How to play / Pond Parade
How to play Pond Parade
The mother duck never stops swimming, and every duckling she collects lengthens the line trailing behind her. Pond Parade is about steering a moving line through a pond without bumping into anything, including the line itself.
She swims, you choose the turns
You never tell the mother duck to go; she is always moving forward. You only decide which way she faces next. Swim into a lost duckling and it joins the line right behind her. Each duckling is worth one point, and a shining golden duckling is worth three, but it only stays for eight seconds.
The more ducklings in the line, the faster she swims. If you tap two turns quickly, up to three wait in a short queue and happen on her next stroke. A straight reversal back into your own line is ignored.
Swipe the pond, thumb pad or keys
- Phone: swipe anywhere on the pond to steer, or switch on the thumb pad in the menu for four big arrows under the pond. Swiping still works with the pad on.
- Computer: the arrow keys or W, A, S and D steer, Space starts, and P or Escape pauses.
Before each round a tip card appears with one fact about ducks. The pond waits until you make your first move.
Peas, oats and the well-fed meter
Peas and oats appear on the water and stay for about thirteen seconds. Eating them fills a well-fed meter, and five fill it into a heart. You start with three hearts. If the meter is full while your hearts are full too, it waits as a spare, and the next bump gives a heart straight back.
Why bread is a trap
Bread looks like food but swimming into it empties the meter, and soggy crumbs grow algae, which then blocks the water. The tip card explains that bread fills ducks up without feeding them. Swim round it.
What counts as a bump
The bank, rocks, logs, reeds, algae and your own line each cost a heart. After a bump everyone regroups somewhere open, and the run ends when the last heart is gone. Lily pads are harmless: the line swims under them, out of sight, so remember where it went.
Every ten ducklings, the pond grows
With every ten ducklings in the line the pond gets one ring wider, the pace quickens and something new appears in it. There are five sizes. From the second pond a current runs through two rows of water: with it you swim about forty-five percent faster, and against it you slow down.
Today's pond and the classic game
"Play" starts a classic run on a fresh pond, with a best score kept on your device. "Today's pond" is the same for everyone and holds forty lost ducklings; gather every one and the day is done. A small clock runs in the corner, and your first run of the day is the only scored one, ranked first by ducklings and then by time. Later goes are practice.
Finish the daily on consecutive days to build a streak. Every seventh day in a row earns a streak freeze, up to two, and each one covers a missed day. Share sends a short picture of your line, with the score and time but nothing about where anything was.
When a classic run ends you may be offered "Keep going" with one heart.
Pond Parade questions answered
Why can't I turn straight back?
The line is right behind you, so turning around would send her into it. The game ignores that turn.
Does the clock matter in the classic game?
No. The clock only shows on the daily pond, where it breaks ties between equal duckling counts.
Is a golden duckling worth chasing?
Usually, because it counts three, but it vanishes after eight seconds, so only if the route is clear.
Do I need the thumb pad?
No. It is optional, and swiping the pond works either way.
More games like Pond Parade
- How to play Flock Step: another game about guiding a line of ducklings home.
- How to play Duckling Crossing: lead a mother duck and her ducklings past hazards.
- How to play Puddle Ferry: carry ducklings and other passengers across the pond.