What's new in Lineguard, what's coming next, and what you'd like us to build.
Lineguard is a free ninja game for your phone or computer. In Run you draw lines to keep a running ninja alive, in Fight you take on waves of enemies hand to hand, and in Duel you fight another player online. Below is the latest update, then every update before it, from the first release on.
Latest update · 2.6
Hold your ground
Guard in Fight, challenges on the Duel board, and a run that keeps building all the way.
Guard in Fight
Hold anywhere to block, from every side.
Challenge a player
A green dot on the Duel board: tap it to fight them.
Counter on the ring
A ring closes in on every wind-up and turns gold.
Switch mid-game
Hold the ultimate or trick button and slide.
New best!
Pass your best and the score turns gold.
A harder fight
More enemies press in as the waves climb.
Read the full notes for 2.6
Guard in Fight: press and hold anywhere to raise it. It blocks blows from every side for a scratch, and the third in a row breaks it.
Challenge a player: see who's online on the Duel button and at the top of the Duel screen, and challenge them. Find an opponent asks them for you too.
Records on the Duel board: every player's wins and losses.
Counter on the ring: in Fight a ring closes in on each wind-up and turns gold at the moment to counter; in Duel a gold ring shows while a counter works.
Switch mid-game: hold the ultimate button in Fight, or the trick button in Run, and slide onto another.
New best: pass your best score in a run or a fight and it turns gold.
A harder fight: from wave 4 more enemies press in at once and leap over each other to reach you, and the Shadow Lord comes back faster.
A run that keeps building: a gentler start, and the speed climbs through every world instead of topping out in the second.
Report and block: report a rude name from any leaderboard, block a player after a duel, and unblock them in Settings.
Today's task: one goal a day in Run, worth 100 coins, and a new one every day.
Easier first minutes: a quick tip the first time each button matters, a flag to reach in your first run, and Rubber ink as a gift after your second.
Coming up next
More to come in the apps: Lineguard is out now on Google Play and the App Store, with real haptics so you feel every hit.
Ideas: what should we build next?
Suggest something, or vote for the ideas you want most. New ideas show here once we've read them.
Loading ideas...
Earlier updates
2.5
Ink orbs
Special inks come as orbs on the course.
Run through an orb for three lines of its ink
The right ink waits just before the danger it beats
A rare golden orb starts a five-second ink storm
The ultimate and trick buttons show your pick
Read the full notes
Ink orbs: special inks now come as orbs on the course. Run through one for three lines of that ink, then tap its button to draw with it, and tap again to go back to pen.
The right ink, right there: often the ink that handles a danger best waits just before it, and some bosses bring one too.
Golden ink storm: catch the rare golden orb and for five seconds your lines take no ink drops and are half as long again.
A tidy bar: your ink drops in one ring, and the bar on one row on every phone.
The Rival Ninja leaps any line he sees coming. Trip him with one drawn right at his feet.
The Fire Monk: a fireball you send back always reaches him.
Ink stays below the treetops, and the camera follows big jumps all the way up.
Shadow Clone: the clones drop in from the sky, leap in from the side, and land knee drops and hammer fists.
Your picks on the buttons: the ultimate and trick buttons show the one you chose.
More games: Quad Chase, our chase game, is in Settings.
2.4
More for every mode
Three new ultimates, smarter enemies, a trick for every run, and a shop where you try things on first.
Shadow Clone, Whirlwind and Shuriken Rain
Brawl is now Fight, and it gets tougher from wave 4
Hold to guard in Duel, with bots and a leaderboard
A trick for every run, and try before you buy
Read the full notes
Three new ultimates: Shadow Clone, Whirlwind and Shuriken Rain. Each is stronger than the last, and the Shop shows their damage.
Brawl is now Fight. Your progress stays.
Tougher Fight: from wave 4, enemies get stronger and smarter every wave.
Fight missions: three of their own, with the same coins and stars as Run's.
Combos in Duel: land the first blow and keep tapping, up to six hits. Hold on your ninja to guard.
Duel bots in Easy, Medium and Hard, and a Duel leaderboard for wins against real players.
One ninja name for every mode and leaderboard. Change it any time in Stats.
Tricks and skills for Run: a trick on one button during the run, and skills you buy once.
Continue after a fall for coins, or for a short video where the game shows ads.
Build tab: try things on before you buy.
2.3
Duel
Fight another player's ninja online, one on one.
Best of three, in your own outfit, with your own moves
Find an opponent, invite a friend, or practise with a bot
A Run leaderboard, Today and All time
New badges: Duelist and Boss hunter
Read the full notes
Duel: fight another player's ninja online, one on one, best of three, wearing your own outfit and using the moves you've bought. Find an opponent, invite a friend with a link or a code, or practise against a bot. How Duel works.
Three ways to play: Run, Fight and Duel, each with a short line under it saying what it is.
Run leaderboard: post your runs, Today and All time, just like fights.
New badges: Duelist for 5 duel wins, and Boss hunter for beating all nine bosses. Play streaks count any day you play.
Stats: your rank, your records and your duel wins in one place.
2.2
The way of the ninja
Ranks to earn and one shop for everything.
Ninja ranks from Initiate to Legend, on a plate on your headband
Spinning blade, an ultimate that cuts up to four in a row
Headband styles, coloured any way you like with Dye
Read the full notes
Ninja ranks: every 3 mission stars is a new rank, from Initiate and Genin up to Jonin, Kage and Legend, shown as a metal plate on your headband. How ranks work.
Spinning blade: a new ultimate that spins from enemy to enemy and cuts up to five in a row.
The Shop: everything you buy with coins is in one place, in three tabs: Run, Fight and Build.
Fighter upgrades: upgrades you level up, like Power and Toughness, and skills you buy once, like Last stand or Shadow step.
Headband styles: Plain, Long tails, Stripes, Chequered and Edged, plus Flowers, Candy stripes and Hearts for events. Dye picks the colours, for the band, its pattern and your pen.
2.1
Back on your feet
Knocked out in a fight? Get back up.
Spend coins to stand up with half your health, once a fight
New upgrades: Power and Swiftness
Read the full notes
Continue in Fight: knocked out in Fight? Spend coins to get back up with half your health, once a fight. The further you got, the more it costs.
Tougher fighters: new upgrades Power and Swiftness, and Toughness now goes to five levels.
2.0
Fight
A whole new way to play: hand to hand, wave after wave.
Tap high, mid or low, chain combos and dash with a line
Moves to learn, from the cross to the Dragon kick
Four warlords, leaderboards and challenge links
Cloud save, to bring your progress to any device
Read the full notes
Fight: a new fighting mode. Enemies come in waves; tap high, mid or low to pick your blow, chain combos on the beat, dash through a crowd with a drawn line and finish with a tornado kick or a ground slam. Combos go up to x9. All about Fight.
Moves to learn in the Shop, from the cross to the Dragon kick, each looking like the real thing. See every move in action.
Enemies that grow with the waves: archers, mages, quick fighters, elites and shadows, counters on the gold !, and four warlords, one every fifth wave, each with a checkpoint after him and a trophy to win.
Everything you wear fights with you: your pen colour and brush on the dash line, your Trail behind it, your Knockout, and your Finisher for the last blow of a wave.
Leaderboards: Today and All time for Fight. Leave the results without posting and your best is kept for you: post it within 30 days and it still counts for All time.
Challenge friends: share a fight and your friend gets a link with your score to beat, and can send one straight back.
Continue where you left: leave a fight and Continue brings back your points, health and the enemies still to beat.
Cloud save: back up your progress in Settings and bring it back on any phone or browser with a short code.
On the road: runs open differently every time, swinging logs to cut or burn, a Relaxed pace switch, and bosses that get tougher the further you go.
1.3
Four new worlds
Lava, storms, rooftops and caves, each with a new boss.
Ember Volcano and the Fire Monk
Storm Coast and the Pirate Ship
Temple Rooftops and the Samurai Lord
Mist Caves and the Cave Spider
Read the full notes
Ember Volcano: lava geysers and pits of lava, and the Fire Monk, who lobs fireballs you can send back.
Storm Coast: lightning strikes and waves, and the Pirate Ship, firing cannonballs from just off the shore.
Temple Rooftops: gaps to leap between roofs and swinging blades, and the Samurai Lord, who parries your first return.
Mist Caves: bat swarms and runaway mine carts, and the Cave Spider, who drops from the roof to bite. Every world.
1.2
Bosses reworked
Every boss got an entrance, its own music and an angry phase.
The Twin Archers fire crossfire from glowing lanterns
The Great Hawk brings feather fans and gusts
The Rival Ninja throws shadow clones and smoke bombs
Read the full notes
Every boss now has an entrance, its own music and an angry phase with a new move. The boss guide.
Sun and Moon: the Twin Archers stand on glowing lanterns and fire crossfire. Great Hawk: feather fans, gusts and helpers.
Siege Master: works the Catapult, with fire boulders and boulders that burst in three. Rival Ninja: shadow clones and smoke bombs.
Giant Archer: calls down a rain of arrows from a floating rock.
1.1
A friendlier start
An easier first minute, and a gift every day.
The first hazards wait for you to draw
A daily gift, with a free item on day seven
Music between runs
Read the full notes
The first minute: the first hazards wait for you to draw, with a finger showing the stroke, and a tip after each fall.
Game over card: "Next up" goals, mission progress, and Play again always on screen.
Daily gift: coins every day on a seven-day track, a free item for your ninja on day seven, and one item at half price each day.
New items for your ninja, including three you can only earn: Oni fire, Blood moon and Lightning.
Music between runs: a short ending tune and a calm loop on the menu.
1.0
Lineguard
The first full release.
Five inks: pen, rubber, steel, fire and ice
Five bosses and four worlds
Trick shots, highlight clips and badges
Ten languages, and it plays offline
Read the full notes
Five inks: pen, rubber, steel, fire and ice. The inks guide.
Five bosses every 500 metres: Giant Archer, Catapult, Rival Ninja, Great Hawk and Twin Archers.
Four worlds, each with its own music and enemy: scorpions in the Red Desert, icicles in the Snow Peaks and shadow ninjas under the moon.
Trick shots and kill cams, highlight clips to share, stats and badges, and the Shop.
Ten languages, and it plays offline once installed, on phones, tablets and computers.
Lineguard
Install
