Counterweight
Arcade · Free browser game
How to play Counterweight
Two bots hang in side-by-side mine shafts from a single rope over a pulley, so the whole game has one degree of freedom. Hold and the left bot rises while the right one sinks; release and it reverses. Saw blades sweep across one shaft at a telegraphed height, and from ten seconds in they start arriving in both shafts at once. The hook is split attention: every blade makes you think about both bots simultaneously, and their positions are inversely linked, so "the left one needs to be high" always also means "the right one will be low". Both extremes are lethal — gears at the top of each shaft, spikes at the bottom — so idling is not an option.
Controls
- Hold anywhere to raise the left bot and lower the right
- Release to raise the right bot and lower the left
- Space or the Up arrow work the same way on a keyboard
- Tap the speaker icon to mute
Tips
- Aim for the middle of the safe window rather than its edge. The rope has inertia and will overshoot.
- The spawner guarantees a survivable rope position for every blade pattern, so there is always an answer — find it during the telegraph.
- Gems are worth 50 metres but they are bait. Only chase one if it sits near the line you already need to be on.
- Watch the pulsing chevrons and the dashed line: that is the blade’s height, and it is all the warning you get.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Counterweight free to play?
- Yes. No download, no install, no account.
- Can I just hold or just release to stay safe?
- No. The top and bottom of both shafts are lethal, so either extreme kills you. You are always steering.
- Is every blade pattern actually survivable?
- Yes. Before committing to a pattern the game checks that a safe rope position exists and is reachable in time; if it cannot find one, the spawn is delayed.
More free browser games
↑ Back to the game