games that punish one bad read of the pattern, Deadly Descent scratches a similar itch. Stair Ball plays in browser on desktop or mobile, no download needed.

Climb the staircase as high as you can without touching a spike.

Touch and hold the screen to move the ball left or right across the stairs. Release and press again to switch direction quickly when a new gap or spike appears.

Each stair can hide black cone spikes, and touching one ends your run instantly, so read the pattern of each step before you commit to a direction. Grab rubies along the way to unlock new balls and styles for later runs.