PENGUIN DASH

A penguin, a grey sea, and everything in it that eats penguins.

PENGUIN DASH All games

PENGUIN DASH

A penguin, a grey sea, and everything in it that eats penguins.

Swim out from the shore, catch a fish in your beak and bring it back to the pile - while seals, sharks and orcas hunt you. The penguin swims towards the pointer and dashes with a barrel roll, and it carries its speed, so a fast run at the surface throws it into the air. Ice floes are safe to rest on; icebergs are not, and block a breach from underneath. The sea runs two kilometres out, darker and stormier the farther you go, with deep caverns at the bottom guarded by a giant squid and a giant crab. Thirty-six fish for the Fish Book, twenty-two penguins to dress as, and points to spend on speed and strength.

What is in it: A cartoon penguin fishing while seals, sharks and orcas try to catch it. Nothing graphic. More for parents

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Controls

  • Mouseswim towards the pointer · hop on land and ice
  • Click / Spacedash
  • Arrows + Entermenus
  • Escpause · back
  • Msound
A shark that sees you calls every predator nearby to where you were - so change direction after it spots you, not before.

Tags

How to play

You are one penguin from a hungry colony. Each run starts on the shore by the fish pile. Dive in, catch a fish, swim back, hop onto the shore and drop it on the pile for points. You carry one fish at a time, so every catch is a round trip.

Your penguin swims towards the mouse pointer with real momentum, and turns far faster than anything chasing it. Click or press Space to dash with a barrel roll; on Normal it recharges in 2 seconds. Swim up fast and you leap clear of the water, where nothing can bite you. On land and ice floes the same click is a hop.

The sea runs 2,000 metres out, with a buoy every 250 m, through the Shallows, Kelp Bay, Open Water, the Deep Grey, Iceberg Alley and Orca Territory. Fish are worth more the further out they live, and so are the hunters more numerous. Get eaten and you lose your fish and a life, and start again at the shore. Lose your last life and the run is over, and the results screen shows what ate you.

Choose a difficulty on the home screen with the arrow keys. Easy is 4 lives, a 1.6-second dash and fish worth three quarters. Normal is 3 lives, 2 seconds and full value. Hard is 2 lives, 2.4 seconds and half as much again, with faster, more numerous predators.

Tips and strategy

  • Keep the streak going. Bring the next fish home within 90 seconds and each delivery is worth a quarter more, up to double from the fifth in a row. Being eaten resets it.
  • Mind the weight. You start able to lift 3 kg. A heavy load cuts top speed by up to 35 per cent and your dash by up to 45, so a big catch far from home is a gamble.
  • Spend points in UPGRADES. Speed takes you from 118 to 180. Strength takes your lift from 3 kg to 16 kg. Each has five steps costing 5, 12, 24, 42 and 70 points.
  • Seals and sharks match your starting speed. Seals cut you off and wait where you will land. A shark that sees you calls every hunter nearby, so break away from sharks first.
  • Use the bubble rings. Past 80 m, a ring gives a 2.2-second burst at one and a half times your speed, a fresh dash, and clears a jellyfish sting.
  • Outlast sea lions, sidestep narwhals. A sea lion outsprints you for about two seconds, then rests. A narwhal aims, glints and charges in a straight line.
  • Watch the sky with a fish in your mouth. Skuas steal it when you leap or rest. Jump into the skua to get it back.
  • Look for shiny fish. About one in 30 is shiny and worth triple. Big fish are worth double.

What's in it

  • Thirty-six fish in the Fish Book: 30 in open water, from the sprat near home to the Silver King and Golden Fish far out, and 6 that only live in the caverns, including the Abyss King and the Star Snout. Each comes little, normal or big.
  • Fourteen creatures: seal, shark, orca, moon jelly, lion's mane, sea lion, walrus, skua, sleeper shark, narwhal, anglerfish, ice eel, and the giant squid and giant crab guarding the cavern treasure rooms. Jellies stun rather than kill.
  • Three cavern networks from about 1,220 m out, with branches down to guarded treasure rooms.
  • Twenty-two penguins: 9 from the start and 13 unlocked by goals.

Questions

How do I unlock more penguins?

Each has a goal shown on the Penguins screen. KING needs 10 fish brought home, MACARONI a swim 500 m out, ROYAL 1,000 m, YELLOW-EYED a shiny fish, NINJA five dodged narwhal charges, PIRATE a cavern fish brought home, VIKING a maxed upgrade, GENTLEMAN a pile of 60 in one run, and RAINBOW every fish in the book.

Does it save?

Yes. Your Fish Book, points, upgrades, penguins, best pile and furthest swim are kept in your browser.

Is it safe to rest on an ice floe?

Mostly. A walrus underneath will bump you off. Icebergs are too slippery to stand on, and you cannot jump up through them.

Can I play on a phone?

It is made for a mouse, because your penguin follows the pointer. There are no on-screen touch controls.

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