Picnic Prix
Race three toy cars round the garden, the picnic blanket and the kitchen, three laps a race.
A top-down toy-car race against three computer cars. Six tracks, each laid across its own place: a garden lawn, a picnic blanket, a sandbox, a kitchen floor, an oak table and a flowerbed. Your car accelerates by itself: hold the left or right half of the screen to steer, both halves to brake. You start last on the grid and race three laps. Cars that touch bump each other, leaving the track slows you (sand drags hardest, wood and tiles slide), and orange boost pads give you a burst of speed. Three levels set how fast the computer cars drive and how bravely they take the corners: easy, medium and hard. The Daily race is one track with the same field for everyone. Your score adds points for your place to points for your time.
- Category
- Arcade
- Modes
- Easy · Medium · Hard · Daily
- Controls
- Touch · Mouse · Keyboard
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How to play
Pick a track with the arrows on the card and tap Start the race. After the countdown your car drives off by itself. Hold the left half of the screen to steer left and the right half to steer right; hold both halves to brake. You can also drag a finger left or right to steer. On a keyboard, use the left and right arrows (or A and D) to steer, the down arrow, S or Space to brake, and Enter to start; before the start, the arrows change the track. The camera turns with your car, so left on the screen is always your left. Stay on the grey track: off it you slow down, and a faint chalk line marks how far you can go. Drive over the orange pads for a boost. Brake a little before the tightest corners and you will lose less time than sliding wide. Finish three laps. Your score is 5,000 points for a win, 3,000 for second, 2,000 for third and 1,000 for fourth, plus up to 3,000 for your time: 2,500 at the track's par time, more if faster, none at twice par. If you are still racing 30 seconds after the last computer car finished, or after five minutes, the race ends without a score.
What is Picnic Prix?
Picnic Prix is a top-down race for toy cars. Four little racers, yours in red and three driven by the computer in blue, yellow and green, line up on a grey toy track laid across an everyday place: a garden lawn, a picnic blanket, a sandbox, a kitchen floor, an oak table or a flowerbed. Three laps, and the first car over the line wins.
The camera rides behind your car and turns with it, so left on the screen is always your left. The computer cars follow their own racing lines, each with its own pace, and they make small mistakes now and then: a corner taken too fast, a wobble onto the kerb.
How to play Picnic Prix
- Pick a track. Use the arrows on the card to choose one of the six tracks, then tap Start the race. After the countdown your car drives off by itself.
- Steer. Hold the left half of the screen to steer left and the right half to steer right. A short tap turns a little, a long hold turns hard. You can also drag a finger left or right.
- Brake. Hold both halves of the screen at once.
- Keyboard. The left and right arrows (or A and D) steer, the down arrow, S or Space brake, and Enter starts. Before the start, the arrows change the track.
- Stay on the track. Off the grey track you slow down: sand drags hardest, and wood and tiles slide. A faint chalk line marks the edge of the course; drive into it and you are pushed back.
- Boost pads. The orange plates with chevrons give you a burst of speed for a moment.
- Bumps. Cars that touch push each other apart. You start last on the grid, so find the gaps.
Scoring
- Place: 5,000 points for a win, 3,000 for second, 2,000 for third and 1,000 for fourth.
- Time: up to 3,000 more. Each track has a par time; finishing at par earns 2,500, faster earns more, and twice the par earns nothing.
- Out of time: if you are still racing 30 seconds after the last computer car finished, or after five minutes, the race ends with no score.
Tips and strategy
- Tap, do not hold, on the straights. Small taps keep the car straight; a long hold swings it across the track.
- Brake before the tightest corners. Turning hard scrubs speed by itself, but on a hairpin a short brake beats sliding wide onto the sand or the grass.
- Take the inside line. The shortest way round a corner hugs its inside kerb.
- Pass on the outside of a slower car's line. The computer cars keep to their racing line, so there is usually room beside it.
- Aim for the pads. A boost at the start of a straight is worth more than one at its end.
Frequently asked questions
Is Picnic Prix free?
Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.
What changes between the levels?
The tracks stay the same. On easy the computer cars are slower and take the corners cautiously; on medium they drive close to a careful player's pace; on hard they are about as fast as a sharp player and rarely slip.
What is the Daily race?
Every day everyone races the same track against the same field, so the scores compare directly on the leaderboard.
Can I play with a keyboard?
Yes. The left and right arrows, or A and D, steer; the down arrow, S or Space brake; Enter starts the race.
