Funnel Runners: Ultimate Guide

Funnel Runners thrusts you into an impending doom-ridden suburb along with your team of up to 7 players with just one goal – plunder the place, repair the van, and flee before an EF5 tornado consumes all you love. You will have around 20 minutes to do that. You can play solo, but the game is made for co-op mayhem and that’s where it truly excels.

The following guide covers all the gameplay mechanics – including tornadoes, destruction and repairs, the van, maps, dangers, multiplayer, communication, and the Moodlets’ status – as well as beginner tactics based on real experience.

If you want to know more about the game beyond this guide, click here.

---

---

The Tornado System

The tornado serves as the timer, the danger, and the central theme of the entire game. Instead of trying to replicate real-world wind physics, which would significantly hinder performance, the creators designed a simulation mechanism that creates an illusion of reality through intelligent data manipulation.

When a tornado spawns, it rolls:

• A size/intensity, ranging from a weak F1 up to a devastating F5
• An area of effect
• A maximum wind speed
• A travel path through the city (which it can deviate from)
• Two important notes:
• Tornadoes can start affecting the city before they’re even fully formed.

Every object in the world has its own damage threshold — a tree might just lose some leaves in an F1, but won’t survive an F4/F5 encounter.

---

The Destruction System

How an object gets destroyed, step by step:

• An object sits inside a tornado’s active destruction area.
• The game checks current wind strength against that object’s resistance threshold.
• If the threshold is passed:
• Dust VFX plays
• Object-specific debris/particles spawn (a fence breaks differently than a wall)
• The object is swapped for a pre-made “broken” version, or despawned entirely

Here’s the thing: it’s all under the veil of VFX and timing; it looks like pure physics destruction, but in reality, it’s not – that’s precisely how the game is capable of destroying more than 100 assets at one time on mid/low-end computers.

And in order to accomplish that feat, the game designers have created buildings and other locations out of a set of modular LEGO pieces, so to speak, puzzle pieces that fit together seamlessly. More than 100 pieces had to be designed to ensure perfect destruction regardless of the piece that’s hit.

---

The Van

The van is where every run begins and ends — it’s your spawn point and your escape vehicle. Even though it spends most of the match broken down, it’s built around three categories of systems:

1. Problems

Problems to fix: broken fuses, dead batteries, flats, lack of fuel, low oil, and other such issues. Sometimes one problem leads into another; for instance, a dead battery denies entry into the rest of the van’s electrical system, preventing you from getting to the others until it is replaced.

2. Useful Stuff

Systems that help your team survive and make decisions:

• TV and surveillance monitors — cycle through teammates’ camera feeds (each player has a numbered vest)
• Radar — predicts incoming weather and tracks teammates, dead or alive (dead teammates show as a red dot)
• Toolboard and vending machine (spend Apex coins/tokens on items as you level up)

---

Tools, Gadgets, Consumables & Collectables

Items are split into four categories:

Category	Purpose	Examples
Tools	Needed to physically repair the van and escape. These are prioritized in the map spawn logic.	Tires, Fuses, Battery, Scissor Jack, Toolbox
Gadgets	Helpful but not essential to completing a run. They provide utility and situational advantages.	Umbrella, Crowbar, Defibrillator, Portable Conductor, Pocket Radar
Consumables	Single-use items that grant temporary effects or restore health.	Health Pills, Bandages, Granola Bar, Energy Drink
Collectables	Optional items tied to side objectives and lore, with no direct gameplay utility.	Newspapers, Secret Documents, VHS Tapes

---

The Repair System

Repairing the van is the win condition. Every broken part needs specific tools, and some may require multiple tools to repair. For example, changing a tire will need a Scissor Jack, a Toolbox, and a new Tire.

Just locating the tools is not all; they need to be carried back to the van, interacted with the broken part, and pass the fast reaction mini-game to successfully repair them.

Because area contents and item spawns are randomized every match — even on the same map base — memorizing loot routes won’t get you very far.

---

Biomes

The biomes set the visual themes and weather patterns of a map.

American Suburbs (existing biome): traditional suburban homes, green spaces, and gas stations – all of small-town America, with various storms and all tornadoes.

The Old West (future biome): western-style architecture, desert landscape, sandstorms in lieu of rain – and don’t forget about those deadly tumbleweeds.

---

Obstacles & Hazards

Obstacles aren’t randomly placed traps — they’re consequences of the weather and destruction systems interacting with the world. They can slow you down, split your team, or straight-up kill you if you’re not paying attention.

• Fallen Power Lines — strong winds knock these down; step on one and you’ll take an electrical hit.
• Fire — lightning strikes can ignite objects; get too close and you catch fire. Panicking and running into a teammate while burning can spread the fire to them too.
• Destruction itself — the quiet killer. Standing near a collapsing structure, getting hit by flying debris, or looting a house that’s mid-collapse can all hurt or kill you. A safe spot 30 seconds ago might be a death zone now.
• Bonus hazard interaction: status effects like fire and electrocution can transfer between teammates who get too close to each other.

---

Lobbies, Solo & Multiplayer

• Any number of people between one and eight may play as long as they own the game and have access to the internet.
• The game automatically adjusts its balance depending on the number of players.
• Solos will get less stacking van troubles.
• Larger teams will receive more spawns/events/pressure.
• The map size is constant regardless of the number of players.

---

The Moodlets System

Moodlets are status icons that instantly communicate what’s currently affecting your character. They come in two flavors:

Temporary — has a visible sliding timer and disappears when it runs out.

Timeless — sticks around until you actively resolve the cause (heal up, drop an item, find cover).

Negative State / Debuff	Trigger	Effect
Injured	Health drops below 70%	Reduced movement speed until healed above the threshold.
Very Injured	Health drops below 30%	Heavily reduced movement speed until healed above the threshold.
Heavy Load	Carrying a large or heavy object	Reduced movement speed until the object is dropped.
Electrified	Hit by lightning, a Defibrillator, or a live wire	Takes damage over time.
Drenched	Standing unprotected in rain for too long	Reduced movement speed and increased electric damage until you find cover.
Burning	Set on fire	Takes continuous fire damage, losing health every second until the effect ends.
Acid / Hail Warning	Direct contact with acid rain or hail	Takes continuous environmental damage without adequate protection.

Positive Buff / Recovery	Trigger	Effect
Bandaged	Using Bandages	Restores a set amount of health over the item’s duration.
Medicated	Using a Med Kit or Health Pills	Restores health based on the amount specified by the item.
Full	Eating food items	Gradually restores health over time.
Energy Frenzy	Drinking an Energy Drink	Increases movement speed for a limited duration.

Tactical / Cover State	Trigger	Effect
Solid Stance	Crouching	Adopts a heavier stance, making you more resistant to being swept away by strong winds.
Umbrella Cover	Holding an Umbrella or standing near a teammate who is	Grants immunity to rain, acid rain, and hail.
Fireproof	Wearing the Firefighter skin	Reduces fire damage taken.
Lightning Protection	Holding a Portable Conductor during a thunderstorm	Protects you and nearby teammates from lightning strikes.

---

Progression & Unlocks

Leveling up unlocks new gadgets purchasable from the van’s vending machine using Apex coins/tokens earned Reaching a particular level allows players to unlock new gadgets that can be bought using the vending machine in the van through apex coins:

• Level 10 – Umbrella, Crowbar
• Level 13 – Med Kit
• Level 15 – Portable Conductor
• Level 30 – Defibrillator
• Level 50 – Pocket Radar

Portable radars prove quite helpful as they help identify the pickups that are close by. Mission critical objects appear blue whereas general loot appears green.

---

Beginner Strategy Walkthrough

Practical tips distilled from an actual training-difficulty run, organized by phase.

Starting a Match

• Sit inside the van and insert the key — this is how you find out what components you will require (coolant, fuel, oil, etc.).
• Look at the mission board inside the van to see what additional objectives there are (typically obtaining a certain amount of Apex tokens).
• Remember your initial gadgets — they can be any of the available options (for example, crowbar, defibrillator, tool box, jack, etc.).

Looting Efficiently

• Garages (all homes that have them) will be consistent sources of coolant, oil, and fuel.
• Gas stations and junkyards are also good sources for fuel and oil – especially look in the back of trucks at junkyards.
• Consume consumable foods/drinks (such as granola bars or energy drinks) when you come across them – inventory is not as valuable as the buff effects.
• Collectibles (newspapers, audio tapes, documents) don’t matter unless related to your secondary objective. Use the interact button with them in hand to collect them for your objective.
• Sometimes you may need a crowbar simply to break down a locked door, and in higher difficulty modes, it’s possible to destroy all the homes such that there’s nothing left to crowbar.

Reading the Tornado

• Increase in the sound of wind = the tornado is about to make contact. Look around and determine where it is headed before you choose a path to take.
• In case it is near, you need to get down — by crouching (Solid Stance), you minimize the danger of being sucked away, while bathrooms serve as effective shelters.
• At difficult levels, tornadoes are not only stronger but also happen often, making them capable of sucking players up even at a seemingly safe distance.
• The van is considered to be safe as long as both doors are closed — it can go directly above your head without you feeling any threat of dying.
• Listen to the alarm and feel the tug of your character when the EF5 tornado approaches 0.3 miles from you.

Handling Repairs

• Replacement of the tire and battery requires a tool box along with the spare component because it is required to remove the existing part first before installing the new one.
• Throw away unnecessary stuff that you have been carrying around near the van while going for supplies.

Avoiding Other Hazards

• Your screen gets covered in acid rain; your health is ticked away — get an umbrella (parks and playgrounds usually have them) for Umbrella Cover.
• Power lines may not necessarily kill you, but they sure will knock you around — keep a safe distance.
• Manhole covers might be sucked into tornadoes and become dangerous objects.
• Portable conductors keep you and other members safe from lightning bolts in case of thunderstorms — get these wherever possible.
• Parks are not very safe places to be; try to avoid them unless you know everything that’s in there — most have just one entrance and exit point.

Team Play

• Teammates who are down can be revived using the defibrillator.
• Utilize the monitor system in the van and go from one number to another to see how the teammates are doing.
• The dead teammates will always be marked by a red dot on the radar/monitor.

Prioritization

• Only pay attention to mission critical (blue) tasks on the initial runs – avoid secondary/Apex coin tasks until you get used to the basic cycle.
• Secondary tasks aren’t mandatory for leaving, but their neglect will result in a certain loss of additional experience (one missed secondary task equals about 400 XP of bonus experience for one player on Hard difficulty in testing).
• Once all mission critical tasks have been completed, get into the van, sit down, and select leave – this will mark the end of your run.

---