TARBOUSH GAMES

A BALLOON. TWO GLOVES. ONE THUMB.

IS IT A
DOG?

Tap to twist.
Send it. Let them guess.

A long balloon slides through two cartoon gloves. Tap when each mark reaches them, and your own timing becomes the animal: a late tap makes a floppy ear, an early one a stubby leg. Then send it to a friend and ask the only question that matters.

Free · about a minute · no signup · made for phones

Wonky balloon animals on a pastel party table: a short-necked giraffe, a very tall dog, a bunny with one huge floppy ear, a long sausage dog and a limp noodle. Below, two white cartoon gloves twist a purple balloon with marks coming.
Nobody meant to make these.Drawn by the game · Enlarge
9 twists make a dog3 animals to hide4 answers, one is a noodle0 signups

YOUR THUMB IS THE ARTIST.

Tap. Twist.
Is it a dog?

There are no stars and no score. The creature is the result: every part is exactly as long as your timing made it, and it gets a name to match.

  1. 01 /

    Tap.

    Tap anywhere when a mark reaches the gloves. The next three marks are always in sight, so you can feel the rhythm coming.

  2. 02 /

    Twist.

    Too late, too early, a nervous double tap: the balloon remembers. The parts fold into your creature, and it gets its name, like “a stubby sausage dog-ish”.

  3. 03 /

    Send.

    Pick your animal in secret and send it on WhatsApp or Telegram. Your friend guesses Dog, Bunny, Giraffe or a noodle, then twists one back.

A part squeezed too short pops the balloon. Again is one tap away, and it never costs anything.

Actual gameplay · the snake lesson, then a dog · taps shown as circles

A REAL LITTLE DOG. PROBABLY.

Watch it twist.
Watch it wobble.

One tap to learn on a snake, then a dog at full speed: nine twists in about five seconds. This one came out sky-necked and tiny-eared, and the game had to ask: “…is it a giraffe?”

Twist your own ↗

THE FRIEND NEVER SEES THE ANSWER.

Guess it.
Twist one back.

Your friend gets the creature, never the answer. One tap reveals it beside the real shape, and a noodle guess gets stamped NOODLE. Then they pick one of the other animals, twist it, and send it back. Your latest creature shows every guess, the right ones, the noodles, and who twisted one back.

Three phone screens: 'Is it a dog?' with Dog, Bunny, Giraffe and A noodle buttons; 'It's a BUNNY!' with the creature stamped NOODLE beside the real bunny silhouette; and the maker's latest creature, a sky-necked tiny-eared dog-ish, with one guess and one friend who made one back.
Real game screens · Enlarge

THE BALLOON IS WAITING.

One more twist?

About a minute. One thumb. Whatever comes out, someone will ask what it is.

Play IS IT A DOG?