How to play Whack a Mole
A sunny field has 9 holes in a 3 by 3 grid. Moles pop up for a moment, and your job is to bonk them with the toy hammer before they duck back down. Each round lasts 60 seconds, and a 3, 2, 1 countdown gives you time to get ready.
On a computer you can click the moles or use the keyboard. The keys follow the number pad: 7 8 9 for the top row, 4 5 6 for the middle and 1 2 3 for the bottom. Q W E, A S D and Z X C work the same way, and every hole shows its keys right next to it.
Whack a Mole moles and scoring
A brown mole is worth 10 points. The golden mole with a little crown gives 50, but it only stays up for a blink. The mole in a blue helmet needs 2 hits: the first knocks the helmet off, the second scores 30. The black bomb with a red stripe is the one to leave alone. Hitting it costs 30 points and your combo.
Hits in a row build a combo. From the 5th mole in a row every hit counts double, from the 12th it is x3 and from the 22nd it is x4. Tapping an empty hole, letting a brown or helmet mole get away, or hitting a bomb drops you back to x1. A mole that is already ducking still counts if you bonk it before it is gone.
Whack a Mole tips to get 3 stars
You earn 1 star at 250 points, 2 stars at 800 and 3 stars at 1,600. The end screen also shows how many moles you hit and your accuracy, which is the share of your taps that landed on a mole.
The round starts gently with one mole at a time. It speeds up at 20 and 40 seconds, and near the end up to 4 moles can be out together. Keep your combo alive instead of tapping wildly, because at x4 a brown mole is worth 40 and a golden one 200.
Bombs start showing up after about 12 seconds. Take a quick look before you swing, especially in the last 10 seconds when the timer turns red and everything gets busy.
Can you play Whack a Mole on a phone?
Yes. Just tap the moles with your finger. The holes are big, so small hands can play too, and there is very little to read.
The game pauses by itself when you switch apps or tabs, and your best score stays saved on your device.