To play Frogger, you hop a frog across a busy road and then a river, one space at a time, and land it in one of five homes at the top of the screen before its timer runs out. Fill all five homes and the level ends; the next level is faster. On the road, anything that moves kills you. On the river it’s the reverse: the water kills you, and the moving logs, turtles and alligators are the only safe places to stand.
Here are the rules of the 1981 arcade original, how scoring works, and how to get across the river.
What are the rules of Frogger? #
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| Controls | A four-way joystick; each push moves the frog one hop |
| Lives | 3, 5 or 7 frogs, depending on the machine’s settings |
| Goal | Guide a frog into each of the five homes at the top |
| Timer | Each frog has a limited time, around 30 seconds, to get home |
| Road | Contact with any vehicle costs a life |
| River | Touching the water costs a life; ride logs, turtles and alligators instead |
| Screen edge | Riding a log or turtle off the side of the screen costs a life |
| New level | Filling all five homes starts a faster, harder level |
Frogger can be played by one player or two taking turns. Konami made the original, released in 1981, and Sega/Gremlin published it in North America.
How does Frogger scoring work? #
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Each forward hop | 10 |
| Each frog that reaches home | 50 |
| Each unused half-second on the timer | 10 |
| Guiding the lady frog home | 200 |
| Catching a fly in a home | 200 |
| Filling all five homes | 1,000 |
On default settings you get a single bonus frog at 20,000 points. The time bonus matters more than it looks: a frog that gets home quickly earns more than one that dawdles, so a fast, clean route beats a cautious one.
How do you cross the road? #
The road is five lanes of traffic, and each lane moves at its own speed and direction. Cars, trucks, dune buggies and bulldozers all end your frog on contact.
- Watch one lane ahead, not the whole road. Hop into a lane when there’s a gap coming, not when there’s a gap right now.
- Use sideways hops. You can move left and right as well as forward, which lets you drift with traffic while you wait for the next lane to open.
- Stop in the middle strip. The safe median between road and river is a place to line up your river crossing without traffic behind you.
How do you cross the river in Frogger? #
The river is where most frogs are lost, because the rules flip. On the road you look for empty space. On the river you look for something to stand on.
Ride the logs, but not to the edge #
When your frog lands on a log it moves with the log, even if you don’t touch the joystick. That’s fine until the log carries you off the side of the screen, which costs a life. Every ride is on a clock you can see: the distance to the screen edge.
- Land toward the middle of a log. It gives you room to adjust and lowers the chance of slipping into the water at an end.
- Hop up as soon as the next lane lines up, rather than riding a log to the edge and hoping.
Expect lanes to move in opposite directions #
River lanes alternate, so the log you’re on and the one above it are often going opposite ways. That means your target moves while you’re mid-jump. Aim for the part of the next log that will be in front of you when you land, not the part that’s in front of you now.
Watch the diving turtles #
Some turtles dive under the surface every so often, and a frog on a diving turtle drowns. Stand on them only long enough to hop to the next row, and if you’re unsure, pick a log instead.
Alligators are platforms, with a catch #
You can ride an alligator’s back, but its open jaws are deadly, so stay away from the head. Later levels also add snakes and otters to the river and median, and they have to be avoided.
Bring the lady frog home #
A lady frog sometimes appears on a log. Hop onto her and she rides on your frog’s back. Get her home safely for 200 bonus points. She’s worth a detour when the river is calm, but not when the timer is low.
How do you fill the homes? #
The five homes are small gaps in the bank at the top of the screen. Landing on the bank between them costs a life, so line up your final hop with the home you want before you leave the last river lane. Fill the hardest-to-reach homes first while you have the most time, and leave the easiest for last. A fly sitting in a home is worth 200 points if you land there while it’s showing.
Where can you play Frogger today? #
The original has been ported to many systems since 1981, from the Atari 2600 to the Game Boy, and the arcade version has been re-released on modern platforms in the Arcade Archives series. Frogger’s rules also live on in the games it inspired. Crossy Road made the idea endless in 2014, and we compare the two in Frogger vs Crossy Road.
On a phone, Capybara Crossing keeps Frogger’s river rules nearly intact. Water is deadly for its capybara, logs and lily pads drift, riding one off the screen edge ends the run, and turtles dive under. Instead of five homes, the road never ends, and instead of a timer, an eagle comes for you if you stand still for eight seconds. For more tips on river lanes in modern games, see how to cross rivers safely in Crossy Road-style games, and for similar games, the best Frogger-style games for iPhone and Android. Our post on retro arcade mechanics in modern mobile games traces what else carried over.
Frequently asked questions #
How many lives do you get in Frogger? #
Three, five or seven frogs, depending on how the arcade operator set the machine. On default settings you can earn one extra frog, at 20,000 points.
Can Frogger swim? #
No. In Frogger, touching the river water costs a life, even though real frogs swim well. You have to cross by riding logs, turtles and alligators’ backs.
Why do some turtles sink in Frogger? #
They’re diving turtles, and they dip under the surface from time to time. If your frog is standing on one when it dives, the frog drowns, so treat them as a quick stepping stone rather than a place to wait.
What happens when you fill all five homes? #
The level ends, you score a 1,000-point bonus, and the next level starts with faster, more crowded lanes. The game continues until you run out of frogs.