If you are new to Tape to Tape, the single most important early lesson is simple: take the Dash skill and spend your first Rubbers upgrading Angus McShaggy rather than hoarding new players. The arcade hockey roguelite from Excellent Rectangle throws you into fast, chaotic runs where every decision about stats, skills, and squad composition shapes whether you survive to the next boss. This guide pulls together the community's best beginner tips, stat priorities, and squad advice so your first run is not your last.
How a Tape to Tape Run Works
Tape to Tape is a roguelite, not a simulation. Each campaign is a branching run where you recruit players, pick up abilities and Relics, bribe referees, and spend Blademaster upgrades as you push toward the bosses. You choose from four core Squads — GM, Violence, Retro, and Slapshot — each tuned for a different play style. At run start you also pick a difficulty tier and decide whether games end by timer or by goal count. Lose a main match and the run resets, so treat every node like a decision that matters.
Difficulty Tiers and Bosses
The 1.0 version of Tape to Tape offers several difficulty tiers — including Training, Pro, Veteran, and Nightmare — so you can ease in or chase a serious challenge as you improve. Runs also split into distinct node types: challenge games that are often first-goal-wins for a reward, Elite teams that drop relics and talents, and full boss matches that run longer than standard games. The referee boss is a community favorite because the officials can undo a goal you just scored and even throw the puck toward your own net, so expect a little underhanded chaos in every campaign.
The Best Beginner Advice
Two habits carry new players further than almost anything else. First, take Dash as your starting skill: it is the most consistent ability in the game, giving an on-demand speed burst on both offense and defense with no aiming required. Second, do not buy a pile of new Skills and Superstars from the Blademaster shop early — every purchase dilutes the pool and lowers your odds of seeing the ability you actually want at the start of a run. Instead, save Rubbers to upgrade Angus McShaggy's stats to level 6 in each category, then stop once the conversion rate rises to 45 Rubbers per stat point.
Stat Priorities That Win Runs
| Stat | Priority | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Highest | You cannot defend if you are too slow, and speed covers up other weaknesses on both ends. |
| Accuracy | High | Pairs with speed for reliable scoring; drive the net first, then shoot or pass. |
| Checking | Medium | The second defensive stat, and useful on offense for clearing the front of the net. |
| Shot Power | Lowest | Only a priority if you shoot from distance or rely on heavy slapshots. |
One caveat on speed: it is possible to be too fast. Players report that once a skater passes roughly 100 Speed combined with skills and talents, they can fly past rebounds or slam into the opposing goalie, so keep your fast skaters under control rather than always holding the boost.
For a starter, Rory McShaggy is the community's top pick: balanced stats and the Tomahawk skill make him useful at both ends of the ice. Kelly Jelly is the most fun — blazing fast with Spin-O-Rama — but she needs stat and trait help before she becomes a real scorer. If you want to buy a Superstar early, Cam Amber is widely considered the best value thanks to his Bouncy McBounce and Quick Draw talents combined with above-average speed, shot power, and accuracy.
Skills That Carry Runs
- Dash: The best starting skill and one of the best overall. One button press, no aiming, no downside.
- Tomahawk: Throw your stick to knock a player down. Solid defensively, and it becomes much better paired with the Triple Twig talent so you keep your stick.
- Yo-Yo: Launch the puck and retrieve it on a second activation. Fun for playmaking, but purely offensive and falls off as you unlock more.
- Spin-O-Rama: Briefly prevents opponents from checking or stealing the puck — a useful deke and a defensive tool for intercepting passes.
- Head Smasher and Headshot Redirect: Community consensus ranks these near the bottom. Sending the puck toward opponents' heads instead of the net is rarely what you want in the offensive zone.
Relics and Artefacts Worth Grabbing
Relics and artefacts shape how a run plays out, and a few stand out from community testing. Odd Fungus propels your skaters forward whenever they receive a pass, which is one of the best effects in the game for breakaways and for keeping possession in the offensive zone. The Whistle of Time speeds up the clock when you are leading, letting you burn time and coast through a run — especially when paired with Rigged Faceoff. Rigged Faceoff guarantees you win draws, and combined with the faceoff buff it locks that bonus in for the rest of the campaign.
Scoring and Positioning Tips
Players who struggle to score usually fix it with passing, not harder shots. Centering the puck across the crease for a close-range tap-in remains the most reliable pattern, and community players report that making one extra pass across the goalie's face — forcing the keeper to shift and recover — opens up easy finishes. Rotate between three main scoring strategies run to run: one-timers across the crease, a speedy skater you break away with, and power shots. Hitting hard consistently also creates odd-man rushes that turn defense into offense.
Playing With Friends
Tape to Tape supports local co-op, and Play Now can run up to 10 local players, so it scales to big couch sessions. If your group is online, Steam Remote Play Together covers multiplayer through Steam. The same run-focused strategy applies whether you are solo or sharing the controller — coordinate who crashes the net and who stays back, and the chaos becomes a plan.
A Quick Beginner Checklist
- Start every run by grabbing Dash and upgrading Angus McShaggy before you shop.
- Prioritize Speed, then Accuracy, then Checking; treat Shot Power as optional.
- Begin with Rory McShaggy or spend early Rubbers on Cam Amber.
- Drive the net before shooting, and make one extra pass across the crease.
- Grab relics that fit a plan — Odd Fungus, Whistle of Time, and Rigged Faceoff are safe picks.
Tape to Tape rewards repetition: each failed run teaches you the pacing, the boss gimmicks, and which abilities fit your style. Once you internalize the basics above, you can lean into the chaos and start hunting deeper runs instead of just surviving them.