Run 3 Map Guide: The Main Tunnel, the Side Tunnels and Where They Go

Run 3's Explore mode can feel like a maze the first time you open the map. There is a main line of levels, lines branching off it, and places with odd names like "I hope I don't run out of letters". Here is how it is organised and why the side tunnels are worth your time.

The main tunnel

Explore starts in the main tunnel, whose levels are simply numbered — Level 1, Level 2 and onwards. This is the spine of the whole game. It teaches the basics in order: jumping gaps, rotating onto walls, tunnels of different shapes and crumbling tiles. You can make a lot of progress just by following it.

Lettered side tunnels

Along the main tunnel, branches split off. Many are named with a letter, and their levels are numbered with it: Level A-1, Level B-1, Level D-1 and so on through much of the alphabet. Each side tunnel explores one idea more deeply than the main line does, and many hold power cells you will not find anywhere else. The game even jokes about how many there are — one branch is called "I hope I don't run out of letters".

Named tunnels worth knowing

• Box Storage Area — tunnels with boxes that change how you move through the level.
• Low-Power Tunnel — the lights are failing, so you can only see a short way ahead. Rhythm matters more than sight here.
• Winter Games — a seasonal branch with icy levels.
• Memory Evaluation and the Coordination Challenge — tests that live up to their names.
• New Tunnel — a branch that opens up later in the story.

The way home

Run 3 has a story of sorts: the runners are trying to get home. Later parts of the map reflect that with tunnels named The Way Back, Not the Way Back, The Way Onwards and Probably the Way Onwards. There are also plans with their own tunnels — Plan A and Plan C — and a Runway section. Wormholes connect distant parts of the map, and there is a stretch simply called Space.

How to use the map

1. Press P during a level to open the pause menu and the map.
2. Look for unfinished branches. The map shows where you have been and which paths are still open.
3. Switch characters from the same menu. Some tunnels are much easier with a runner who jumps higher or moves differently.
4. Come back later. If a side tunnel is too hard now, carry on along the main line and return with better skills and more characters.

Why bother with side tunnels?

Power cells unlock characters, and characters open up levels. The side tunnels are where most of the power cells are, and they contain some of the best-designed levels in the game. Skipping them makes the later main tunnel harder than it needs to be.

Your progress is saved in the browser, so you can explore a branch or two each session and pick up exactly where you stopped.