TANUKI: Pon’s Summer BMX Tricks and Challenges Explained

TANUKI: Pon's Summer has 101 BMX challenges built around launching off ramps, catching rails and stringing tricks together for a perfect landing — but as of November 5, 2026, the full game has not launched, so no published guide can yet list the exact button inputs for each individual trick. The most useful first action right now is to play the free demo, which the developers confirmed contains the game's entire opening chapter with "gnarly tracks, new spicy challenges, and more trick lines than any knees can handle." This page explains exactly what the trick system offers, what is confirmed so far, and how to prepare before the November 10, 2026 release.

What the BMX trick system includes

Everything below comes from the official Steam page and the developer's announcements there, checked on 2026-11-05.

• 101 BMX challenges. The official description says to "chase the satisfaction of a perfect landing across over 100 BMX challenges," and the developer's release date announcement puts the exact number at "100 and 1." These are the trick challenges the game offers.
• A core trick toolkit. The store page names ramp launches, rail catches and trick combos ("string tricks together"), and the August 2026 trailer announcement specifically calls out the tailwhip as a trick Pon performs. Beyond the tailwhip, the announcements refer to "endless tricklines" without naming other individual trick inputs.
• Trick spots across the whole island. "Every street is a trickline in waiting," per the demo announcement: ramps, rooftops to launch from, and rails to grind are scattered through the town rather than locked to one area.
• A second, windier town. A December 2025 developer update added an island across the bay reachable by train, described as appealing "doubly so if you're a BMX-fiend," with "trickier rails to grind" and windier paths — so expect harder trick terrain beyond the starting area.
• Controller support. The Steam listing includes full controller support, with DualShock and DualSense support flagged, and a gamepad is recommended — relevant because BMX trick inputs are typically stick-and-button combinations.

What is not confirmed yet: exact trick controls

No official or first-hand source saved for this page lists the actual button or stick inputs for individual tricks such as the tailwhip, rail grind or ramp launch. The game releases on November 10, 2026, so hands-on write-ups of the full control scheme simply do not exist yet. Any specific control mapping you see online before release is not confirmed; this page will not guess inputs. When the game is out, check the in-game tutorial and the controls menu on the title screen for the authoritative mapping — the Steam listing confirms full controller support, so the game will teach its own inputs.

How to practice tricks right now: the demo route

The demo is the one playable, confirmed way to learn the trick system today, and it is more than a teaser — the developers call it the game's ENTIRE opening chapter.

1. Download the demo from the official Steam page

   The demo was released on June 11, 2026 and featured during Steam Next Fest from June 15. It is free and requires only the game's minimum PC specs (Windows 10+, 8 GB RAM, DirectX 11).

2. Ride the opening streets and find ramps and rails

   The demo announcement's own guidance: spot ramps, launch from rooftops, and use the town's streets as tricklines. This is where you learn how launches, rail catches and landings feel.

3. Attempt the demo's BMX challenges

   The demo was "fully loaded with gnarly tracks, new spicy challenges, and more trick lines" — completing these is the practice ground for the full game's 101.

4. Progress through the first three in-game days

   Everything you accomplish during the first THREE days of the demo carries over to the full game, so challenge clears and progress are not wasted.

5. Transfer your save at launch

   When the game releases on November 10, 2026, transfer your demo progress so your first three days of trick and delivery work carry into the full run.

How the challenges likely fit the rest of the game

The trick challenges are one layer of a larger loop, and knowing it helps you plan. You play Pon, a tanuki with a part-time postal job, delivering packages by BMX across the island for a month before the Great Tanuki Festival. Money and rewards from deliveries and activities go into rebuilding the shrine. The challenges sit alongside this: the release announcement lists "a myriad of trials" — gnarly tracks, spicy trials and endless tricklines — as their own category, separate from delivery quests. Note the Steam page's playful warning from the demo-era announcements: bosses don't pay overtime when you're shredding rooftops, so balance challenge hunting with your postal shifts.

One more reason to engage with the full challenge list: the game has Steam Achievements per its store listing, so a challenge set of this size is a natural achievement target — though no individual achievement names have been listed as of 2026-11-05.

Next steps

• Our BMX challenges page goes deeper on the challenge count and how the trials are framed across the island.
• If you want to spend your trick-session earnings, the hats guide covers the collaboration hat collection, from Hollow Knight: Silksong to PEAK and Shovel Knight.
• Trick runs and deliveries both feed the shrine fund — the shrine restoration guide explains how rewards become upgrades.

FAQ

How do I do BMX tricks in TANUKI: Pon's Summer?

As of 2026-11-05, no official source lists the button inputs for individual tricks — the game launches on November 10, 2026. The confirmed trick verbs are launching off ramps, catching rails, stringing tricks together and landing cleanly, with the tailwhip named in the developer's trailer announcement. Use the demo to learn the feel; check the in-game controls menu for the exact mapping after launch.

How many BMX challenges are in the game?

The official Steam page says "over 100 BMX challenges," and the developer's release date announcement states the exact figure: 101 challenges to conquer.

Does demo progress carry over to the full game?

Yes. The developer confirmed that everything accomplished during the first three days of the demo transfers to the main game once you start the full release.

What platforms is the game on?

The official Steam page lists Windows as of 2026-11-05. The developer's October 2026 announcement also says the game is coming to PlayStation, with preorders open on Xbox and Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 — check those storefronts for their current listings.

Check note: facts above come from the official Steam store page and developer announcements posted there, verified on 2026-11-05. The exact trick control inputs and the names of individual challenges remain unconfirmed until the game launches.