NERTIA Race · Playable demo
The run club race.
Kart-racing rules for real runs. Item boxes every 400 m, 25 abilities, and you dodge with your legs. Your real times never change. Play a club race below: you and two teammates against three rivals.
Club race · 1 mile · Blue vs Orange
You, Maya and Sam against Dre, Kim and Luis.
- Boxes every 200 m. Run through a row to pick up an ability.
- Space uses it. Hold Shift to surge. It costs stamina.
- Surge to dodge. When a Headwind warning hits, or a Pothole is ahead, surge and it misses.
Runs at 4x speed. In the real game this is your actual run, and items fire from your earbuds.
- 01
Run
Start a race with your club. Same time or your own schedule, any route, any city. GPS does the rest.
- 02
Pick up
Every 400 m you run through an item box. Your earbuds tell you what you got.
- 03
Fire
Double-tap an earbud or your watch to use it. No screen, ever.
- 04
Dodge
A warning comes through your earbuds. Surge hard enough and the attack misses.
Abilities
25 abilities. Every one has a job.
Boxes hand out abilities by where you are in the race. The back of the pack gets the comeback items, the front gets defense. Everything an attack does can be answered.
Tailwind
Boost · ≈ 2 s
You run 20% faster for 10 seconds.
- Use it
- Closing a gap before a pass, or the last stretch.
- Beat it
- A Headwind on you cancels it.
Box oddsFront 6%Middle 7%Back 8%Gel
Boost · 6 s
Jump 6 seconds up the road, instantly.
- Use it
- You've been dropped and need to get back on the group.
Box oddsFront —Middle 2%Back 10%Gel Pack
Boost · 7.5 s over three taps
Three small Gels. Each tap jumps you 2.5 seconds up the road.
- Use it
- Spend them one at a time: answer a pass, close a gap, then the line.
Box oddsFront 2%Middle 6%Back 7%Second Wind
Boost · Saves 2–5 s
Full stamina, and every slow on you is cleared.
- Use it
- Right after you get hit, or just before the final kick.
Box oddsFront 2%Middle 3%Back 7%Pacer
Boost · ≈ 2 s, plus protection
Holds you at surge pace for 20 seconds with no stamina used. Slows can't touch you.
- Use it
- On a climb, or when your legs are going.
Box oddsFront 5%Middle 3%Back 5%Slingshot
Boost · Up to 6 s
Used within 20 m behind a rival, it pulls you level and 5 m past.
- Use it
- You've been sitting on someone's shoulder. It's drafting, made literal.
- Beat it
- With nobody in range it's only a small boost.
Box oddsFront 2%Middle 7%Back 7%Runner's High
Boost · ≈ 2.5 s, plus immunity
8 seconds at 30% faster. Nothing touches you: attacks and Potholes bounce off, and any slow on you is gone.
- Use it
- You're stuck at the back of a fight and everyone's throwing things.
Box oddsFront —Middle 2%Back 6%Kick
Boost · ≈ 3–4 s
Only works in the last 400 m. Surge all the way to the line with no stamina cost.
- Use it
- Hold it. It's a guaranteed finishing kick when your legs are gone.
- Beat it
- Fired early it does nothing, and you keep it.
Box oddsFront 5%Middle 5%Back 4%Headwind
Attack · ≈ 2 s
The rival directly ahead runs 25% slower for 8 seconds.
- Use it
- Someone's just in front and you want the pass.
- Beat it
- Surge through it when the warning hits, or Shield or Mirror.
Box oddsFront 6%Middle 8%Back 7%Cramp
Attack · 5 s
Homes in on the race leader and freezes them for 5 seconds.
- Use it
- One runner is pulling away from everyone.
- Beat it
- Shield, Mirror or Fog. You can't outrun it.
Box oddsFront 1%Middle 5%Back 9%Pothole
Attack · 3 s
Dropped where you stand. The next rival to cross it freezes for 3 seconds.
- Use it
- Someone's right behind you.
- Beat it
- Surge as you cross it to jump it, or Shield.
Box oddsFront 9%Middle 5%Back —Detour
Attack · ≈ 4–5 s
The rival ahead's next 200 m only count as 180 m.
- Use it
- A close rival late in the race, where 4 seconds decides it.
- Beat it
- Shield or Mirror.
Box oddsFront 2%Middle 6%Back 4%Static
Attack · Denies an item
Everyone within 30 m loses the item they're holding.
- Use it
- You're in a pack and they're sitting on items.
- Beat it
- Fog, or use your item first.
Box oddsFront 5%Middle 5%Back 3%Bonk
Attack · ≈ 1.5 s on each
Every rival ahead of you runs 30% slower for 5 seconds.
- Use it
- You're at the back. It's the comeback item, and it's rare.
- Beat it
- Shield.
Box oddsFront —Middle 1%Back 5%Hill
Attack · ≈ 1.5 s on each
Every rival within 40 m behind you runs 15% slower for 10 seconds.
- Use it
- A group is closing on you and you want to hold them off.
- Beat it
- Surge through it when the warning hits, or Shield.
Box oddsFront 7%Middle 3%Back —Crowd
Attack · 2 s on each
Everyone within 20 m of you, ahead or behind, stops for 2 seconds. You don't.
- Use it
- You're boxed in by a pack. It's how you break out of one.
- Beat it
- Shield, or stay more than 20 m away from whoever's holding it.
Box oddsFront 2%Middle 5%Back 4%Pickpocket
Attack · An item swing
Takes the item from the nearest rival ahead who's holding one, within 50 m.
- Use it
- They're sitting on a Shield before your attack, or they've got something you want.
- Beat it
- Use your item first, Fog, or Shield.
Box oddsFront 1%Middle 5%Back 5%Shield
Defense · Blocks 2–5 s
Blocks the next attack in the next 30 seconds.
- Use it
- You're leading, or a warning just landed.
Box oddsFront 11%Middle 5%Back 1%Mirror
Defense · Swings 4–10 s
Sends the next attack back at whoever threw it. Lasts 20 seconds.
- Use it
- You're the leader and a Cramp is coming.
Box oddsFront 7%Middle 2%Back —Fog
Defense · Protection
You drop off the board for 30 seconds. Nobody can target you, and Cramp skips you.
- Use it
- Protecting a lead in the last kilometre.
Box oddsFront 6%Middle 1%Back —Air Horn
Defense · Blocks 2–5 s
Clears every attack on its way to you, Cramp included, and stops anyone within 15 m behind you for 1 second.
- Use it
- A Cramp warning lands and you've got no Shield. The one answer to it.
Box oddsFront 5%Middle 2%Back 1%Rally
Team · ≈ 1.5 s on each
Teammates within 50 m of you run 12% faster for 12 seconds.
- Use it
- Your group is together. It pays to run as a pack.
Box oddsFront 5%Middle 5%Back 4%Relay
Team · An item for a teammate
Your teammate furthest back gets an item at back-of-pack odds.
- Use it
- You're up front and they need it more than you do.
Box oddsFront 2%Middle 2%Back 1%Pace Line
Team · ≈ 1.2 s
A teammate within 15 m behind you runs 10% faster for 12 seconds while they stay on you.
- Use it
- Towing a teammate back up the field. The way club runners do it.
Box oddsFront 4%Middle 5%Back 3%Regroup
Team · 4 s on each
Teammates more than 40 m behind you jump 4 seconds up the road.
- Use it
- Your group's split up. Bring them back so Rally and Pace Line work again.
Box oddsFront 5%Middle 3%Back —
Modes
Built for run clubs.
A slow runner can beat a fast one on a good day, which is the point. A club with mixed paces finally races together instead of strung out.
Club race
Same start time, any route, any city. Two teams, points by place. The weekly run, scored.
Ghost race
Race your club's recorded runs on your own schedule. Their items fire where they fired them.
Route war
A shared loop. Potholes you drop stay there for a day, waiting for whoever runs it next.
Equalizer
Everyone races their own predicted time, so a 30-minute runner can beat a 17-minute one.
Club vs club
Run clubs take each other on over a week. Total distance, best times, and items in play.
Time trial
No items. Real times only, for PRs. Kept apart on purpose.
Fair play
Still a running game.
The items are there to make a race of it. The legs still decide most of them.
Real times never change
Items move a separate game clock. Your Strava times and PRs stay exactly as you ran them.
Effort decides most of it
All items together are capped at about 5% of race time, so a well-run race still beats a lucky one.
No screen while running
Calls come through your earbuds. Items fire with a double-tap on earbuds or a watch, or by voice.
Dodge with your legs
Headwinds and Potholes are beaten by surging. Defending a lead means actually running harder.
Built against cheating
Speed caps, step counts from the phone's motion sensors, and heart rate when a watch is paired.
Items are never for sale
You earn every item on the road. NERTIA gear changes how your items look, never what they do.
With NERTIA gear
Your unit’s effect is how your items look.
A Heat Shift unit’s Tailwind trails flames. A unit holding Lightning Steps throws its Cramp as a bolt. Same power for everyone, so the gear sells a look, never a win. And it fixes the AR effect’s one weak spot: now there’s a reason to see it mid-run. See the effects.