Pulling off tricks will also feel familiar to those who've played a SSX game before, with the left stick controlling spin direction and the right stick controlling grabs. (monstervine.com)
If the top's initial spin direction lay in one of three subsets of possible directions — dubbed islands of stability — each successive kick would knock the spin in a regular way, sending it around a stable orbit within that island. (scientificamerican.com)
If, however, the initial spin direction lay outside these islands, in the «chaotic sea», the spin should jump around rapidly and unpredictably. (scientificamerican.com)