Flock Step

Ducklings don't take turns. In Flock Step, every swipe sends the whole brood paddling the same way at once, and the puzzle is getting all of them back to Tiny, who waits on his nest out on the water. A rock, the bank or a sibling stops a duckling in its tracks, so half the fun is letting one get stuck on purpose while the rest catch up. Each breed has its own reach: a call duckling paddles a single square, an Indian Runner covers two, a mallard keeps going until it bumps into something, and a heavy Muscovy won't be pushed along by the current that drifts the others.

Every pond has a par, the shortest way home, which a computer has proven by trying every route, and you earn gold, silver or bronze by how close you come. Three fresh ponds arrive each day, one easy, one medium and one hard, and everybody gets the same three. If you want more, there's a level path with stars that just keeps going. Tap a breed's chip under the pond for its card, with a real photo where we have one, like Rusty as a duckling, and the peeps you hear come from our own flock. It suits anyone who likes a short, honest puzzle with their coffee. It comes from a small Long Island studio, costs nothing in any web browser, and the rules are all laid out under how to play Flock Step.