About Whack-a-Mole
Whack-a-Mole is a 30-second reflex test on a 3 by 3 grid of holes. Moles pop up at random and stay up for only a moment, and you score by tapping them before they disappear, while avoiding the occasional bomb.
How to play
- Press Start to begin a 30-second round. The game ends when the timer reaches zero.
- Four times a second there is a good chance that something pops up in an empty hole. About 15 percent of the things that appear are bombs instead of moles.
- Each mole or bomb stays visible for between 0.6 and 1.3 seconds before ducking back down.
- Hitting a mole scores 10 points. Hitting a bomb costs 30 points, though your score never goes below zero.
- Tapping an empty hole, or letting a mole escape, costs nothing.
- The pace stays the same for the whole 30 seconds; it does not speed up near the end.
Controls
- Mouse: click a mole. The hit registers as soon as you press the button, not when you release it.
- Touch: tap a mole with your finger. Using two fingers on a phone or tablet can help you cover more holes.
Tips and strategy
- Look before you hit. A bomb wipes out three moles' worth of points, so a moment to check the icon is worth it.
- Keep your eyes on the centre of the grid. From there you can see all nine holes without moving your head.
- Several moles can be up at once. Hit the one that appeared first, since it will disappear first.
- Do not bother chasing a mole that has been up for a while; it is likely to duck before you get there. Go for fresh ones instead.
- Because empty-hole taps are free, tapping a hole the instant something starts to rise is fine, as long as you can see it is not a bomb.
Background
Mechanical mole-whacking games appeared in Japanese amusement arcades in the mid-1970s and were soon taken up by American arcade and fairground makers, becoming a fixture of family entertainment centres. Players hit plastic moles with a padded mallet as they rise from holes in a cabinet. The game was so widely known that "whack-a-mole" became an everyday expression for any problem that pops up again as soon as you deal with it.
Questions
- How long is a round?
- Exactly 30 seconds, counted down in one-second steps. The clock pauses if an ad break is on screen.
- What happens if I hit a bomb?
- You lose 30 points. Your score cannot drop below zero, and the round carries on.
- Does it get faster towards the end?
- No. Moles and bombs appear at the same rate and stay up for the same range of time throughout the round.