Duckling Ferry Jam

A crowded little harbour packed with pedal boats, short and long, and each one can only sail the way its duck head points. That’s the knot you untie in Duckling Ferry Jam. Tap a boat with a clear lane and it sails round to a free berth at the pier; tap one that’s boxed in and it only bumps whatever is in front. Up on the bank a line of ducklings waits, and the one at the front climbs into a boat of its own colour. Three aboard and the boat toots and heads off home, which frees its berth. Moor too many boats that nobody wants yet and the pier jams, so you undo, start again, or open one extra berth.

There’s no clock. You count moves against par, one tap per boat, and a computer has cleared every harbour before you see it, so there is always a way out. The numbered docks go on and on, starting gentle and adding boats and colours, and a dock of the day gives every player the same harbour and a gold, silver or bronze medal. Each colour carries its own mark too, a circle, triangle, star or heart, so you never have to tell them apart by colour alone. Tiny, Roady and Rusty sit on the bank watching, and when a dock is clear the ducklings waddle home in a line behind Tiny. If you like puzzles that reward a moment of thought before you tap, you’ll feel at home. It’s free, it runs in any web browser, and how to play Duckling Ferry Jam walks through the finer rules.