Kick the Buddy: a ragdoll that takes your bad day
Kick the Buddy is a mobile stress-relief game from Playgendary, on iPhone and Android. There is no level to beat. You have a soft ragdoll called Buddy in a box, a huge set of props and gadgets, and the freedom to test all of them on him.
How it works
Buddy sits in the middle of the screen. You can grab him, throw him at walls, poke him or drop things on him. Every hit earns coins, and coins unlock more items: sports gear, food, explosives, wild gadgets and themed sets that come and go with updates.
The appeal is physics and sound. Buddy flops, bounces and reacts with silly lines, and every item has its own way of making a mess. Sessions can be a minute long, which is part of why it became a classic phone toy. Playgendary has also released spin-offs, such as Kick the Buddy: Forever and Kick the Buddy: Second Kick. There is no story to finish, so players come back to it for a few minutes at a time, the way you would pick up a fidget toy.
Why people play it
- No way to fail. There are no lives or timers, so it works as a pure break.
- Fast feedback. Every tap gets a reaction, a sound and a few coins.
- Always something new. Unlocking the next item is the only goal, and there are a lot of them.
- It is a cartoon. Buddy is a toy, not a person, which keeps it silly instead of mean.
- Easy to share. The physics make funny clips, which helped the game spread through videos.
A ragdoll toy on Roam
- StressBoy. A separate Roam ragdoll stress toy with the tagline "Bad day? He can take it." It is the closest match on Roam to the Kick the Buddy idea.
Play it on Roam
More on Roam
Make your own stress toy with Roam
Roam is a free iPhone app that turns a sentence into a playable game. Pick the ragdoll, the room and the props, or make it from a photo, then add more toys by asking. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.
Try: "a squishy ragdoll robot in a padded room, throw pillows, tomatoes and rubber ducks at it, coins for every bounce"Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play.
Questions people ask
Who made Kick the Buddy?
Playgendary, the publisher listed on the App Store and Google Play.
Is Kick the Buddy free?
Yes. It is free to download on iPhone and Android, with ads and optional purchases.
Is there a Kick the Buddy 2?
Playgendary has released spin-offs such as Kick the Buddy: Forever and Kick the Buddy: Second Kick.