# Drift Racing Game Tips From Four Test Runs

> Drift racing game tips from Smokeslide: holding Up left the road at 4 seconds, three drift runs scored 390 to 630 and stage one asks for 1000.

- Source: https://yesthisgame.com/blog/drift-game-tips/
- Published: 2026-11-09, updated: 2026-11-09
- Author: Yes This Game (the team that makes the games on the site)

## Key takeaways

- Stage 1 asks for 1000 points and a time of 10 seconds.
- Holding only the Up arrow, the car left the road at the first bend after about 4 seconds with a drift score of 0.
- With Up, Space and Right held in the first bend, three runs reached drift scores of 610, 390 and 630 at the 12 second mark.
- Drift pop-ups of +280, +300 and +160 appeared while the car slid.

**The first drift racing game tip is to drift in the bends instead of just holding Up: in [Smokeslide](https://yesthisgame.com/smokeslide/) the car left the road at the first bend after about 4 seconds with a drift score of 0, while three runs that held Space and Right in that bend reached 610, 390 and 630.** Stage 1 asks for 1000 points and a time of 10 seconds, so every second counts.

## How the game works

Smokeslide is a top-down drift racing game. You pick a stage and a car, press OK and a 3, 2, 1 countdown starts. The tutorial lists the keys: the arrow keys accelerate, brake and turn, and holding Space with Left or Right makes the car drift. A yellow drift score at the top left goes up while you slide, and the stage asks for a target score and a target time.

## Four test runs on stage 1

We played stage 1 four times. In the first run we only held the Up arrow. In the other three we held Up, then pressed Space and Right together in the first bend, each time at a slightly different moment. We read the drift score at the top left when the timer showed 00:12.

*Drift score when the timer showed 00:12, stage 1 (target 1000)*

| Run | What we pressed | Drift score |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Up only | 0 |
| 2 | Up, then Space and Right in the first bend | 610 |
| 3 | Up, then Space and Right in the first bend, a bit later | 390 |
| 4 | Up, then Space and Right in the first bend, later still | 630 |

Four runs from one test browser; the differences between runs 2 to 4 come from when we pressed the keys.

![Bar chart of the drift score at the 12 second mark in four test runs: holding only Up scored 0, three runs that drifted with Space and Right scored 610, 390 and 630, and the stage one target is 1000](https://yesthisgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/smokeslide-drift-scores.png)
*Drift score at 12 seconds in the four runs, against the stage 1 target of 1000.*

## Holding Up alone ends in the grass

With only the Up arrow held, the car drove straight at the first bend, left the road after about 4 seconds and kept going on the grass. The drift score stayed at 0 and we watched it until the timer showed 00:18.

## Drifting scores in chunks

While the car slid, yellow numbers popped up beside it: +280, +300 and +160 in our runs. The drift score rose in steps like these until the slide ended. None of our three drift runs reached the 1000 target by the 12 second mark, so the bend has to be used for longer, or more of the track has to be drifted.

## 4 tips that follow from the numbers

- **Do not hold Up alone.** The car left the road at the first bend after about 4 seconds.
- **Press Space with the turn key in the bend.** Three runs scored 390 to 630.
- **Start the drift early.** The timing of the key press changed our score from 390 to 630.
- **Use the whole 10 seconds.** Stage 1 asks for 1000 points in that time.

## Where to try it

Try it yourself in [Smokeslide](https://yesthisgame.com/smokeslide/). For more driving, [Hollowdrive](https://yesthisgame.com/hollowdrive/) is a tunnel car game and [Apex Drift Garage](https://yesthisgame.com/apex-drift-garage/) is about drifting too.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does stage 1 of Smokeslide ask for?

A target score of 1000 and a target time of 00:10 are shown on the stage screen before the countdown.

### What happens if you only hold the Up arrow?

In our test the car drove straight off the road at the first bend after about 4 seconds, and the drift score stayed at 0.

### How do you drift?

Hold Space together with Left or Right in a bend; the tutorial lists it as Hold Space plus the arrow keys.

### How many points does drifting give?

Three test runs with Up, Space and Right held in the first bend had drift scores of 610, 390 and 630 at the 12 second mark, with pop-ups such as +280, +300 and +160.

### How many stages and cars are there?

The stage select screen shows ten stages, one open and nine locked, and four cars.

### Does Smokeslide work on a phone?

It uses keyboard keys, so it plays best on a computer; our version asks you to turn an upright phone sideways.

## Games in this guide

- [Smokeslide](https://yesthisgame.com/smokeslide.md): Play Smokeslide online: drift a sports car around a track seen from above, hold Space and turn to score and beat the target score and time.
- [Hollowdrive](https://yesthisgame.com/hollowdrive.md): Play Hollowdrive online: steer a small blue pickup around a rolling green tunnel past orange spikes and cyan arches. Keyboard or touch, no download.
- [Apex Drift Garage](https://yesthisgame.com/apex-drift-garage.md): Play Apex Drift Garage online: a 3D car drift simulator with a night city, three driving modes, drift cash and a garage to paint and tune your car.