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From our classic games collection

The Turtle Hurtle

Once it was all Frogger, in today's world getting your turtle home alive is no easy task! Hurtle across eight lanes of busy traffic, avoiding traps and picking up bonuses as you go. Save your turtle before the time runs out!

The Turtle Hurtle artwork
The Turtle Hurtle

A little internet history

When games arrived in the browser.

1995
Java applets helped turn web pages into places you could play, with games running inside the browser.
The plug-in era ends
Browsers gradually stopped supporting Java plug-ins. Java 11 removed the browser deployment tools; the Java language itself continues.
Today
This original game runs through our browser emulator. You don’t need to install the old Java plug-in.

Our part in that early web

Our Java games began on Smilie.com in the 1990s, before Matica followed. A surviving Smilie archive from 1 June 1997 refers to Mirkin’s Darts; Matica appears in the archive from 11 November 1998.

These games are part of that first wave of web play. We’re keeping them accessible, along with their original pages and history.

Read more: Java’s early tutorial history · Oracle’s applet deployment notes

Space to start; arrow keys or joystick to move. Cross the traffic and water to reach all five homes. Sound starts off. High scores are shared between Matica and SmilieGames; loading and game-driven saving await owner testing.

Play The Turtle Hurtle

Original game notes

Using the cursor keys, carefully move your turtle cross the busy lanes of traffic and into the five homes at the top of the screen before the clock runs out of time. Get bonus points by picking up the golden baby turtle on the way, or by jumping onto the spinning coin that sometimes appears in the turtle homes.

Be careful not to jump on the coiled rattlesnake - he will kill you. On later levels, watch out for sinking logs and lilies - if you are on them when they are underwater, you will lose a life. And beware of the spinning sharks - if you're on them when they turn, you will be thrown off!

Press S to turn the sound effects on or off

Press M to turn the music on or off