Catch the Moles Game

The moles pop out of their holes faster and faster: tap them before they hide, but don't touch the spiky decoys. You have 30 seconds to get the highest score you can, and the more hits in a row, the more each mole is worth. Free, no sign-up.

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Time30

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Tap the brown moles; don't tap the gray spiky decoys, which cost you points. On a computer you can use the mouse or the keyboard: keys 1 to 9, 0, Q and W match the holes in order. To pause use the P key or the button. The game pauses by itself if you switch tabs.

How to play catch the moles

Choose 9 holes (3 × 3) or 12 (3 × 4) and tap to start: the clock runs for 30 seconds.
When a brown mole pops up, tap it before it hides. Each hit scores 10 points.
If you tap a gray spiky decoy, you lose 15 points and your combo is broken. Tapping an empty hole also breaks the combo; so does letting a mole get away.
With 6 hits in a row each mole is worth double, with 11 triple and with 16 or more quadruple. At the end you see your score, your moles and your best combo.

Strategy and tips

The game speeds up gradually: at first only one mole pops up and stays for more than a second, but toward the end up to three appear at once and barely stay half a second. What pays off most is keeping the combo going: a single mistake halfway through the game drops your multiplier back to one, and getting it back takes six hits.

Look at the whole grid instead of staring at one hole: the moles always come out in a different spot from the last one, so it pays to keep your eyes on the center and catch the movement in your peripheral vision. Tap as soon as you see one; waiting to see what it is wastes time, and the decoys are easy to tell apart by shape: they have spikes and crosses instead of eyes.

With 12 holes there are more places for something to appear and up to four critters at once at the end, but your hands have more room; with 9 holes everything is within easy reach and it is the ideal size for a phone. The best score is saved per grid. Everything runs in your browser and none of your score data is sent.

Things to keep in mind

Your best score is saved per grid only in this browser: if you clear the site data, it is lost.
On a touch screen you can play with one finger or with both thumbs: the game accepts almost simultaneous taps on different holes.
The game pauses by itself if you switch tabs or apps, and the round continues from where it was when you resume. The moles are drawn shapes (no external images), so they look the same on any device.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a round last?

Exactly 30 seconds. It is a game made for quick rounds: when it ends you tap "Play again" and start another.

What happens if I tap the decoy?

You lose 15 points (your score never goes below zero) and your combo is broken. The decoys are gray, with spikes and crosses instead of eyes, so you don't depend on color to tell them apart.

How does the combo work?

Each mole caught without a mistake in between adds one to the combo. With 6 in a row the moles are worth double, with 11 triple and with 16 or more quadruple. A decoy, an empty hole or a mole that gets away resets it.

Can I play with a keyboard?

Yes: keys 1 to 9 and 0 (and Q and W on the 12-hole grid) match the holes in order, from left to right and top to bottom. You can also move with Tab and press Enter on a hole.

What is a good score?

On the 9-hole grid, going past 500 points is already very good and reaching 1000 takes almost no misses and no moles getting away. Watch your best combo: it is what counts most.

Is my best score saved?

Yes, in this browser and separately for each grid. It is not sent to any server and your score is not recorded.