How to play Puffer Reef
A complete guide: the one-tap controls, how hearts and pearls work, what waits in each of the four waters, what a continue gives you, and the habits that make a dive last longer.
In one paragraph. You are a small yellow pufferfish swimming to the right through an endless reef. Each tap pushes it up; between taps it sinks. Columns of rock, kelp, timber and basalt rise from the sand and hang from the surface, and the only way on is through the gaps between them. Each reef you pass is one point. A bump costs one of your three hearts - collect pearls to earn them back.
The rules
- One tap, one stroke. A tap gives the puffer the same push up every time, whatever it was doing before. Without taps it sinks faster and faster, up to a steady speed.
- Swim through the gaps. Every reef has one gap. Passing it scores a point.
- Mind the reef, the jellyfish and the sand. Touching any of them costs a heart. The puffer puffs up, bounces off and blinks for two seconds - while it blinks, nothing can hurt it, so use the time to get back on course.
- The surface is safe. The puffer cannot leave the water, but touching the surface costs nothing - only the reef hanging from it does.
- Three hearts. The dive ends when the last one is gone.
Controls
On a phone or tablet
- Tap anywhere on the field to swim up. Short, quick taps work better than long presses - only the moment your finger touches the screen counts.
- Pause is under the field. The game also pauses by itself when you switch apps or lock the phone.
On a computer
- Space, ↑ or W swim up; a click on the field does the same.
- P or Esc pauses and resumes.
Hearts, pearls and heart bubbles
- Pearls float in some of the gaps and now and then in a short string between two reefs, right on the line from one gap to the next. Swim through one to collect it.
- The pearl string in the top right corner fills with every pearl. At 15 pearls it turns into a heart - at once if you are missing one; with all three hearts it waits, full, and gives the heart back right after your next bump.
- Heart bubbles - a bubble with a red heart inside - drift in a gap every twenty to thirty reefs. One gives you a heart on the spot; if your hearts are already full, it adds five pearls to the string instead.
The four waters
| Water | Reefs | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Sunlit Shallows | 0-14 | Coral rocks and gaps that stay still. Light falls through the surface. |
| Kelp Forest | 15-34 | Kelp-grown rock. About one gap in five starts drifting slowly up and down. |
| Sunken Wreck | 35-59 | Broken timbers with iron bands. More gaps drift, and from reef 45 the first jellyfish float between the reefs. |
| Midnight Trench | 60 and more | Dark basalt with glowing crystals, the most drifting gaps and the most jellyfish. |
The name of each new water appears at the top of the field when you reach it. All the way down, the swim also gets gradually faster and the gaps a little narrower, until both level off deep in the dive.
Continuing a dive
When the last heart is gone you can start a new dive, or tap Continue. The puffer is waiting where it stopped, with the same score, all three hearts and a short moment of blinking. The reefs right around it are cleared, and it starts again with your next tap. You can continue twice in one dive.
Tips
1. Tap in a rhythm
The puffer rises about as much with every tap. Find the steady beat that keeps it level, then only speed up or slow down the taps to climb or sink.
2. Aim for the lower half of the gap
A tap always lifts the puffer quickly, while sinking takes a moment to get going. Sitting a little below the middle of a gap leaves room for one more tap without touching the top.
3. Look one reef ahead
As soon as you are through a gap, move towards the height of the next one. Big climbs and drops are easy when you start them early and hard at the last moment.
4. Wait for drifting gaps
A gap that drifts up and down comes back to the same place in two or three seconds. Match its movement and slip in when it is on its way towards you.
5. Take pearls only on the way
Pearls are placed on the path you would swim anyway. Chasing one that is off your line is how most hearts are lost.
6. Use the blinking
After a bump the puffer blinks for two seconds and cannot be hurt. Do not panic-tap: steer calmly into the next gap while it lasts.
Frequently asked questions
Is Puffer Reef free?
Yes. The game is free, with no account and no purchase. The site is paid for by the advertising described in our Privacy Policy.
Does the game end, or get faster forever?
The reef never ends, but the speed and the width of the gaps stop changing deep in the Midnight Trench, so a good swimmer can keep going for as long as they like.
Why did I lose a heart near the top?
Touching the water surface is safe; the hearts are lost on the reef columns that hang down from it. Make sure the gap is really there before you swim up.
Is my best score saved?
Yes, in your browser's local storage, together with the number of dives and all the pearls you have ever collected. Clearing your browser data or playing in private mode erases it.
Can I play offline?
Once the page has loaded, the game needs no connection - everything runs in your browser. Only the advertising and the measurement need the network.