Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Travel Rings explained: who chooses and where you go

In a regular three-lap race, the road does not stay on one course from start to finish. Lap one begins on the starting course. A giant Travel Ring takes everyone to another place, called a CrossWorld, for lap two. Lap three brings the race back to the starting course. A Travel Ring is part of the road during the race—not a menu you have to unlock or open.

The picture above is one example of a CrossWorld. The important change is the road itself: your competitors travel there with you, so keep racing rather than looking for a separate loading screen.

Watch the road near the end of the first lap. Look ahead for two very large gold-rimmed circles hanging over the track. They are much bigger than the small gold rings you collect while driving. The official screenshot below shows exactly where they sit: above the road in front of the racers.

Stay on the racing line and drive toward them. You do not need to stop or open a map. The race moves to the second-lap world after the selection.

A ring with large question marks hides its destination. You will find out which CrossWorld it picked after the race goes through it.

A ring with a scene inside it previews a particular destination. In this official example, the picture shows a dinosaur world. Look at the center of the gold circle to tell the two choices apart.

The racer in first place chooses which ring everyone takes. If you are in second place or farther back, you still pass through the selected ring, but you do not get a separate destination choice. That is why your own car may reach the rings without letting you pick a different world.

There is no special Travel Ring button to press. The front racer steers into the desired ring; the race then sends the whole field to that CrossWorld. If you want to choose next time, try to be leading when the rings appear.

After the ring, the second lap takes place on a different CrossWorld course. Keep following the road and competing normally. It is not a new race: your position carries on from lap one.

When the third lap begins, you return to the original course. Sega says the course can change in other ways on this last lap, so keep watching for a different route, item placement or other surprises even though the setting looks familiar.

Seeing only small gold rings? Those are the collectibles, not Travel Rings. The Travel Rings are the two huge circles suspended above the road near the lap change, as shown in the first screenshot.

Unable to pick a destination? Check your race position. Only the leader chooses; everyone else follows the same selected CrossWorld. If you are still on the first part of the starting course, keep racing until the rings appear.