Elevator simulator: shut the doors before your boss gets in
This elevator simulator puts you in the car with the doors open. Your manager is crossing the lobby in a disguise he believes in. He's the one in the red tie. Let your coworkers in and keep him out.
Anyone on the yellow line or past it when the doors move gets in. Your manager is the one in the red tie.
On shift
Monday morning. Ten stops, a few people each.
Done for todayToday's round done
- Your bestBest
- Next round
Monday morning. Ten stops, a few people each.
Today's round Points 0 Let in 0 Shut out 0
Not today
Paused
You're on a break. The clock waits until you press Resume.
Space or C closes the doors.
Tap to close the doors.
Time card
- Meeting or Email , Not punched yet
- Boss Key , Not punched yet
- Reorg , Not punched yet
- Seen and Gone , Not punched yet
- You're on Mute , Not punched yet
- Work memes , Not punched yet
- Pizza Party , Not punched yet
- Expense Report , Not punched yet
- Self-Review , Not punched yet
- Close the Door , Not punched yet
- Trust Fall , Not punched yet
- Jargon quiz , Not punched yet
- Real or fake , Not punched yet
- The Application , Not punched yet
- Reply game , Not punched yet
The next shift starts at midnight.
How to play Close the Door
You ride an elevator, a lift in the UK and Australia, up 10 stops. At each one, the doors open and a few people walk across the lobby toward you. Your manager may be one of them, in a disguise.
There is one button: Close doors. Press it to shut the doors, or use Space, Enter or C on a keyboard. You want every coworker in the car with you and your manager left outside.
The yellow line
When the doors start to move, anyone touching the yellow line or standing past it gets in. A toe on the line is enough. Anyone still behind it is shut out, however hard they run.
The close button
When you press Close doors, a bar fills on the button. That takes most of a second, and the doors don’t start to move until the bar is full.
Someone past the line who reaches the doors while they’re still mostly open slips straight in. Once the doors are 30% shut, a late arrival puts a hand in the gap and the doors bounce back open.
Who comes in disguise
Your manager always comes in disguise, but he never takes off the red tie. He tries shades with a fake mustache, Groucho glasses, a hoodie, a box with eye holes, a plant, a newspaper or an intern’s cap.
Good to know
- Coworkers carry plants and wear hoodies too. On Casual Friday, more of them do.
- All-hands day puts up to six people at each stop, and they all walk a tenth faster.
- The tally shows who wears the tie today. The micromanager turns up at nearly every floor. Your skip-level comes less often but walks faster.
- Take your time runs the ride at half speed. Pause stops the ride until you press Resume.
How Close the Door scores
You score for every coworker who rides with you and every time you shut your manager out.
| What you do | Points |
|---|---|
| A coworker rides with you | 10 |
| You shut a coworker out | Costs 20 |
| You shut your manager out | 30 |
| You let your manager in | Costs 30, and the trip to the next floor takes 2.6 times as long |
On an All-hands day, the best possible score is 660. It takes six people at every stop from the fourth on. Then you have to let every coworker in and keep your manager out each time.
Your grade compares your score with the best you could have scored at each stop, with your manager kept out. Letting him in caps the grade, however many points you have.
| Rides with your manager | Grade |
|---|---|
| One or two | Meets expectations at best |
| Three or more | Needs improvement at best |
Daily and solo rounds
Everyone plays the same ride today, so you all dodge one manager in the same lobbies. Each solo ride brings a new manager.
Questions about elevators and avoiding your boss
Is there an elevator simulator you can play in a browser?
Close the Door runs in any browser, on a phone or a desktop, and there's nothing to download. You stand in the car for 10 stops, which takes about a minute. Your only control is the Close doors button.
Does the close door button on an elevator work?
Not straight away, because the 2010 ADA Standards set minimum times that Door Close can't cut short. A car called from inside keeps its doors fully open 3 seconds or more (§407.3.5), and a hall call gets 5 or more from signal to closing (§407.3.4). Door Close only shuts them sooner after they've reopened for someone in the doorway and the doorway is clear again.
How do you keep your boss out of the elevator?
In Close the Door, press Close doors early. The button takes most of a second to work, and anyone who reaches the yellow line in that time still gets in. Look for the red tie, because his disguise changes from stop to stop.
Is there a new Close the Door ride every day?
Yes. Today's ride is the same for everyone, with one manager in the same lobbies, so you can compare scores. Play solo for a new manager on every ride.