What is Subway Surfers?
Subway Surfers is a thrilling running game on Play Games where you take control of Jack, a character constantly on the move across various locations. The premise is simple: Jack is being chased by a policeman and his dog, both determined to catch him. To escape, Jack dashes through the subway system, hopping onto trains to put distance between himself and his pursuers. Along the way, you’ll need to dodge a steady stream of obstacles. Grabbing coins as you run lets you shop for items later on. With a massive global following of over 100 million players, this fun, accessible game appeals to players of every age, including kids.
Highlights of the Game
- It’s one of the most addictive endless runners out there, challenging you to keep Jack one step ahead of the relentless policeman and his dog.
- Jack races through the subway, constantly on the move to stay safe.
- Coins appear scattered throughout the track as you run.
- Collecting as many coins as possible lets you unlock items from the in-game store.
- These coins can be used to access new features and surfboards.
- The store offers plenty to discover, including new characters, gear, boards, and other extras.
- As you advance through levels, both the train and the chasing policeman pick up speed — so make good use of power-ups to keep your energy and performance strong.
- A customization feature lets you personalize both your character and your board however you like.
- Each day brings fresh challenges to take on and overcome.
Control Keys
- Move your character in any direction using the WASD keys or arrow keys.
- Press the spacebar to activate your hoverboard.
Overview
Subway Surfers is an exciting endless runner that puts you in full control of Jack’s every move. Your main goal is keeping him sprinting fast enough to avoid getting caught by the police and their dog. Expect plenty of obstacles standing between Jack and safety. Make sure to grab coins and power-ups along the way to boost your speed and unlock valuable extras. As you climb through the levels, the difficulty ramps up accordingly. Best of all, this endless adventure is available to play online for free on Play Games.
Subway Surfers Characters
There are several playable characters to unlock in Subway Surfers, each purchased with the coins you collect during your runs. You start the game as Jake, the original Subway Surfer, and can unlock the rest as you keep playing.
| Character | Unlock Cost |
|---|---|
| Jake | Free (default) |
| Tricky | 3 Tricky’s Hats |
| Fresh | 50 Fresh’s Stereos |
| Spike | Coins / event |
| Yutani | 500 coins |
| Lucy | 7,000 coins |
| Tagbot | 12,000 coins |
| Ninja | 20,000 coins |
| Tasha | 30,000 coins |
| King | 80,000 coins |
| Brody | 350,000 coins |
While characters don’t have unique gameplay abilities, collecting them is one of the main long-term goals of the game and a big part of what keeps players coming back for “just one more run.”
Power-Ups and Boosters
Power-ups give you short bursts of help when the chase gets intense. Grab them mid-run to stay one step ahead of the inspector and his dog.
- Jetpack: Lifts you above the tracks so you can fly over obstacles for a few seconds.
- Super Sneakers: Gives you a temporary jump boost to clear obstacles more easily.
- Coin Magnet: Automatically pulls in every coin near you while it’s active.
- Score Multiplier (2x): Temporarily doubles the score you earn.
Boosters work a little differently — they’re single-use items that can save a run rather than power-ups that last a few seconds:
- Hoverboard: Absorbs one crash. Instead of ending your run, the hoverboard breaks and you keep going.
- Score Booster: Adds a flat bonus to your current score multiplier.
- Head Start: Skips you ahead past the early part of the track instantly.
Hoverboards
Besides your starting hoverboard, there are more boards to unlock as you progress, each with its own special ability:
- Double Jump – jump a second time while in the air
- Stay Low – automatically roll under low obstacles
- Super Jump – jump higher than normal
- Smooth Drift – fall more slowly after jumping
- Speed Up – run noticeably faster
- Zap Sideways – switch lanes instantly to dodge obstacles
Unlocking new hoverboards and their special powers takes a mix of coins and keys earned from completing missions and opening Mystery Boxes.
Missions and Daily Challenges
Subway Surfers refreshes its goals every day, which gives players a reason to come back beyond just chasing a new high score:
- Daily Word Hunt: Collect specific letters during your runs to unlock daily prizes. Completing the challenge for several days in a row earns a bigger reward.
- Missions: Complete specific tasks (like rolling a certain number of times or collecting a set number of coins) to earn permanent score multipliers.
- Mystery Boxes: Found during runs or earned from missions, these award random prizes ranging from small coin bundles to large coin jackpots.
Who Made Subway Surfers?
Subway Surfers was created by SYBO Games, a game studio based in Denmark. The game was first released in 2012 and has gone on to become one of the most downloaded endless runner games of all time, surpassing 1 billion downloadsworldwide. Thanks to regular content updates — new characters, new “World Tour” city locations, and seasonal events — it has remained one of the most played browser and mobile games for over a decade.
Tips to Get a Higher Score
- Stay in the middle lane when possible — it gives you more reaction time to dodge sudden obstacles on either side.
- Save your hoverboard for tricky sections rather than using it the moment you get it, since it can absorb one mistake later in the run. (Note: phrase generically — avoid implying it should be “saved up” indefinitely, since hoverboards expire if unused for too long in some versions.)
- Use the Coin Magnet before tight obstacle clusters to grab coins safely without having to weave between lanes.
- Watch the train patterns rather than reacting at the last second — obstacles in Subway Surfers follow short repeating sequences once the speed increases.