Noodlecake Studios is a gaming company that sure loves to release biking-related titles, including Trail Boss BMX and various games in the Pumped BMX series. The latest in the series is Pumped BMX Flow, and while it’s currently unavailable for Android gamers, it’s available for those with iOS devices. This is a free-to-play game where the goals are to complete more challenges and beat high scores — either your own or those of other players from around the world.
You can earn gems or diamonds in In Pumped BMX Flow to unlock more content, and unlike in other versions from the Pumped BMX series, this is an endless title where the jumps “keep going as long as you do.” You can also play unique levels that change on a daily basis, which is where you can compete with other players for leaderboard rankings.
In essence, Pumped BMX Flow is a casual game, and the endless mechanic further reinforces that. However, much of it goes beyond the usual bare-bones features of casual games, and that’s why we’ve come up with a detailed Pumped BMX Flow guide, where we show you how to get super high scores and overcome more jumps and other obstacles. This is one of those easy-to-learn and hard-to-master titles, and we hope we can help you achieve that mastery sooner rather than later.
1. The Basics Of Pumped BMX Flow
Not too long ago, we took a look at Touchgrind Skate 2, which is another casual take on extreme sports and a game that’s very heavy on stringing combos together in order to score a ton of points. Pumped BMX Flow has its share of similarities, but ultimately, it’s a totally different game. For one, while the former game features an unseen skater riding their board as you control it, you can actually see the bike’s rider with no first-person perspective.
And it’s not as important to string combos together as it is to stay on your bike without epically spilling or slowing down to the point you cannot make it past the next obstacle. That’s going to automatically end your run, regardless of the mode, so what you’ll need to do here is to last as long as you could on your bike and clear all the obstacles and jumps successfully.
There are two primary game modes to choose from here, and we’ll first tackle the Flow Run, which is the game’s classic “endless” mode where you can technically keep going and going as long as you don’t spill. By default, there are three challenges that you need to complete, with a prize of five gems per challenge — complete all of them and you will get a fresh set of three.
These challenges may run the gamut from performing a specific trick to scoring a certain number of points within a single trick, scoring a given number of points, to going a certain number of meters. We may have only given a few examples, but there are more — keep playing those Flow Runs to find out more, but be warned that the challenges get progressively harder as you complete more of them!
The next mode is Daily Run, and these challenge you to compete “for the win,” which is to rank ahead of other players around the world in the leaderboard. Unlike in Flow Run, where you can start scoring points after clearing at least one obstacle/jump, Daily Run does not credit you with any points at all if you wipe out before the course is completed.
Each level usually requires about 30 seconds to complete, and you will only get credited with points once you reach the finish line, upon which you can see your ranking against other friends who play the game or against everyone else. You have 24 hours to complete the course before it changes, so make sure you’re getting your Daily Runs in before 12 midnight Eastern time!
For both modes, simply tap on the right-side pedal button in order to move forward, then release your finger right before the start of a jump. Hit the pedal button once again once you’re ready to land, and repeat the process as you go on. On the right side, you will see another button with an arrow going in a circular direction.
This enables you to do 360-degree moves, and you can tap on this before or after using the joystick for tricks in order to modify them and make them 360-degree maneuvers. We’ll be talking about the joystick in greater depth in just a bit, but you will see it on the bottom left and you will be using this to do special moves, or tricks, while you’re airborne.
2. Pausing The Game Reveals Controls For Different Tricks
During the tutorial stage, you will be told that you need to use the joystick in order to perform tricks on your bike. While most players will quickly realize that moving the joystick in a certain direction corresponds to a different trick, it may be a bit harder to memorize which command goes with what trick.
However, there is one easy way to pull up a cheat sheet of sorts to tell you the joystick direction that corresponds to the move in question — simply hit the pause button on the upper left of the screen while on a run! To give you an idea of how the basics work, moving up is for Table, upper right is for No Hander, right is for Tail Whip, lower right is for No Foot Can, down is for Turndown, lower left is for Toboggan, left is for Barspin, and upper left is for Superman.
Once you unlock new tricks, a special button will appear on the left side of the screen doing your runs — for example, once you unlock the second tier of tricks, you will see a T2 button; tap on this before performing a trick and you will be doing the moves that are included in the second, not the first tier.
3. When Completing Challenges, Follow The Requirements To The Letter!
Challenges are unquestionably the main reason why you should do the Flow Run, as that’s where you can earn more gems (or “Credit”) that will allow you to unlock most of the goodies in the game. However, you may be wondering why, for example, when asked to do a Barspin, you don’t get credited for it if it’s part of a combo, or if you modify it with the 360 control and end up doing a 360 Barspin.
That’s because when it comes to challenges, Pumped BMX Flow requires you to do the exact move that is stated — unless otherwise stated, you cannot modify it by hitting the 360 button or mix it in with other moves while performing a combo.
In relation to the above, there are some challenges that require you to perform a trick and hold it for a certain number of seconds. We’ve noticed that the game’s count is a bit slow when it comes to this aspect, so if you’re asked to hold your Turndown for two seconds, you’ll want to make sure you remain airborne for at least three seconds in order to get credited for challenge completion.
4. Master The Front Flip And Back Flip Above Others
There’s a reason why during the tutorial, Pumped BMX Flow teaches you about how to tilt your phone to do a back flip (tilt left) and front flip (tilt right) before it teaches you how to do the other tricks with the joystick on the bottom left. These moves are arguably the most important ones to master in the game, and they can be the difference between clearing a tough obstacle and landing on your rear end (or another body part) in yet another wacky pratfall. Furthermore, a well-timed flip, either back or front but especially the latter, could help you make a smoother landing in general, thus allowing you to last longer in the Flow Run or complete the Daily Run.
It won’t be easy, especially if you aren’t used to games that require a phone-tilting mechanic. But that’s why the Flow Runs are there — not only is this the best way to load up on those gems as you complete more challenges, it’s also a good way to practice for the Daily Runs in a lower-stakes setting.
When practicing your moves in Flow Run mode, make the back flip and front flip your main priority for mastery, and if you feel confident enough with the basic versions of each trick, combine them with other tricks and see if you can string together some combos that might help you in future Flow Runs or get you out of tight spots during the Daily Runs. Again, it’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it in the end.
5. Don’t Overdo Those Tricks In The Early Goings
Yes, we understand that it’s fun to string together those long and impressive combos, transitioning from one move to the next while airborne and racking up a ton of points in the process. After all, that’s what you need to do if you want to rise up the leaderboards for the Daily Runs.
But at the end of the day, we should remind you that the objective of the game is to stay on your bike and keep it going for as long as you could, or until the level is completed, depending on which mode you’re playing. That means that if you’re a beginner, you should perform any and all tricks with the goal of clearing the jump and keeping your run going, as opposed to scoring more points.
Keep it simple and utilitarian — normally, a basic 360 without the use of the joystick should be fine, though as you go on, you will learn that there are certain moves that are more optimal for smoother landings than others. And going back to what we said in the last tip, make sure you’re mastering the art of precisely tilting your phone left or right in order to do back and front flips, respectively!
6. Don’t Chase After The Gems Unless Asked To!
Regardless whether you prefer to call them gems, diamonds, or credit (as Pumped BMX Flow’s branding suggests), this is the only type of currency in the game, and on occasion, you will see them pop up at random places in either game mode. While courses tend to be static and only change day-by-day for the Daily Runs, the placement of these gems is procedurally generated, and if you land on one of them, they will be added to your running total.
However, it is not advisable to purposefully chase after them, unless it is explicitly stated as a requirement in Flow Run challenges. You don’t want to jeopardize your high score — or your completion of another challenge or two — just because you’re trying to get one measly gem instead of the five you can earn for a completed challenge!
7. Watch An Ad Video For 2x Points Multiplier
Looking to earn more points for your Daily Run, or perhaps an additional boost of points to help you beat your top score in the Flow Run? Tap on the button above Daily Run on the main screen and you will get to watch an advertisement video — complete it and you will get a five-minute stretch in which you can earn double points in either of the two main game modes.
It would normally be recommendable to get as much play as you could during that five-minute window, though you can always refresh that by watching another video once the five minutes is over — the game doesn’t seem to run out of ad videos for players to watch, but that also means it’s suggested that you stay online while playing the game, even if it isn’t actually required.
8. New Characters And Bikes Are Mainly Cosmetic, So Save Your Gems For New Courses
By tapping on the shirt and handlebar icons respectively on your player character, you can use your gems to purchase new characters (both male and female alike) or bikes — for the former, these would cost 1,500 to 5,000 gems, and for the latter, the price range is 1,000 to 8,000 gems. Obviously, there are some characters that look flashier than others, and the same applies to the bikes — it’s the characters in cycling gear that are costlier, as are the shinier, more colorful bikes.
However, it won’t matter whether you choose to buy a cheap bike/character or a costlier one — any changes in character or bike are cosmetic, and the main benefit, aside from collection purposes, is to break up the monotony that one can feel when using the same character or bike for each and every run. That could mentally help when it comes to beating a high score, but at the end of the day, don’t expect your bike to go any faster or your characters to perform tricks more skillfully if you decide to move on from the stock options.
So what should you purchase with your gems/credit if all the changes are really cosmetic? We would advise you to save your gems instead for new courses — the Beginner Pack only costs 100 gems, but there are various others, ranging from Big Sets (500 gems) to Insanity (3,000 gems) that cost way more than that and are correspondingly tougher to complete.
That can also break up the monotony of using the stock course and add to the challenge of playing Pumped BMX Flow, but as we have made perfectly clear in this tip, more expensive means more difficult! You can, however, toggle between different courses or choose to turn all of them off if you prefer to use the default course that comes with the game.
9. You Can Pay $3 To Get Rid Of The Ads
Your mileage may vary when talking about the ad videos that appear in Pumped BMX Flow — these appear every two runs during Daily Run and every four runs during Flow Run, and some may say that they can come about as intrusive.
While these videos are typically only 15 seconds long unlike the 30-second clips that are used in most other games, there are some that leave you no choice but to watch the entire ad! There may even be some that lead to a second, shorter ad that includes a playable mini-game for the title being promoted.
If you truly enjoy the game and wouldn’t mind paying a nominal fee, it costs $3 USD (or its equivalent in local currency) to buy Pumped BMX Flow’s full version, which essentially removes advertisement videos. You will still have to watch videos in order to get a points multiplier, but those periodic clips that prevent you from immediately redoing your Daily Run or Flow Run attempt will be gone once you pay $3.
You can also pay $4 for 3,000 gems or $7 for $10,000 gems, and if you want to get all those gems plus an ad-free version of the game, you can pay $14 — that’s not a bad price for a ton of premium currency and no ad videos going forward!
10. Complete Longer Flow Runs To Unlock New Trick Packages
At the end of the day, Flow Run is arguably more satisfying to play than Daily Run, and that mostly boils down to the rewards you can receive — aside from the gems you can earn for completing the challenges or simply scoring some points during your run, you can also unlock new trick packages by reaching certain distance milestones.
Unlocking Trick Pack 1 is fairly easy, but once you get to Oppo Spins, you’re going to need to apply everything you’ve learned thus far and put together a single 3,000-meter Flow Run in order to unlock that package. The required single-run distance will keep increasing progressively as you go from package to package, and that means it’s very advisable to treat Flow Run as more than just a lower-stakes practice session for your Daily Runs, as we suggested earlier.
Sure, that can be very helpful, but we believe it’s better to give it your all on most Flow Runs if you’re trying to unlock more trick packages and get more ways to score some points and pull off some impressive moves on your virtual bike.
And that would be all the tips and tricks we have discovered for Pumped BMX Flow. If you have come up with additional tips for the game, feel free to let us know in the comments!