Chord Runner is an adventure music game that turns chord practice into an actual game. Chords appear on screen and you play them on a real instrument (a MIDI keyboard, or anything picked up by your microphone, including guitar) to keep your character running and jumping over obstacles. Play the right chord, you clear the obstacle; miss it, you hit the wall.
What makes it different is that it listens to a real instrument instead of asking you to tap buttons or hit falling tiles. It recognizes any voicing, inversion, or octave you play, even rootless jazz chords, so it rewards real musical understanding, not memorized hand shapes. Most "music games" out there test reflexes; Chord Runner trains your actual ear and chord knowledge while you play.
You won't find this combination elsewhere: live chord recognition from MIDI or mic, eight focused training modes (from a no-pressure learning sandbox to real-time online multiplayer), adaptive difficulty that matches your level, and full support for advanced jazz voicings, all in the browser with no download needed.
Yes. You can play the free demo with unlimited access, no account required.
The Demo is the full gameplay experience on a limited set of content. You get the complete runner (obstacles, timing, scoring), MIDI, microphone and on screen virtual keyboard input, and a 60 second timed run, all free with no account. It's limited to the 7 major triads on the natural white keys, so it's a real taste of how the game plays.
The Premium version unlocks everything: all chord types (minor, augmented, diminished, sus2/4, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th and rootless jazz voicings), all eight game modes including online Multiplayer with leaderboards, adaptive difficulty, full speed and chord customization, and saved progress. In short, the demo shows you the game; Premium gives you the complete music training system.
All three. The game grows with you.
Beginners. Start in Learning Mode: no lives, no penalties, no pressure. Turn on note sounds to hear every chord as you play it. Standard Levels begin with simple major and minor triads, and the adaptive difficulty eases you in instead of overwhelming you.
Intermediate. Use Customised Mode to drill exactly the chords you struggle with, or Harmonised Chords to practice everything inside one key and scale. Speed and chord spawn rate are fully adjustable.
Advanced. Survival Mode lets you skip the easy stages and fight straight through boss stages, with rootless jazz voicings (9th, 11th, 13th), fast spawns, and wide inversions. Or go head-to-head with other players in real-time Multiplayer.
Connect a MIDI keyboard with a cable, or use your device microphone. A chord appears on screen. Play it correctly and your character jumps over the obstacle. Miss it and you hit the wall. That's the whole loop.
Ten modes, each with a different goal:
Standard Levels: progress through levels, each adding new chord types.
Customised Mode: pick the exact chords you want to practice.
Survival Mode: adaptive battle mode with boss stages.
Ear Training: recognize and play chords and notes by ear.
Learning Mode: a relaxed sandbox with no lives or penalties.
Single Notes: play one note at a time instead of full chords.
Harmonised Chords: every chord stays inside one key and scale.
Multiplayer: real-time rooms against other players.
Sight Reading: read real music notation and play what you see.
Chord Progression: build your own chord order and loop it forever.
Yes. In Multiplayer Mode you create or join a room with a code, and everyone gets the same chords at the same time. A live leaderboard shows who is ahead while you play.
Play it any way you like. The game recognizes inversions, octave positions, wide spreads, left- or right-hand voicings, and doubled notes. As long as the right chord tones are there, it counts.
There's also an Enable Rootless Chords toggle for jazz: play 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords without the root. Triads, dim, aug, sus2/4 are all supported too.
Yes. You set how fast obstacles move, how often chords appear, and which chord types you want. Most modes also adapt in real time, getting harder as you improve and easing off when you start missing, so you're always at the right challenge.
Yes. Start in Microphone Mode and the game listens to the chords you play and recognizes them in real time through your microphone or audio input. Works with both acoustic and electric guitars.
Yes. The game runs in your browser on both phone and PC. You can also add it to your phone as an app using the Chrome browser, and it can be installed the same way from Chrome on desktop.
You don't have to install it though. Even as a browser game it expands to full screen during gameplay, so it plays the same either way.
Some iOS devices may have MIDI compatibility limitations, while microphone input works on all supported devices.
It's a browser game that runs directly in your web browser on PC, Mac, and mobile, with nothing to download. There is currently no official app on the App Store or Google Play Store.
On phones you can still add it to your home screen as an app through the Chrome browser if you prefer, but it's not required.
Create an account in the registration section of this website. After completing the payment form and once the payment is confirmed, you get instant access to the full version automatically.
No. You only need a regular account and to complete the Stripe onboarding. Once done, you get a personal referral link to share anywhere: social media, video descriptions, websites.
Every click and purchase through your link is tracked automatically. Commissions are paid out automatically and work long-term.