How to play

Controls

Press anywhere, pull back and let go. Your cell shoots the opposite way, like a slingshot. A longer pull gives a faster shot. A plain tap does nothing.

While you pull, an arrow and a dotted line show where the cell will go. On levels 2 to 5 the line shows about two seconds of flight, including one bounce off the glass. On level 1 and from level 6 it is shorter, and it grows as you pull harder.

On a keyboard, the arrow keys and WASD steer the cell directly. Escape or P pauses.

The dish

You have three lives per level. Lose all three and the level fails. Try again keeps half the food you ate and makes that attempt a little easier. Once per run you can also revive: you get one life back and carry on where you fell. On this site the revive is free. Level 1 cannot be lost: there, a red cell only knocks a bead out of you.

Warnings and protection

If the shot you are aiming would hit a red cell, the dotted line turns red from that point and a red ✕ marks the spot. The game also warns you when a red cell is about to drift into your cell while it rests. After a hit, a bubble protects you for at least two seconds.

Bounties

From level 3, BLUE bounties drift in: a virus at first, and other animals in later eras. One comes at a time at first, up to four at once from level 12. A shot pulled more than 30% of the way back kills one anywhere along its flight, bounces included; its ring locks on when your aim will get it. A softer touch just bounces off. Each kill is worth 5 to 25 points. Leave one alone for about eight seconds and it escapes with its points.

Evolution and eras

Your cell evolves into a new form at the end of level 1, then every two or three levels: thirteen forms in all, from a single cell to a whale. The ring at the top of the screen shows how close the next form is. The world changes too: five eras, each with its own hunters and its own food. When a new era begins, some of the last era’s hunters come back green and harmless. Eat them for 15 points each. The field guide tells you about the real animals behind every form, hunter and food.

Growth

Every bite makes the cell a little larger. A larger cell reaches further, so food gets easier to reach, but it is also a larger target and harder to thread between two red cells.

The chain bonus

Reach the next piece of food before the amber bar empties and each one in the chain is worth more than the last:

The window shortens slightly with every link, so a long chain gets harder to hold rather than easier. Taking a hit breaks it. Chained points pay into both your score and your biomass, which is why a careful player and a fast one end a run with very different amounts to spend.

Boosters

Buy boosters under Get Boosters with the biomass you earn by eating, then tap the booster at the top of the screen to use it. Each one lasts one level.

Saving, sharing and the board

When you lose, you can save the level and come back to it on any later day. To open a save, press the menu button (☰) during play and choose it under Saved levels. Saves stay on your own device, up to eight of them.

Sharing a result sends the seed of the dish you played, so whoever opens the link starts from the same dish. It will not be exactly the same: the number of red cells depends on the screen size, and the game adjusts its difficulty to each player.

To put your best level on the world board, enter a name: the Level Failed screen offers it, and so does the menu. Biomass you buy never counts toward your board total, and runs helped by boosters carry a mark on the board. The menu also has Delete my data, which removes your board row.