Ducks Up!

Picture a white call duck in a red sweatband, flapping over a pond full of bullies. That’s you. Tap or hold to flap, steer left and right, and drop onto a rival from above to send it tumbling into the water; bump into one from underneath and you’re the one who gets dunked. Each beaten rival leaves an egg, and it pays to scoop it up fast, because a hatched egg means a grumpy duckling that puffs itself up into a fresh opponent. Greenhead the mallard drake, Big Red the muscovy and The Goose make up most waves, Snatch the gull goes after the eggs, and every fifth wave brings Her Majesty, a mute swan who takes four bonks. Loiter in the water and Snapper the turtle pops up to shove you back onto a perch.

Play wave after wave in the endless game, or try Today’s pond: five waves, identical for everybody, with the swan waiting at the end. With a friend, you can share a single phone, either Together on the same side or Head to head, where you can bonk each other too. A short lesson with a sleepy drake gets you going. The quacks and honks were recorded at our own pond, and nobody really gets hurt; a bonked duck shakes it off and paddles home. It’s a quick, silly scrap for anybody who likes a flapping arcade game, made by our little Long Island studio and free to play on the web. The details live in how to play Ducks Up!