# Santa Runner Game Tips: 11 Runs, Only 3 Scored > Santa runner game tips from 11 Giftgallop runs: standing still scored 0 every time, and only the two runs that kept dodging lasted about a minute. - Source: https://yesthisgame.com/blog/santa-runner-game-tips/ - Published: 2026-11-12, updated: 2026-11-12 - Author: Yes This Game (the team that makes the games on the site) ## Key takeaways - Standing still in the first lane scored 0 in all 3 runs and ended between 7.6 and 18.2 seconds. - Random up and down moves scored 11 points once in 3 runs, but two of the three ended before 8 seconds. - A script that dodged obstacles scored 17 and 36 in its two runs that lasted about a minute; its other three scored 0. - 8 of the 11 runs scored 0, because points come only from gift packs. **The first Santa runner game tip is to keep moving: in [Giftgallop](https://yesthisgame.com/giftgallop/), all 3 runs where we pressed nothing ended with 0 points, and the only runs that lasted about a minute were two where a script kept steering around obstacles.** Even so, 8 of our 11 runs finished with no points at all. ## How Giftgallop works Giftgallop is an endless runner on five snowy lanes. Santa runs at the left of the screen carrying his sack, and you move him up or down one lane at a time. Gift packs on the lanes are the only thing that adds to your score. Rocks, tree stumps, logs and wobbling snowmen end the run, and a power-up lets Santa pass through them for about 5 seconds. The game's settings step the speed up from 10 to 12, 15, 17 and 20, one step about every 15 seconds. ## What we measured We played the game in a test browser at 1280 by 720 pixels with software rendering, which is slow. A small script pressed the arrow keys, and the game's own numbers told us the score and whether the run had ended. We tried three ways, 11 runs in all: pressing nothing (3 runs), pressing up or down at random every 0.7 seconds (3 runs), and a script that looked at the obstacles ahead and moved to a lane with more room (5 runs). The script is simple: it dodged obstacles and only sometimes went for gift packs. The numbers show what a very steady player could do, not what a person does, and times are in our test browser. *11 runs of Giftgallop by method* | Method | Runs | Result | | --- | --- | --- | | No input | 3 | 0 points each; ended at 18.2, 7.6 and 9.1 s | | Random up and down | 3 | 11 points at 15.1 s; 0 points at 7.5 s; 0 points at 6.0 s | | Script dodging obstacles | 5 | 0 points at 40.8, 7.6 and 9.1 s; 17 points at 60.4 s; 36 points at 63.5 s | 11 runs in one test browser with slow software rendering, steered by a script, not by people. The score is what the game saved when the run ended. We did not test the power-up, and we did not run the game on a phone. ![Dot chart of 11 Giftgallop runs by method: runs with no input end before 19 seconds with 0 points, and only two script runs last about a minute and score 17 and 36](https://yesthisgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/giftgallop-11-runs.png) *How long each run lasted and what it scored; teal dots scored points, grey dots scored 0.* ## Standing still does not work With no input Santa stayed in the first lane and every run ended when an obstacle reached him, after 7.6 to 18.2 seconds. None of the three runs scored. ## The long runs were the dodging ones The two longest runs, 60.4 and 63.5 seconds, were both from the dodging script, which made 29 and 23 lane changes. They reached the final speed step and scored 17 and 36. The same script also lost three runs early: at 7.6 and 9.1 seconds it ended exactly when the no-input runs ended, so it probably did not get out of the way of the first obstacle in those two, and one more run ended at 40.8 seconds with 0 points. ## Random moves are a gamble Pressing up or down at random scored 11 points in one run and nothing in the other two, which ended at 7.5 and 6.0 seconds. Moving between lanes does reach the gift packs, but with no eye on the obstacles it also runs into them. ## 4 tips that follow from the numbers - **Keep moving.** All 3 runs with no input ended at 0 points inside 19 seconds. - **Watch the obstacles first.** The two minute-long runs both came from a script that kept changing lanes to avoid them. - **Collect on the way.** Points come only from gift packs, and 8 of 11 runs scored none. - **Expect the track to speed up.** The two longest runs reached the fastest step after about 60 seconds. ## Where to try it Try it yourself in [Giftgallop](https://yesthisgame.com/giftgallop/). For another game about changing lanes in time, [Hoplane](https://yesthisgame.com/hoplane/) has you jump between lanes. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do you score in Giftgallop? Only by running through gift packs. In our 11 runs, the 8 that picked up none ended with 0 points. ### What happens if you do not move? In 3 runs with no input, Santa hit an obstacle in his lane after 7.6 to 18.2 seconds and scored 0. ### Does random movement work? Not well. Three runs of random up and down moves scored 11, 0 and 0, and ended after 15.1, 7.5 and 6.0 seconds. ### How long can a run last? The two longest runs we saw lasted about 60 to 64 seconds, by which time the track had reached its top speed. ### How does the speed change? The track runs at five speeds and steps up about every 15 seconds. ### What does the power-up do? For about 5 seconds Santa passes through obstacles without ending the run. ## Games in this guide - [Giftgallop](https://yesthisgame.com/giftgallop.md): Play Giftgallop online: steer Santa across five snowy lanes, grab gift packs and power-ups, and dodge rocks, stumps and logs in this endless runner. - [Hoplane](https://yesthisgame.com/hoplane.md): Play Hoplane online: hop a frog across grass, roads, railway and river with the arrow keys, dodge slimes and spiked wheels and keep three hearts. - [Puffdash](https://yesthisgame.com/puffdash.md): Play Puffdash online: drag to steer a runner with a balloon along a floating road, collect balloons, jump ramps and reach the finish.