underline

About underline

underline, by brehmdig, is a browser runner with a notebook theme. The three characters give the game its name: und is the shredder, a grinning machine with a paper crown; erl is the eraser you control; and ine is the pencil that writes the course ahead of you without looking back. Read in chase order, they spell underline.

The only controls are up and down. You steer the eraser along the page and thread through the letters as the pencil draws them in real time, while the shredder keeps coming from behind at a steady pace. A panel at the top shows your distance in metres, the grade you have reached, the pencil hardness and the gap to the shredder. There are 17 grades of depth, and the handwriting gets harder to get through the further you read. The maker describes them as 30-second runs.

Each day has one numbered page, such as no. 3 on 3 July 2026, and a new one arrives at midnight. Everyone on earth plays the same page with the same words, curves and traps. When you are shredded, a report card gives you a grade, your distance and how long you lasted, plus a coloured row of squares you can copy and paste anywhere. The game keeps your best distance, a daily streak and a top depths table where you can enter your initials, and you can run the page again as often as you like.

underline is free and plays in the browser on desktop and mobile.

How to play underline

1. Open underline on itch.io and tap to run.
2. Steer the eraser up and down to thread between the pencil's handwriting.
3. Keep moving forward so the shredder behind you does not catch up.
4. Go as deep as you can; the writing gets harder with each grade.
5. When you are shredded, copy your report card and share it, or run the page again.

Screenshots

Tips

• The page is the same all day, so a second run lets you learn where the tight letters are.
• Watch the shredder distance in the top panel and avoid long detours.
• Play every day to keep your streak; missing a day resets it.

Questions