MAKE A FLAPPY GAME OF YOUR FRIEND

The most popular thing people make in Flappy Lab isn’t a game about a bird. It’s a game about their friend. Their face flaps, the pipes are an inside joke, and the whole group chat fights over the high score. It takes about two minutes and it’s free.

What you need

• A photo of your friend. A close-up of their face works best.
• A picture for the pipes (anything tall: bottles, buildings, snacks, people).
• A background picture. Any photo works, and animated GIFs work for all three.
• A free Reddit account to post it. Your friend doesn’t need one to play.

Step by step

1. Open the lab. Tap Create on Reddit. It opens a FlapLab game on r/FlappyLab. Tap its [ CREATE ] button to open the editor.
2. Upload your friend as the bird. Pick a close-up photo of their face. If it has a transparent background it is cropped automatically; otherwise use the draw tool to trace around their head. That outline is also the hitbox.
3. Pick pipes that roast them. Their favourite snack, their ex's car, the homework they never did. Anything stacked tall works. You can add a second pipe picture so the obstacles alternate.
4. Set the scene. Upload a background of where they hang out: school, the office, the gym. Then hit the dice for a random ground colour that matches.
5. Tune the difficulty. Adjust speed, gravity, gap and pipe distance. The live rating goes from Chill to Evil. Make it Evil if they deserve it.
6. Post it and send the link. Give it a title with their name in it, post it, and drop the Reddit link in the group chat. They can play without logging in.

Start here: open the lab on Reddit and tap [ CREATE ].

Tips for a funnier game

• Crop tight. Just the head reads best at game size. Extra shoulders make the hitbox unfair.
• A transparent PNG is easiest. Remove the photo background first and the crop is automatic.
• Use a GIF of them laughing or dancing. It keeps moving in-game.
• Put their name in the title. “Flappy Rahul: Still Talking About Crypto” gets clicked. “My Game” doesn’t.
• Make it beatable. If they can’t clear two pipes they quit. If they barely clear five, they’ll play all night.

Keep it a roast, not bullying

Games are public on r/FlappyLab and follow Reddit’s rules. Only use photos of people who are in on the joke, and skip anything you wouldn’t say to their face. Need more ideas? There are dozens in the flappy game ideas list.

Questions

Does my friend need Reddit to play?

No. Anyone with the link can play in a browser without logging in.

Can I make the game private?

No. Posted games are public on r/FlappyLab. You can still test-play your game in the editor before posting.

Can I edit it after posting?

Not in place. On the device you made it on, your game shows an Edit button that reopens it in the editor, so you can tweak it and post an improved version in a minute.