How to Play Pufferfish

Everything you need to survive the ocean, master the puff, and climb the leaderboards.

Basic Controls

Simple to learn, hard to master

👆

Swipe to Move

Swipe anywhere on screen to move your pufferfish. Navigate in any direction to dodge predators coming from all sides.

🐡

Double-Tap or Puff Button

Double-tap the screen or hit the puff button to puff up. While puffed, you damage predators on contact instead of dying. But you move slower and sink faster.

💠

Collect Coins

Grab coins as you swim. Use them to enter challenges, unlock cosmetics, and climb the prize tiers.

The Puff Mechanic

Your only weapon — use it wisely

Puffing is the core mechanic that separates beginners from pros. Double-tap or press the puff button and your pufferfish inflates, becoming dangerous to predators. But there's a trade-off: you move slower, sink faster, and can't dodge as well.

The key is timing. Puff too early and you'll be a slow target for other threats. Puff too late and you're already dead. The best players puff at the last possible moment — just before contact.

🐟

Normal

Fast and agile. Dodge freely but vulnerable to all predators.

🐡

Puffed

Slow but deadly. Destroys predators on contact. Sinks faster.

Perfect Timing

Puff at the last moment for bonus points and combo multipliers.

Power-Ups

Grab them as they appear — or play pure skill with them off

🛡️

Shield

Absorbs one hit from any predator. Lets you survive a mistake without losing your run. Doesn't stack.

Speed Boost

Temporarily increases swim speed. Great for dodging tight clusters of predators or reaching coins faster.

Combo Multiplier

Doubles your score multiplier for a limited time. Stack with perfect-timing puffs for massive point combos.

💰

Coin Magnet

Pulls nearby coins toward you automatically. No need to risk swimming into dangerous areas to grab them.

Challenge System

Go head-to-head and wager coins

🌍

Open Challenges

Post your score publicly. Anyone in the game can accept and try to beat it. Great for finding new rivals.

🔗

Direct Challenges

Send a link to a specific person via text, Discord, or social media. Only they can accept and play.

🎯

Closed Challenges

Target a specific player from the leaderboard. They get a push notification and can accept or decline.

💸

Wager Rules

Set entry fees from free to 250 coins. Winner takes 1.6x the pot. Draws get a full refund. Choose pure skill or all power-ups.

Leaderboard System

Compete locally and globally

🏘️

Regional Rankings

You're ranked in your city, state/region, country, and worldwide. The more regions you rank in, the more prizes you can win.

Daily Resets

Leaderboards reset every 24 hours. Top 3 players in each region earn coin prizes at reset. Fresh competition every day.

🏆

Prize Tiers

1st place gets the biggest prize, 2nd and 3rd get smaller amounts. Place on multiple regional boards to maximize your daily earnings.

📈

Time Periods

Track your progress across daily, weekly, monthly, and all-time leaderboards. Every period is a new chance to prove yourself.

Pro Tips

Strategies from top-ranked players

Ready to start swimming?

Free on iOS and Android. No account required. Jump in and play.

Download Free — App Store Download Free — Google Play