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Foldy Birdy app icon: a white origami crane flying over a paper sun and folded paper mountains on a blue sky

Foldy Birdy

A paper bird arcade game you play with the hinge of iPhone Duo.

For iPhone Duo and every iPhone. Coming Fri Oct 23.

About the game

Foldy Birdy is an arcade game built for iPhone Duo. You play it with the hinge. Hold the phone half open, like a book, and fold it a little to flap. Or pick Fold Glide: the hinge angle sets the bird's height. Open wider to climb, close to dive. The bird and score stay right of the fold, which stays sharp while you fold.

It works on every iPhone too: tap to flap, or tilt the phone or drag a finger to glide.

Fly through the gaps in the folded paper columns. One point per gap. Touch a column or the ground and the run is over. Day turns to night as you fly.

Release is Fri Oct 23, the day iPhone Duo ships.

How you play

Two modes: Flap and Glide. Pick how you play with the switch above Play. It lists only the ways your phone can use right now.

On iPhone Duo

Fold Flap

Hold the phone half open, like a book. Fold it a little to flap. "Flap on small folds" is on by default, so a 5° fold is enough.

Fold Glide

The hinge angle sets the bird's height. Open wider to climb, close to dive.

On every iPhone

Tap Flap

Tap anywhere to flap. Every tap gives the bird a flap. Tapping works on iPhone Duo too.

Tilt Glide

Hold the phone in front of you. Tip the top away to climb, toward you to dive.

Drag Glide

Drag a finger up to climb, down to dive. It steers like a trackpad, from wherever your finger lands.

Fold Glide and Tilt Glide start with a short hold of the start button. The angle you hold the phone at becomes the bird's starting height. Drag Glide starts at your first touch.

Video

Fold Flap and Fold Glide on the iPhone Duo inner display, then Tap Flap and Tilt Glide on iPhone. Recorded in the iOS Simulator. No sound.

48 seconds. The title screen, Fold Flap in Paper Hills, Fold Glide in Lighthouse Bay, Tap Flap in Lily Pond and Tilt Glide in Outer Space, then Coral Reef, Classroom and Castle.

Screenshots

Captured in the iOS Simulator. Select an image to open the full-size file.

iPhone Duo, inner display

Title screen on the iPhone Duo inner display. Left of the fold: the Castle world and a green origami dragon in the character picker. Right of the fold: the Play button, the Fold to flap menu and the world's best score.
Title screen. Pickers left of the fold, controls right of it.
Lily Pond on the iPhone Duo inner display: a green origami frog flies between hanging paper willow branches, over a pond with cattails and paper trees.
Lily Pond with the frog.
Fold Glide at night on the iPhone Duo inner display: a white paper crane glides between red paper columns under a crescent moon. Score 14.
Fold Glide at night in Paper Hills.

iPhone

Title screen on iPhone: the Castle world with the origami dragon selected, a Play button and the Tap to flap menu.
Title screen
Lighthouse Bay: a red origami steamboat flies between gray paper rocks, with red and white paper lighthouses and waves below.
Lighthouse Bay
Coral Reef: an orange origami fish swims between hanging rope nets and pink paper coral, over a sandy sea floor.
Coral Reef
Classroom: a white paper airplane flies between stacks of books and hanging banners of paper shapes, with a globe on the floor.
Classroom
Outer Space: a red and white origami rocket flies between paper space station columns over a gray moon surface, with stars behind.
Outer Space
Tilt Glide ready screen on iPhone: the text Ready? Hold the phone the way you like, then press and hold the button. A round Hold to start button and a paper crane.
Tilt Glide, ready to start

20 paper worlds, 20 origami characters

A campaign runs through 20 worlds, from calm to wild. Each world has its own origami character, copied from a real origami design. The worlds and characters are styled as real folded paper.

  1. World 1 Paper Hills Crane
  2. World 2 Lily Pond Frog
  3. World 3 Autumn Forest Owl
  4. World 4 Classroom Paper Airplane
  5. World 5 Japanese Garden Butterfly
  6. World 6 Lighthouse Bay Steamboat
  7. World 7 Coral Reef Fish
  8. World 8 Rainforest Waterfall Hummingbird
  9. World 9 African Safari Flamingo
  10. World 10 Desert Hawk
  11. World 11 Arctic Penguin
  12. World 12 Night City Pigeon
  13. World 13 Pirate Cove Parrot
  14. World 14 Castle Dragon
  15. World 15 Haunted Forest Bat
  16. World 16 Storm Kite
  17. World 17 Dino Jungle Archaeopteryx
  18. World 18 Volcano Island Phoenix
  19. World 19 Outer Space Rocket
  20. World 20 Dino Apocalypse Pterodactyl

How unlocks work

  • You start in Paper Hills with the crane.
  • Score 10 in a world to unlock its character.
  • Score 15 in that world with its character to open the next world.
  • Every run starts easy and gets harder over its first 60 points, in every world.
  • Flap and Glide both count. Bests are kept per world and per mode.
  • Bronze, silver, gold and platinum medals at 10, 20, 30 and 40 points.
  • Game Center leaderboards for Flap and Glide. Medals are Game Center achievements too.
  • Best scores and unlocks sync across your devices through iCloud.
  • Share a picture of your score.

Accessibility

  • Tap anywhere to flap, on every iPhone.
  • "Flap on small folds" (on by default) needs only a 5° fold.
  • VoiceOver reads the score every 5 points, the result at game over, and why a run paused.
  • Text scales to the accessibility sizes.
  • Light and dark looks, with text that meets WCAG AA contrast.
  • "Swap climb and dive" for Glide.
  • No account needed. Game Center is optional.

Languages

Foldy Birdy is in 9 languages.

  • English
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • Français (French)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Português (Brasil) (Portuguese, Brazil)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese, Traditional)
  • Italiano (Italian)

Support

Questions, bugs or ideas? Email us:

spatial@specialglasses.net

  • Requirements: iPhone with iOS 26 or later. Fold Flap and Fold Glide need iPhone Duo.
  • Ads: the game has ads, never while you fly. Remove Ads is a one-time in-app purchase, on the game over screen and in Settings. It removes the banner and full-screen ads. The optional "watch an ad to continue" stays.
  • Restore a purchase: open Settings (the gear on the title screen) and choose Restore Purchases. Use the Apple Account you bought it with.
  • Folding does not flap: hold the phone half open, then make a quick, small fold. "Flap on small folds" in Settings (on by default) makes a 5° fold count.
  • Score not on the leaderboard: in Settings, choose Sign in to Game Center. Your best is sent once you are signed in.
  • Ad tracking: change it in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. Where Google's consent rules apply, use "Privacy choices" in the game's Settings.
  • Analytics: turn off "Share analytics" in the game's Settings to send nothing to Google Analytics.
  • Privacy: read the Foldy Birdy privacy policy.