How to play Domenaut

Controls

One button does everything.

• Hold to rise

  Press and hold anywhere on the screen, or hold Space or Enter. The sub swims up.

• Release to sink

  Let go and the sub sinks. Short taps make small moves, long holds climb high.

• Pop out for a moment

  Rise through the waterline and the sub breaches into the air, then splashes back in. It is a quick way over a tall threat.

What is in the water

Anything with a dark outline hurts. Most hazards follow a pattern you can read before it arrives, and a red warning flashes when something fast is coming.

• Seaweed

  Tall waving weeds that grow up from the sand.

• Rocks

  Rocks sit on the seabed and block the low route.

• Fish

  Fish and whole schools swim across your path.

• Jellyfish

  Jellyfish drift and bob in open water, so time your pass.

• Sharks

  Sharks cruise in fast. Watch for the red warning.

Pearls

• Pearls

  Grab pearls on the way down. Close calls give +1 pearl. The board ranks by distance, so pearls only break ties between divers who swam the same distance.

Items

Floating tokens give you a short boost. The first one shows up early in every dive.

• Bubble Shield

  For about five seconds the sub is bonk-proof and knocks creatures out of the way.

• Calm Current

  The whole sea slows to 60% speed for about five seconds, which gives you more time to think.

• Pearl Magnet

  For eight seconds, every pearl within a few metres of the sub flies straight to it.

• Spare Air

  You keep it until you need it. The next hit pops the tank instead of the sub, knocks nearby creatures away and gives you a moment of bonk-proof swimming. You can carry one at a time.

Big Puff

Big Puff the pufferfish king swims in at 300 m and again every 500 m after that. Everything else clears away while it attacks, and there are two ways to win.

• Outlast it

  Survive its 5 attacks: spine volleys, a puffed-up charge and bubble rings.

• Bonk it

  Bubble rings have a hole. Fly through it to turn the ring into a star, and collect 3 stars to bonk Big Puff.

• Win pearls

  Either way you earn a pile of pearls, including a golden one.

Tips

• Small taps beat big holds. Tiny moves keep you out of trouble.
• Look ahead of the sub, not at it. The next gap is the one that matters.
• When unsure, stay in the middle of the water. There is room to go either way.
• Grab the early Bubble Shield. It is a free mistake.
• Both portrait and landscape work, and landscape shows more of what is coming.

Weekly challenge

Everyone dives the same course this week. Post your best depth and climb the board.

Questions