Bamboo Valley

Misty mountains, bamboo, pagodas and a big red sun. Every run starts here, and it's where the game teaches you its whole language.

On a run: From the start to 500 m
New here: Everything: thorns, archers, rocks, pits and more
Best ink: Pen, while you learn
Boss: Giant Archer at 500 m
In Fight: Waves 1 to 5
Look and sound: Bamboo, pagodas, a red sun and a gentle plucked melody

Bamboo Valley has no enemy of its own. Instead it hands you the dangers that follow you through every world, one at a time, with a short hint the first time you meet each. On your very first run an archer comes first, then a pit, then each new danger at its own distance. Once you have met them all, they mix from early on and no two runs open the same way.

The dangers of Bamboo Valley

Archers

They hang on planks high above the path and fire arrows along a dotted red line. Up to 180 metres they shoot once; after that, twice.

Beat it: Draw a short line across the red dots. Tilt it back toward the archer and the arrow flies home and knocks him down for good.

Thorns

A bed of spikes on the path, wider the further you run.

Beat it: A short flat bridge over them. One drop of ink, and very hard to get wrong.

Falling rocks

From about 70 metres, rocks drop in from above.

Beat it: A slanted roof sends a rock rolling away. A flat one stops it but leaves it bouncing nearby.

Pits

A gap in the ground, from about 95 metres. They get wider as you go.

Beat it: A bridge from edge to edge, or a small ramp to hop it.

Spear throwers

From about 135 metres, a spear thrower winds up and hurls a spear along the path at him.

Beat it: A wall in the spear's path, drawn as soon as he winds up. Tilt it and the spear flies back and knocks him down. Fire ink burns him where he stands.

Swinging logs

From about 185 metres, a log swings across the path on ropes.

Beat it: A line across its swing stops it. Fire ink burns it.

Boulders, volleys and birds

Boulders roll in from 230 metres, arrow volleys rain down from 280, hawks dive from 330 and crows from 380.

Beat it: A wall for a boulder (or a ramp to leap it), a roof for a volley, and a line in a bird's path.

Which ink works here

Ink	What it does here
Pen	Does everything here. Learn the shapes with it first: bridge, roof, wall and ramp.
Rubber	He bounces high off it and flips. Fun over thorns and pits, and rocks rebound hard.
Steel	Tough and lasts longer. Rocks shatter on it and arrows fly back faster.
Fire	Burns arrows, logs and archers' planks, but he runs straight through it, so it is never a bridge.
Ice	He skates faster on it and launches further off an ice ramp.

Tips for Bamboo Valley

Learn the archer early. Archers are the most common enemy in the whole game, and an arrow sent back removes all of that archer's later shots.
Bridges are cheap. A short flat line costs one drop of ink. Drops refill on their own, so use them.
Rocks want a slant. A slanted roof sends a rock away from him for good.
Watch the combo. Every save builds your multiplier, and it only ends when its timer runs out. A steady rhythm of saves early pays off later.
Use slow time. While your pen is down the whole world slows. Press, look, then drag.

Common mistakes

Drawing at the archer instead of across the red dots. The dots are the arrow's exact path.
Bridging pits too late. Start the line at the near edge, before he gets there.
Holding ink back "for later". Lines fade anyway, and an unused drop saves nobody.

Bamboo Valley in Fight and Duel

Fight moves to a new world every five waves, in the same order as the run. Waves 1 to 5 take place in Bamboo Valley, and the last of them ends with the Iron Brute. After the Mist Caves the order starts again from Bamboo Valley at wave 41. In a Duel, every match is set in a world picked at random, so you may meet your opponent here too. See Fight: surviving the first twenty waves for each warlord.

The boss

At 500 metres, the Giant Archer ends your first stretch of the valley. Beat him and the world turns to desert: the Red Desert. After all nine bosses, at 4,500 metres, the whole order starts again from Bamboo Valley, and each boss is a little tougher every lap.