What happens if I let go halfway?

It springs back a little. The lifted section shrinks by a small amount, and you can take hold and pull again from there. Starting over as often as you like costs you nothing; the record does not go down.

What happens when the film is off?

A fresh surface with a new film on it takes its place. The number of films you have removed is kept in this browser, so you can watch the count climb across sittings.

Can I play it with a mouse instead of a finger?

Yes. On a computer, dragging counts the same as tracing with a finger. The screen is laid out around the arc a thumb can reach on a phone held in one hand, though, so a phone gets closer to the real thing.

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Peeling

peri

Pinch the top corner, pull to the bottom left.

How to play

Pinch the tab at the top right and pull towards the bottom left. It is heavy at first, then runs away with you past about seventy percent. Let go halfway and it springs back a little.

Notes on the feel

The whole thing lives in three stages: heavy, steady, then gone. Light from the start feels like nothing; heavy all the way is just work. The resistance curve exists for that one moment where your thumb almost stalls and the film suddenly runs.

What is this, really?

Take a new appliance out of its box and there is a thin film over the screen, or over the brushed metal on the front. It is there to stop the surface being scratched in transit and on the assembly line, and it is fitted on the understanding that somebody will remove it before the thing is used. That is why there is always a tab at one corner, and why the adhesive is chosen to leave nothing behind. Wherever in the world you bought the object, this last step is the same.

The reason removing it feels so good is that the film was stuck on in order to be taken off. Wallpaper, a plaster, a price label — peel any of those and you cannot put them back. Protective film is the rare case where peeling is the correct use, and where it happens exactly once. There is nobody to ask, and no way to do it wrong. Not many acts in an ordinary day are built like that.

How it is done where it comes from

Take the tab, and rather than lifting straight up, lay your hand over and pull along the surface at a shallow angle. Pulled upward the film stretches and tears halfway; pulled flat, the line of separation travels straight.

There is a second detail worth trying. Peel it slowly enough and you can see the underside of the film catch the light differently from the part still stuck down, and the small trapped bubbles slide ahead of the line rather than staying put. The interesting part, though, is changing speed. Pull slowly and the single line where the film is lifting tracks your finger exactly. Stop partway, then start again, and a faint crease sometimes stays where you paused. This version is built in three stages — heavy at the start, then even, then running away with you past about seventy percent — so letting go halfway and taking hold again is a way of playing it, not a mistake.

Questions people ask

What happens if I let go halfway?: It springs back a little. The lifted section shrinks by a small amount, and you can take hold and pull again from there. Starting over as often as you like costs you nothing; the record does not go down.
What happens when the film is off?: A fresh surface with a new film on it takes its place. The number of films you have removed is kept in this browser, so you can watch the count climb across sittings.
Can I play it with a mouse instead of a finger?: Yes. On a computer, dragging counts the same as tracing with a finger. The screen is laid out around the arc a thumb can reach on a phone held in one hand, though, so a phone gets closer to the real thing.