How to play / Shellduck
How to play Shellduck
Shellduck is a ducks-in-helmets artillery duel on a hill, where the wind decides as much as your aim. It is a turn-based game for one or two players: each turn you set an angle and a power, then fire one shell at the other tank.
Drag back, release, fire
Two tanks sit on a hilly field, each driven by a duck. Take turns firing. A tank starts with 100 hit points, and a match ends when one is knocked out and raises its white flag. If nobody has been knocked out after 40 turns, whoever has more hit points left wins.
To aim, drag back from anywhere on the field, like a slingshot; the further you pull, the more power. Dotted marks show the first third of the flight, and a dashed line remembers your last shot, so you can nudge it closer. The minus and plus buttons beside Angle and Power make small corrections, and tapping the angle number turns the barrel around to face the other way. Press Fire when it looks right.
Reading the wind arrow
The Wind box at the top of the screen shows which way the air is pushing and how hard. Calm turns, light breezes and the odd gale all happen. The shell is pushed all the way along its flight, so aim into a headwind with extra power and ease off with a tailwind. On the Moon map there is no wind, but gravity is much weaker, so shells float a long way.
Driving and the fuel bar
Before firing you can drive a short way with the left and right drive arrows. The fuel bar shows how much you have: 60 units a turn, one for each pixel on the flat and more when you climb. Moving can open up a blocked shot.
The six weapons
The weapon button on the right opens the choices. Most have limited ammunition per match.
- Big Shot: one heavy shell, and it never runs out. A direct hit costs a tank 40 hit points.
- Cluster (two shells): bursts into five small bomblets at the top of its arc.
- Digger (two): burrows into the ground and blows a deep hole.
- Roller (two): lands, then rolls downhill into whatever is at the bottom.
- Goose Drop (one): marks a spot, and a flight of geese drops five bombs on it.
- Interceptor (one): skips your shot. The next shell that comes near your tank is shot down.
On a keyboard the number keys 1 to 6 pick them in this order.
Things in the way
Fields can have trees, hay bales, sandcastles, snowmen, boulders, rubber-duck pool floats, mushrooms and clouds. Solid things stop a shell, breakable ones crumble after one to three hits, and bouncy ones spring it away. A shell rising through a cloud passes through, but one coming down lands on it and explodes up there. A shell that drops into a pond just fizzles out.
The daily trick shot and par
Each day brings one puzzle, the same for everyone. Your tank cannot be hurt and cannot drive, and the bunker cannot shoot back. You have up to ten shots to knock it out, and the fewer the better.
Every day has a par: the number of shots a proven solution needs, plus one for finding your range. When you finish, your result is Under par, On par, Over par, or Held out if the bunker survived. The Stats sheet counts how many of your days fell in each group. The share button sends a row of marks, one for each shot: a puff for a miss, a bang for a hit and a white flag for the one that finished it.
Your streak grows when you play the day's puzzle on its own day. Every seventh day in a row earns a streak freeze, up to two, and each one covers one missed day. Missed a day? "Past trick shots" opens a calendar to play it, but past days never touch your streak or your stats.
Playing the computer or a friend
Against the computer there are three levels: Easy misses a lot, Medium reads the wind, and Hard rarely misses. For a friend, press New match, take your shot, then send the link; they open it, watch your shot and fire back whenever they are free. No sign-up is needed. Matches live on your phone; the turns travel in the links.
The Garage changes looks and the map for new matches. Every tank fires exactly the same.
Shellduck questions answered
Why does my shell keep falling short?
Check the wind arrow first, then add power. An uphill target needs more power than a flat one.
Can I play with the phone upright?
Yes. The sideways prompt has a "Play upright anyway" button, though the wide field fits better on its side.
Do I need an account to play a friend?
No. You only type a name, up to 16 characters, which goes into the link.
More games like Shellduck
- How to play Splash Landing: another game where wind and a steady touch matter.
- How to play Pond Thaw: steer a log and skim a pebble, with a new pond each day.
- How to play Flock Step: a daily puzzle where fewer moves is better.