Slide 'N' Sneak
- Brand
- The Boxtrolls
- Year
- 2014
- Objective
- Sales
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- App
- Agency
- RED Interactive Agency
Objective
LAIKA, Universal Pictures and Focus Features needed a way to put "The Boxtrolls" in front of moviegoers before they ever bought a ticket. Released free on iOS nine days ahead of the film's US premiere, the game let fans step into Cheesebridge and meet its characters firsthand, turning phone time into pre-release buzz for the theatrical run.
Solution
Players lead a squad of up to three Boxtrolls out of their underground lair and across the rooftops of Cheesebridge, tapping to jump and swiping down to slide under obstacles and past the Red Hats hunting them. Timing matters: sliding into a slope builds speed, and a jump released at just the right moment launches the Boxtroll high into the air to clear gaps and grab gears. Each run threads through one of 50 levels across five environments, picking up gears along the way to unlock new Boxtrolls, each with its own perk, and gadgets that open up different paths through a stage. Tilting the phone in the menu shifts the scene for a parallax look at the world before the next run begins.
Results
Over 1,000,000 downloads, with players averaging 30–40 minutes per session.
- 1
The game opens on a menu staged as a dimensional diorama from the film; tilting the device via gyroscope makes the menu's layers separate and shift, creating a parallax effect.
- 2
Before each mission the player assembles a squad of up to three boxtrolls; the choice matters tactically, since purchased boxtrolls carry distinct perks.
- 3
A mission map organizes 50 levels across 5 Cheesebridge environments, unlocked one at a time as the player clears each stage.
- 4
A run starts in the boxtrolls' cave with a stated goal — rescue captured boxtrolls from the Red Hats' factory — then becomes a side-scrolling auto-runner: the boxtroll moves forward on its own while the player times jumps (tap or hold for a longer arc) and downward slides to clear or duck obstacles, following the rule of jumping what can be jumped and sliding under what can't.
- 5
The core trick is slope momentum: sliding down an incline builds speed, and a jump timed at the break of the slope launches the boxtroll high over whole clusters of obstacles, while uphill stretches favor jumping outright.
- 6
Along the route the player collects cogs — the game's core currency — while dodging or stomping Red Hat enemies and their traps, and can detour into hidden side tunnels that hold bonus cogs off the main path.
- 7
Mid-run, the player can switch between the three chosen boxtrolls as a tactical move, while also picking up gears, parts, and lightbulb rewards and activating one of eight run-boosting gadgets.
- 8
Reaching the Red Hats' factory and freeing the captured boxtroll caps the run, which is then scored up to three stars based on how thoroughly the player collected cogs along the way.
- 9
On failure, the player can pay to continue from the point of death; runs also carry static and video advertisements.
- 10
A shop lets the player spend cogs and cheese, the two currencies, on more than ten unlockable boxtrolls with distinct abilities — such as a magnet that draws in cogs or the power to smash barrels — and players commonly replay cleared levels to farm currency toward new characters.
