A two-handed rhythm game on the dhol. Orange notes are the deep bass side and teal notes the sharp treble side. Hit each one as it lands in its ring, build a combo for up to five times the points, and keep up as the tempo climbs from 96 to 168 beats a minute.
About Dhol Beats
Dhol Beats is a rhythm game built around the dhol, the big double-sided drum played at weddings, harvest festivals and bhangra performances across North India. A dhol has two heads. One is thick and gives a deep bass note, played with a heavy curved stick. The other is thin and gives a sharp crack, played with a light cane. Almost every dhol rhythm is a pattern of those two sounds, and so is this game.
There are two lanes. Orange notes marked DHA fall down the left lane and are the bass side. Teal notes marked TI fall down the right and are the treble side. At the bottom of each lane is a ring. When a note reaches its ring, hit that side: the F key or left arrow for bass, the J key or right arrow for treble, or a tap on the left or right half of a touch screen. Sometimes both notes land together and both sides must be hit at once.
Timing is judged in two bands. A hit within about six hundredths of a second is perfect and scores 100. A hit within about an eighth of a second is good and scores 50. Every ten notes in a row raises a multiplier, up to five times. A note that passes its ring unhit is a miss. It breaks the combo and takes a large bite out of the green crowd bar at the top. Hitting the drum when no note is there costs a little too, so hammering both keys does not work.
The patterns are short bars of eight steps taken from a set that grows as you play. The first bars alternate the two sides slowly. After four bars, syncopated patterns and double hits join in, and after twelve the busiest patterns appear. The tempo starts at 96 beats a minute and rises by six every six bars until it reaches 168.
The game ends when the crowd bar is empty. Perfect and good hits refill it slowly, so a bad patch can be recovered. The best score and longest combo are saved.
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How to play Dhol Beats
Notes fall down two lanes toward a ring at the bottom of each. Hit the left side when an orange note reaches the left ring and the right side when a teal note reaches the right ring. Hits in time score points and build a combo multiplier. Missed notes drain the bar at the top of the screen, and the game ends when it is empty.
Controls
Desktop: F or the Left arrow for the bass side, J or the Right arrow for the treble side; P to pause, M to mute. Touch: tap the left half of the screen for bass and the right half for treble. Two fingers can hit both sides together.
Tips & tricks
- Keep one hand for each side. Crossing over with one finger is too slow once the tempo passes 130.
- Play to the drum sound you make. If your own hits sound even, you are in time.
- The combo multiplier is worth more than perfect timing. A run of good hits at five times beats scattered perfects.
- When orange and teal notes arrive level, hit both sides in the same moment. They count as two notes.
Frequently asked questions
What do DHA and TI mean in Dhol Beats?
They are the two sounds of the drum. DHA is the deep note from the thick bass head, shown in orange in the left lane. TI is the sharp note from the thin treble head, shown in teal in the right lane.
How fast does the game get?
It starts at 96 beats a minute and rises by six every six bars, up to 168. The patterns also get busier after the fourth bar and again after the twelfth.
How does the combo multiplier work?
Every ten notes hit in a row add one to the multiplier, to a maximum of five times. A missed note or a hit with no note there resets it to one.
Does Dhol Beats save my progress?
Yes — Dhol Beats keeps your best score and settings in this browser's local storage, so they are still there when you come back on the same device. Nothing is uploaded and no account is involved — clearing your browser data is what resets it.