a windy afternoon in the park
Let line out when the wind picks up, wind it in when it drops.
Swing the tail through whatever blew away.
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NO WIFI · score not saved
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on a computer: ↑ lets line out, ↓ winds it in
Fly a kite and snag everything the wind blew away. Let line out when the wind picks up, wind it in when it drops — and never haul it in while the kite is pulling hard, or the line goes.
LET OUT and WIND IN are one control — put your thumb on either and slide between them without lifting off. Let go of both and the reel stops exactly where it is.
How much line is out decides how high the kite flies, and the best amount changes with the wind. Long line in a gust, short line in a lull. The line itself tells you which: tight, it is nearly straight; slack, it droops into a sad banana.
There are two ways to lose a kite, and they are opposites. Too much line in a lull and it STALLS — it goes too flat to fly and tumbles down. Wind in while it is pulling hard and the line SNAPS. That second one catches everybody, because when the kite pulls it feels like it is getting away and hauling it in is the natural thing to do. Wait for the gust to pass.
Watch for the wall of dust sweeping across the field — that is a gust about a second before it reaches you.
The higher something is drifting, the longer ago it blew away and the more it is worth. You get three kites and ninety seconds; losing one costs you four seconds getting the next one up, and the clock keeps running.
Keep the kite up and everything is worth more. Every twelve seconds in the air adds one to the worth number, up to five times — and losing a kite puts it straight back to one. That is where a good score comes from: not one lucky catch, but a long quiet spell where you never let it down.
You never choose to run about. A kite that is pulling tows you downwind and a slack one lets you back up — so if the park is sliding past, that is the kite doing it.