Paper Plane

Paper Plane › How it grows

How it grows

Paper Plane starts as one plane at the bottom of your pages. Fly it, and more turns up: a diary, a long road, papers to fold it from, other planes to fold, and at the very end, a map. Here is all of it, in order, for anyone who likes to know what's ahead.

Rather be surprised? Stop here and go fly. It's all there in the extension, one thing at a time.

Day one

You get one plane: a dart, folded from the paper you pick (plain, notebook or kraft). It has a name, which you can change, and a page of its own, where it turns slowly on its stage and says a word or two.

Then Draw on it: doodle on its wings, top or underneath, and stamp it with stars and hearts. It flies on your pages just as you drew it.

hi. i'm Pip.

A paper dart with a yellow star and a red heart stamped on its wings.
PipDraw on it

Its first flights

After its first throw, it starts a diary: a line for each day you fly, in its own words.

And How far adds up every throw, all your planes together, along a road of stops from your desk to a marathon away. Whatever it finds is marked at the stop where it turned up.

Diary

  1. thursday. 6 throws, 1.8 m at best.
  2. friday. 9 throws, 2 loops, 2.6 m at best. found newspaper.
  3. today. 4 throws, 1 loop, 3.1 m at best.

How far

  1. Your desk
  2. Across the roomfound newspaper
Its diary and How far, as its page shows them after a few days.

How finds work

  • It looks for one thing at a time. At the foot of its page it says a little about it, in its own words, with one quiet hint under that.
  • A find comes back from a flight: a throw lands with it tucked under its wing, and its tag says “i found something. it's on my page.”
  • You open it on its page, with Open it: a paper to fold your plane from, or a new kind of plane to fold.
  • Then it starts looking for the next. One a day at most, and only on a day you fly: the day you open one, the line under the next says “Not before tomorrow.”
  • Some finds need a knack, like a loop or a catch. Still getting the hang of it? Keep flying: after a few days it turns up anyway.
  • Nothing is lost if you're away. There are no streaks and nothing runs out: when you come back, it's still looking for the same thing.

something shiny keeps catching the light.

It loves a loop-the-loop. Tap the plane while it flies.

Your plane, back from a throw, with a small folded sheet tucked under its wing.

i found something. it's on my page.

Pip found something.Tucked under its wing.Open it
While it looks, its page says what it's thinking about, with a hint. When it finds it, it flies back with a sheet tucked under its wing, and its page offers Open it.

Everything it can find

In the order it finds them. Papers come as sheets to fold your plane from; folds as a new plane to fold, and every fold is in the Academy too, for real paper. What each one asks of you is in its hint. Exactly when is for you to find out.

  1. A sheet of newspaper paper.A paper

    A sheet of newspaper

    No hint for this one. It's a surprise, waiting in your very first flights together.

  2. A sheet of candy wrapper paper.A paper

    A candy wrapper

    It says: something shiny keeps catching the light.

    It loves a loop-the-loop. Tap the plane while it flies.

  3. The Glider, a floaty plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold a Glider

    It says: i'd love a friend. one with wide wings, maybe.

    Plenty of flying, over a couple of days.

    Fold the Glider for real ›
  4. The Looper, a tricky plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold a Looper

    It says: they say there's a plane that loops and loops.

    Loop it, then catch it before it lands.

    Fold the Looper for real ›
  5. A sheet of washi paper.A paper

    A sheet of washi

    It says: something soft and thin is drifting about up there.

    It floats down to planes that stay up a while.

  6. The Arrow, a fast plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold an Arrow

    It says: i heard about one that flies dead straight.

    It's at the end of a long, straight throw.

    Fold the Arrow for real ›
  7. A sheet of origami paper.A paper

    A sheet of origami paper

    It says: something square and bright flutters past now and then.

    Catch the plane in mid-air and it might snag it.

  8. The Bulldog dart, a steady plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold a Bulldog dart

    It says: someone mentioned a blunt nose. tough, they said.

    It's waiting at the Daily Flight.

    Fold the Bulldog dart for real ›
  9. The Nakamura lock, a steady plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold a Nakamura lock

    It says: i heard about a plane with a nose that locks shut.

    It takes a little time.

    Fold the Nakamura lock for real ›
  10. The Hammer, a steady plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold a Hammer

    It says: i keep hearing about long, slim wings.

    It's waiting down the street.

    Fold the Hammer for real ›
  11. The Heavy dart, a fast plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold a Heavy dart

    It says: there's one with a heavy nose. fast and steady.

    It turns up if you throw a lot.

    Fold the Heavy dart for real ›
  12. The Harrier, a steady plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold a Harrier

    It says: pointed wings, and quick. that's all i know.

    Fly the Daily Flight on a few different days.

    Fold the Harrier for real ›
  13. The Suzanne, a floaty plane, folded from plain white paper.A fold

    How to fold Suzanne

    It says: there's one that glides on and on. i've only heard stories.

    It's waiting across the park.

    Fold Suzanne for real ›
  14. A hand-drawn map with a river, hills, a park and a dotted route.The map

    A map of everywhere you've flown together

    It says: i'm drawing something. it's nearly done.

    Only planes that have found everything else get one.

A friend, then a flock

Early on, it finds out how to fold a friend: a Glider, with wide wings. From then on, Fold a plane is on its page, in the toolbar and in its right-click menu.

You fold each new plane yourself, a crease at a time, then pick its paper and give it a name. The folding page offers every fold it has found so far.

Once there are two, your planes have a row on its page. Pick the one that flies on your pages; the rest wait their turn.

  • A dart folded from kraft paper.Flying now
  • A glider folded from pink washi.
  • A looper folded from a blue candy wrapper.
  • A Nakamura lock folded from orange origami paper.
  • Suzanne folded from newspaper.
A row of planes, each a different fold and paper; one is marked Flying now.

The map

The last find is the map: a paper the plane draws itself, by hand, with a river, hills, a park and a dotted route, a little different for every plane. The only way to get one is to find everything, so yours is yours alone. The road you really flew together stays in How far, with every find marked where it turned up.

Every plane in your flock can be folded from it, and under your plane's name its page says Found everything, with the day. Share it, if you like, the way you'd share a Daily Flight.

It isn't the end of the road, either. How far keeps going, and when an update brings a new fold or paper, it comes next, as a find.

The map: a hand-drawn river, hills, a park and a dotted route with a stop at each bend.
Your plane, folded from the map.

Pip

Found everything, 14 November.

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Questions

How long does it take to find everything?

A few weeks, more or less with how much you fly. A plane thrown a lot most days gets there sooner; a few throws now and then takes longer. There is no rush: nothing runs out.

What if I’m away for a while?

Nothing is lost. There are no streaks and nothing expires. When you come back, your plane is still looking for the same thing, and everything it found is still yours.

Can I fold a plane I’ve read about here, now?

With real paper, yes. Every fold your plane can find is in the Paper Plane Academy, step by step, with a printable template. In the extension, each one waits until your plane finds out how it folds.

Is any of this sent anywhere?

No. The diary, How far and everything your plane finds stay in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, and there is no account.

Ready when you are

The plane at the bottom of this page is the one you'd get. Throw it a few times, then take one home.

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