Quackvine

Somewhere above the duck pond, a weedy vine has got over the garden fence and is creeping down, row by row, toward the water. Your white call duck is the only thing in its way. Drag to swim back and forth along the pond, and the duck sends splashes straight up. A splash that hits a bud leaves a pile of leaves behind and cuts the vine in two. That helps, until you notice the vine turns and drops a row every time it meets a pot, a pile of leaves or the edge, so the more mess you make, the faster it comes. Trim every bud and the whole garden blooms.

Visitors keep things lively. A whirligig beetle zigzags across the pond the way real ones do, a snail leaves slime the vine slides along twice as fast, and a rabbit hops down digging mounds. If the vine or a beetle touches your duck, it gets ruffled, shakes its feathers and swims off, and the next duck takes over. Today’s garden is six waves, the same for everyone, and only your first run counts; the endless garden just keeps getting faster. If a few frantic minutes and a near miss sound like fun, it’s for you. The quacks are recordings of our own call ducks, and Ducklark, the very small studio that made it, is based on Long Island. Play it for free in your browser, and for the points and the visitors, see how to play Quackvine.