Fireboy and Watergirl: a puzzle you solve with four hands
The rule of Fireboy and Watergirl fits on a sticky note. Fireboy can stand in fire and must stay out of water. Watergirl is the other way round. The green goo that shows up in later rooms kills them both. Each room has two doors, one for each of them, and the level only ends when both are standing in their own doorway at once.
Everything else is the temple getting in the way. Levers move platforms, buttons hold lifts up only while someone stands on them, boxes can be pushed into gaps or onto switches, and ramps and slopes decide who can reach what. Most rooms are built so that neither hero can finish without the other: one holds a button while the other crosses, then they swap. That is why it works so well with two people on one keyboard — and why it is a real puzzle when you play both yourself.
The Forest Temple has 32 rooms joined in a branching map, so you choose a route rather than walking a straight line. They come in three kinds: normal rooms, puzzle rooms that need more thought, and speed rooms built around a tight target time. Every room has a time to beat and gems to collect in each hero's colour. Fireboy and Watergirl 2 to 5 are on this site as well.
Controls & mechanics
| Action | Control | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Fireboy moves | Left / Right arrows | Safe in red lava; dies in blue water and green goo |
| Fireboy jumps | Up arrow | Hold for the full height |
| Watergirl moves | A / D | Safe in blue water; dies in red lava and green goo |
| Watergirl jumps | W | Hold for the full height |
| Use the temple | Walk into levers, stand on buttons, push boxes | Buttons only hold while someone stands on them |
| Finish | Both heroes in their own doors | Fireboy to the red door, Watergirl to the blue one |
Clearing the Forest Temple
- Look before anyone moves: Take five seconds at the start to work out who needs to be where. Most rooms have one hero who must go first to open the way for the other.
- Move one hero at a time: When playing alone, park one character somewhere safe and move the other. Both at once is only needed in a few timed spots.
- Buttons need a body: A button stays down only while someone is on it. If a door closes as you step off, the other hero — or a box — has to hold it.
- Collect gems on the way, not after: Gems in your own colour count towards the result. Plan the route through them the first time rather than going back.
- Speed rooms need a plan: The six speed rooms have short target times. Play them once slowly to learn them, then again with both heroes moving together.
- Mind the green: Goo is the only hazard that kills both. Treat it as a wall, and use boxes or platforms to cross it.
Key features
- 32 rooms: The complete Forest Temple, from the tutorial room to the top of the map.
- Three kinds of room: 17 normal, 9 puzzle and 6 speed rooms, each with its own target time.
- One keyboard, two players: Arrows for Fireboy, W A D for Watergirl — or one player on both.
- Branching map: Several routes through the temple instead of a single line.
- Temples 2 to 5 here: Light, Ice, Crystal and Elements have their own pages on this site.
- Served from this site: The HTML5 build runs in a Chrome tab on a school laptop.
Game info
- Title: Fireboy and Watergirl
- Developer: Oslo Albet
- Category: Fireboy & Watergirl
- Platform: Web browser (HTML5)
- Build: Oslo Albet · 2009 · HTML5 version of The Forest Temple, served from fireboywatergirl.click
Pro tip: If you are stuck, swap who goes first. Many Forest Temple rooms look impossible only because the wrong hero is standing on the button.
