This clever Android game turns your charging cable into a bow and arrow
We’ve all played mobile games that rely on tapping, swiping, and tilting, but what about plugging and unplugging your charging cable? As strange as it may sound, that’s exactly what a clever web developer created, and you can play it on your Android phone without downloading anything.
An Estonian web developer named Rebane recently shared this project on Mastodon. “Charchery” is the name of the game, and it transforms the everyday act of plugging in your phone into a tactile gaming mechanic. The idea is to load an arrow onto a bow by plugging in your phone. Then, to shoot the arrow, simply remove the cable. You also have to move your phone in 3D space to find enemies to target.
You can find the game on Rebane’s website at lyra.horse/fun/charchery. This only works in Chrome browser with Android phone. Firefox has a similar API, but it has not been used for Charchery. If you want to see the inner workings, you can open the game on Chrome desktop and right-click > View Source to see the source code.
Rebane calls Charchery a “spiritual successor” to another game with an unusual mechanic she created called “Foldy Bird”. If you can’t guess by the name, this game uses the posture of bendable phones to control the flapping of a bird to avoid obstacles. Both games are super clever, and that’s the kind of thing that makes Android so much fun.
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