Swing Monkey Release Timing: Why Letting Go at the Bottom Sends You Nowhere

The rope is a pendulum

When you hold the button the monkey throws a rope at the nearest hanger and becomes a weight on a string. He speeds up on the way down, is fastest at the lowest point directly under the hanger, and slows as he climbs the far side. When you release he keeps the velocity he had at that instant, so where you let go decides both how fast he leaves and in which direction.

Bottom of the swing: fast but flat

At the lowest point the rope is vertical and the monkey is moving horizontally. Releasing here gives the highest speed, but the flight is a flat arc that starts falling immediately. On a course where the next hanger is far ahead and at the same height as the monkey it works; more often it sends him under the next hanger and into the ground.

A quarter of the way up: the sweet spot

Let go a beat after the bottom, while he is rising on the far side. He has lost a little speed but is now travelling forward and upward, and the arc peaks somewhere near hanger height. That is the release that reaches hangers above you and clears the wide gaps. The green ring on the next hanger usually appears during this part of the swing, which is a good cue.

Too late: straight up and back

Hold until the top of the swing and the monkey is nearly stopped and heading upward or even backward. He goes up, comes down in more or less the same place, and you have wasted the swing. If you notice you have held too long, keep holding: he will swing back and you get another pass at the sweet spot on the next forward stroke.

Practise on levels 1 and 2

The first two levels are only a few hangers long and restart instantly, so use them to feel the timing before the courses grow. From level 3 the map is half again as long, and by level 7 it has doubled.