Reel
Keep it in the bar. Reel it in. A free one-tap game.
Play nowHold to lift the bar · Release to let it sinkReel is a one-button fishing game. A fish bites, and a tall meter pops up with the fish darting up and down inside it. Your catch bar floats up while you hold and sinks when you let go. Keep the fish inside the bar and the catch meter fills; let it slip out and the meter drains. Fill it and you land the fish, with its name and size. Let it drain and the line snaps. You have three lines per run, a new lake every day, and friends' ghost boats fishing beside you.
How to play Reel
- Wait for the bite: the bobber dunks and the meter appears.
- Hold anywhere to lift your catch bar. Let go and it sinks.
- Keep the fish inside the bar to fill the catch meter on the right. Fill it to land the fish.
- If the catch meter empties, the fish escapes and you lose a line. Lose all three and the run ends.
Tips to get a high score
- The bar has weight. Let go a moment before it reaches the fish so it coasts to a stop, rather than overshooting.
- Short, quick taps hover the bar in place, which works well for calm fish.
- Catfish hug the bottom: you barely need to hold. Flying fish hang near the top and suddenly dive.
- Keep a fish in the bar for nearly the whole fight (under half a second outside) for a PERFECT catch. Perfects in a row climb in pitch.
- The bar shrinks the more you catch, and bosses and rare golden koi show up later.
Who bites, and when
The first two fish are always bluegill, and the next two are bluegill or perch. From the fifth bite the mix leans steadily toward trout, catfish, flying fish and pike. Trout and pike are darters that jump long distances, catfish stay low and burst upward, and flying fish stay high and dive.
The golden koi can bite from the seventh fish on, about one bite in fifteen. The sturgeon boss can appear from the tenth, and the 17th, 25th and every eighth bite after are almost always a sturgeon (escapes count). Both wander the whole meter. The sturgeon also shrinks your bar by a tenth and takes the longest to fill. From the starting level, a bluegill fills in about a second of steady contact and a sturgeon needs nearly two.
How the fight tightens
Difficulty rises with each fish you land, over your first 16. Your bar starts at a bit under a third of the meter's height and shrinks by about a quarter. Then it keeps shrinking a little with each catch until it's about a sixth of the meter. Fish move about 12% faster by then, change direction more often, and keep getting quicker past that point.
The catch meter starts at 40% on every bite. For the first third of a second it can't drain, which gives you time to get the bar moving. The first two fish drain at less than half speed and the next two at about 70%. After that a fish left outside the bar from the start would snap the line in about three-quarters of a second, dropping to about half a second late in a run.
Steering a bar with weight
Holding pushes the bar up slightly harder than gravity pulls it down, and it keeps its speed when you change input. Hold and release early to brake rather than reacting when the fish is already at the edge. A bar that hits the top or bottom at speed bounces back a little, which can knock a hugging catfish or flying fish out.
Fish don't teleport. Each one picks a target spot and accelerates toward it, so you can see the direction a moment before it really moves. Put the middle of the bar where the fish is heading, not where it is.
A PERFECT catch allows the fish outside the bar for less than half a second in total. Every third PERFECT in a row drops a coin, and a golden koi drops three. Coins buy hats; your score is simply fish landed. You have three lines, and nothing wins one back.
Daily levels and ghost races
Today's Reel level is the same for everyone, and you race the ghosts of other players' runs. How daily levels and challenges work.
FAQ
What fish can I catch?
Bluegill, perch, trout, catfish, flying fish, pike, the big sturgeon boss and the rare golden koi. Each one swims differently, and every catch shows its size.
Why did my fish get away?
The catch meter drains whenever the fish is outside your bar. If it runs dry, the line snaps. You get three lines per run.
Is it free?
Yes. Every Tapamine game is free to play in your browser with no download and no account.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Tapamine is built for phones first: portrait, one thumb, and it works offline after your first visit. It also works with a mouse or the spacebar on a computer.
How do challenges work?
After a run, tap “Challenge a friend” to send a link. Your friend plays the exact same level and races your ghost — a replay of your run — to see who wins.
Add Reel to your site
Reel is free to embed on your blog, class page or website. Paste this code:
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