Rapid Raccoons

You and your small crew are tiny woodland critters working the cleanup shift on a dangerous white water rapids river. Your raft responds to weight, has no real steering, and an anchor at the back in the beginning. The delivery crew that went before you dropped priceless cargo into the water worth lots of shiny acorns.

Go and get it. Then get it to the dock in one piece. Or close enough.

YOU ARE THE CLEAN UP CREW

Cargo is out on the white water rapids, wedged against rocks, and stranded on islands you cannot climb from the water. A river map shows what is coming and roughly how long you have, which is never very long.

Only what reaches the hold counts. A crate knocked loose from the hold doesn't count once you arrive at the docks. You have to constantly keep a watch on your cargo to make sure it doesn't come loose.

You can only store so much cargo in your hold, so pick and choose which cargo are the most valuable to get in the moment.

SUCCESS IS THE PROBLEM

You start empty. Light, quick, nothing to lose. Every crate you win makes the raft heavier, slower and more stressed, and hands the river more to take from you. The hold starts small, but can be upgraded to allow for more storage.

THE LASSO

Use RMB to twirl a lasso, the main mechanic for getting your hands on the cargo without getting your feet wet. Aim well and secure the cargo in your lasso to bring back to the raft and secure in the hold.

• Hook a crate to reel it in and place into the hold.

• Hook a crewmate and drag them back aboard before the water takes them.

THE RIVER FIGHTS BACK

Rocks, boulders and fallen logs. Branches that catch the raft and hold it while you cut loose. Bears on the bank, eagles overhead, snapping turtles that bite. Turbulent water that throws the deck out from under you. Sun, fog, rain and thunderstorms.

And behind all of it, a wall of water that never stops and never gets tired.

Drop the anchor to come to a stop, if you think you have the time.

BETTER WITH A CREW

• 1 to 4 player online co-op. Invite friends straight through Steam.

• No fixed roles. Find your niche on the raft, whether that's the lookout, the cargo wrangler, the fisherman, or the useless critter.

• Islands. Some cargo you can't reach and the lasso is a must, better hone your skills.

• Pull your crew out. Reach over the edge or throw a rope before they go under.

SPEND IT BETWEEN RUNS

Shiny acorns split between raft upgrades, and raft modifications. Upgrade your speed, resilience, or cargo capacity in the raft upgrade station or purchase a crow's nest, a fishing station, or a forward steering mount from the raft modification station.

Spend acorns at the prize machine, the bar menu, the supply shop, or save up to beat your buddies when playing poker and blackjack. 30+ perks inside the prize machine sorted into common, rare, and shiny. Items purchasable from the bar and supply shop's and an NPC who converts regular boring acorns into shiny ones.

Sit at the card table and bet your acorns on a hand of blackjack before you set off. Then dress your critter in hats, glasses, scarves and coats, because the wave does not care but your crew will yell at you if you aren't dripped out.

RUN AFTER RUN

Quotas climb every run. Each run starts fresh; your unlocks and your personal bests do not. Afterwards the map lays out the route you took, how far you got and how close the wave came.

Sooner or later the river wins. The only question is how far you get first.

Grab a crewmate, grab the cargo, and see how far the river lets you go.