Machines are how you leave a floor in Dandy's World. Every run is a loop of finding Ichor Machines, filling them while Twisteds roam the floor, and getting out through the elevator. Each Machine type plays differently, and the Skill Check that interrupts the work is where most runs are lost. This guide covers the five Machine types, how likely each is to spawn, how Skill Checks work and what their stars really change.
All figures are from the Dandy's World wiki's Machines page. Some Machine variants are still marked as missing information there, so the Duo Machine details are the least complete.
What a Machine does
The wiki calls Machines one of the core elements of the game. Two stats are built just for them (Extraction Speed and Skill Check), items exist to speed them up, and some Toons specialize in them. There are 5 Machine types, or 15 if you count the Duo Machine variants. Fill the required Machines on a floor and the exit opens; the floors guide covers the floors themselves.
Machine types and spawn odds
| Machine | Appears from | Spawn chance | Skill Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default (striped) | Floor 1 | 100% on Floor 1, 70% on Floors 2 to 4, 55% on Floors 5 to 9, 40% afterward | A sliding bar |
| Circle (round) | Floor 2 | 30% on Floors 2 to 4, 35% on Floors 5 to 9, 40% afterward | A shrinking ring on the screen |
| Treadmill | After Floor 4 | 10% at first, 20% for the rest of the game | Rapid clicking |
| Barnaby | After Floor 4 | Not listed | A flappy-style minigame |
| Duo | After Floor 1 | Higher with more players | Each side keeps its own check |
The number of Machines on a floor depends on how many Toons are on it and the floor number: more of either means more Machines. Two exceptions: Dyle's Floor always has 25 Machines, and the Break Room always has 2.
Default Machine
The most common type. Your Toon's Extraction Speed controls how fast Ichor drips down, so more stars in Extraction Speed means a faster fill. At a random moment a Skill Check appears as a gray bar with a smaller silver section and a gold section in the middle. A silver hit prints "Good Job!", and a gold hit prints "Great Job!" and adds a small amount of progress. Missing both halts the Machine and alerts nearby Twisteds.
The wiki gives the layout: the gold section is one third of the Skill Check, and the white (silver) section is two thirds. A red line moves left to right, and you click, tap or press the keybind when it lands in the white or gold area. If it passes the gold, the white section on the right can still save you.
Circle Machine
The Circle Machine looks like the default one with a dial above the valve. The Skill Check changes to a gray circle that pops up in a random place on the screen, with a red ring that shrinks into the white and gold ring-shaped areas. Failing shows "MISS", slows the Machine and alerts Twisteds. The gold area is the inner ring, bordering the fail zone, so it is riskier than a default Skill Check. More stars in Skill Check slow the ring down. Extraction Speed does not change the Skill Check. The wiki notes that Circle Machines seem to give more progress than regular ones when you land a Skill Check.
Treadmill Machine
The Treadmill Machine is a different game: you run on it. Movement Speed and Stamina decide the speed, and sprinting makes it slightly faster. Extraction Speed has no effect here, while speed trinkets and items do. Check the trinkets list and the best trinkets guide for those.
The Skill Check is a water droplet with a 5-second timer. You must click it a set number of times before the timer runs out. The wiki's formula is clicks = 9 - Skill Check size / 50:
| Skill Check stars | Size | Clicks needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 8 |
| 2 | 100 | 7 |
| 3 | 150 | 6 |
| 4 | 200 | 5 |
| 5 | 250 | 4 |
Failing reduces your walk speed by 70% and run speed by 80% for 5 seconds. Treadmill Skill Checks have no gold section, so they never add bonus progress. A check can never appear immediately on a Treadmill, and you can leave the machine at any time.
Barnaby Machine
The Barnaby Machine, called Swimmy Barnaby in the game, has a flappy-bird style minigame on a screen above the valve. A yellow coin appears between pairs of seaweed, and collecting it is the gold Skill Check. Hitting the seaweed or the top or bottom of the screen ends the game with a "GAME OVER" screen, alerts Twisteds and ejects you from the Machine. Higher Skill Check stars make the seaweed obstacles smaller, and coins can never appear in two consecutive pairs.
Duo Machines
Duo Machines have two attachments, either matched (two of the same type) or mixed (two different types). Each attachment appears only on the floors where its solo version does, so a Treadmill Duo shows up only after Floor 4. Completion speed is the same as the solo version, but it goes faster when a teammate works the other side. They cannot spawn when only one player is alive. If you fail a Skill Check on a Duo, only your side stops. Your teammate keeps progressing.
How Skill Checks work
- Frequency. Every second the game rolls your Skill Check chance. At 25% chance, there is a 25% chance of a check each second.
- Cooldown. After a check, none appears for a set time: 4 seconds on Default and Circle Machines (counted from when it appears), 4.8 seconds on Treadmills (counted from when the green success text shows), and on a Barnaby Machine, the next pair of seaweed.
- Failure. A failed check pauses the Machine briefly. Twisteds nearby run to the Machine unless they are already chasing someone or are far away.
- Gold hits. A "Great Job" adds progress that scales with your Skill Check stars:
| Skill Check stars | Value | Completion per gold hit | With Tech Savvy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.0 | 2.22% | 2.5% |
| 2 | 1.5 | 3.33% | 3.75% |
| 3 | 2.0 | 4.44% | 5% |
| 4 | 2.5 | 5.56% | 6.25% |
| 5 | 3.0 | 6.67% | 7.5% |
A five-star Toon therefore gets three times the bonus of a one-star Toon from the same gold hit. For which Toon has which stars, see the tier list.
Skill Checks as a danger
The wiki's tips section warns that most Skill Checks stop you from leaving a Machine without alerting Twisteds. If a Twisted spots you before you start extracting and a check appears, you do not detach automatically, which makes a hit more likely. A dangerous Twisted approaching mid-check cannot be escaped without alerting it. A teammate chased past you leaves you stuck until the Twisted switches targets. The exceptions are Treadmill and Barnaby Machines.
Failed Skill Checks also work as a lure. They can draw Twisteds away from teammates or priority objectives, but the Twisteds start running at once and can change direction, which may surprise a teammate. One Twisted is described as running straight to the Machine after a failed check and removing half of its completion, so a failure can cost time even when no one hunts you. The Twisteds guide lists how each one reacts.
Common mistakes
- Treating every Machine the same. Extraction Speed does nothing on a Treadmill.
- Ignoring the Circle Machine's gold ring. It sits next to the fail zone, so skip it with low Skill Check.
- Failing on purpose without a plan. Twisteds react immediately.
- Starting a Machine with a Twisted in sight. You may not be able to detach.
FAQ
How many Machine types are in Dandy's World?
Five: Default, Circle, Treadmill, Barnaby and Duo, or 15 counting every Duo combination.
Do Machines get harder on later floors?
Spawn odds shift: Default Machines drop from 100% to 40%, while Circle and Treadmill Machines become more common.
What happens when you fail a Skill Check?
The Machine pauses and nearby Twisteds are alerted, unless they are already in a chase or far away.
Does Extraction Speed matter for Treadmill Machines?
No. The Treadmill uses Movement Speed and Stamina instead.
