# Boing

21 Hacker News commenters recommended Boing and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A free browser toy built around one spring mechanic that people find funny, satisfying and hard to stop playing. Critics mostly report small bugs, such as the sound not stopping or the spring moving on its own.

## Why people recommend it

- Satisfying single-mechanic toy done well (3 comments): "it reminds me of simpler times when we'd have iphone apps/games that would explore a single mechanic and implement it really well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46093742)) "the sound changes depending on how you interact with it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46094312)) "just a thing that does one thing well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46096803))
- Nostalgic, funny and hard to stop (5 comments): "this is a faithful recreation of the experience of being in time out in the 80s" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46095573)) "I'm slightly ashamed of how many times I boinged this. Great work!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46096235)) "I hate how good this is. That counter is just mocking me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46094089))
- Free with no sign-in (2 comments): "without sign-in requirements or paid subscriptions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46095302)) "Finally something I actually want to pay for!!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46094421))
- Comforting and joyful to use (2 comments): "This is so comforting I love it!!!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46132512)) "Amazing! The numbers are insane already!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46106785))

## What people warn about

- Sound and spring bugs (4 comments): "It's broken! Now when I boing it, it goes totally wild instead of behaving as expected." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098848)) "The sound is not physics based, the boing sound keeps going if you grab the head" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46094557)) "There seems to be a bug. If I catch it mid boing, the sound doesn't stop." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46094335))
- Rotation and sound limitations (2 comments): "It doesnt boing rotationally, only in a straight line." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46095390)) "That already was the case; no sound" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46097060))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [TinyWind](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tinywind.md): 61 recommend
- [Starfling](https://hackerapproved.com/p/starfling.md): 59 recommend
- [Starcraft: Ashfall](https://hackerapproved.com/p/starcraft-ashfall.md): 46 recommend
- [Half-Life 2 in a Browser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/half-life-2.md): 42 recommend
- [Number Gacha](https://hackerapproved.com/p/number-gacha.md): 33 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Boing", https://hackerapproved.com/p/boing/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).