Dispatch Rush

About the game

Dispatch Rush is a free strategy game about the job that happens before any siren is switched on: deciding who goes where. The whole town fits on one screen, a neat grid of streets with the police station in the middle. Calls appear as coloured pins at street corners, each with a ring that slowly runs down. When the ring is empty, the caller hangs up and the call counts as missed.

You never drive the cars yourself. You choose which car answers which call, and the car finds the shortest way there along the streets. The skill is in the choices: the closest car is usually right, but not if it is about to be needed somewhere more urgent, or if roadworks make the "close" car take a long detour.

There are 10 shifts, from a Quiet Sunday with two cars to the Chief's Challenge with four cars, 22 calls and closed streets. Each shift can earn up to three stars, for a total of 30.

How to play

1. Watch for new calls. A pin with a letter appears at a street corner, with a label that says what happened.
2. Pick a patrol car. Tap a car on the map or its card at the bottom of the screen. Yellow tags appear on every waiting call showing how many seconds that car needs to get there.
3. Send it. Tap the call. The car's route is drawn as a dashed yellow line and it sets off with its lights flashing.
4. Or start from the call. Tap a call first and every car's card at the bottom shows its travel time to it, or "Busy" if it is still on scene. Then tap the car you want.
5. Change your mind. A car that is still driving can be sent somewhere else. It finishes the block it is on, then turns toward the new call.
6. Finish the shift. The shift ends when every call has been answered or missed. Three missed calls end it early.

The four kinds of call

These are the standard waiting times, used on shifts 3 to 5. Callers are a little more patient on the first two shifts, and less patient from Rush Hour onward, down to 85% of these times on the last shift. An Alarm needs two cars: the first car to arrive waits at the corner, and the call only counts as answered when the second one gets there. Two small dots under the pin show how many cars have arrived.

Score and stars

• Points: each answered call is worth its base points, plus up to 50 extra points for arriving while the caller's ring is still full.
• 3 stars: finish the shift without missing a single call.
• 2 stars: one missed call.
• 1 star: two missed calls. Any finished shift unlocks the next one.

Stars and your best score for each shift are saved in your browser.

The ten shifts

Tips from the dispatch desk

• Red first. A crash caller waits the shortest time. If two calls arrive together, send your best car to the red one and the next best to the other.
• Read the travel times. Tapping a call first shows every car's travel time. It takes a second and prevents most bad choices, especially when streets are closed.
• Keep one car near the middle. The station sits in the centre of town. A free car near the centre can reach any corner quickly, so avoid sending every car to the same edge.
• Plan alarms early. The first car at an alarm is stuck there until the second arrives, so send both cars at about the same time rather than one now and one later.
• Redirect when it helps. If a car is on its way to a patient noise call and a crash appears right next to it, send it to the crash and give the noise call to another car.
• Watch the flashing rings. A ring flashes red when less than 30% of the waiting time is left.

Frequently asked questions