How to Play
- Tap the field to begin. A short three-two-one countdown gives you time to get your fingers ready.
- Moles pop out of the nine holes at random. Tap a mole while it is up to bop it.
- Brown moles give 1 point. Golden moles wearing a little crown give 3 points but hide again quickly.
- Watch out for the red, spiky thorn balls. Tapping one of those takes away 2 points.
- When the timer bar runs out after exactly 60 seconds, the round ends and your points are counted.
Rules
Every mole can be bopped only once. If you miss and tap an empty hole, nothing is taken away, but your combo streak resets to zero. A spiky decoy also breaks the streak. Your score can never go below zero.
At the start of the round, moles appear slowly and stay up for a comfortable moment. As the clock ticks down, they come faster, more of them are up at the same time, and each one ducks back sooner. The last ten seconds are the busiest part of the game, and the timer turns red to warn you.
In the two-player duel, both halves of the screen receive the very same moles at the very same moments. Bopping a mole on your side does not remove it from your friend’s side, so the race is purely about speed and accuracy.
Tips & Strategy
- Keep your hand in the middle. Rest your finger near the centre hole between taps. Every other hole is then only a short hop away.
- Read the colour before you tap. Spiky decoys stay up a little longer than normal moles, so they are often the only thing on screen. Pause for a split second and check the shape.
- Let golden moles set your priority. One golden mole equals three brown ones. If a gold and a brown mole appear together, hit the gold first because it disappears sooner.
- Do not spray taps. Random tapping rarely scores well and often lands on a decoy. Aimed taps also protect your combo.
- Use two fingers on a big screen. On a tablet, the left hand can cover the left column while the right hand looks after the rest.
Game Modes
Solo is a 60-second score attack. Your best total is saved on this device, and the game also shows your longest combo.
Two players on one device splits the screen in half. The first player uses the bottom half; the second player sits opposite and plays the top half, which is shown upside down so it faces them. Both of you can tap at the same time. After 60 seconds, the higher score wins, and equal scores are a draw.
Play with Friends
Place the phone or tablet flat on a table between two players, one at each end. Each person then looks at a field that faces them. This works brilliantly for siblings, classmates or a quick match at a family function. For a tournament, play three rounds and add up the points to crown a champion.
Whack-a-Mole FAQ
How can I tell a spiky decoy from a mole?
Decoys are round red thorn balls with dark spikes all around, angry eyebrows and no nose. Real moles are smooth and brown (or golden) with a pink nose and two teeth.
Can both players tap at the same time?
Yes. The game supports several fingers at once, and each tap counts for the half of the screen it lands in.
Is the round always exactly one minute?
Yes. The timer is counted in fixed game steps, so every round lasts exactly 60 seconds of play, even on a slower phone.
Can I play with a keyboard?
Yes. In solo, use the number pad keys 7, 8 and 9 for the top row, 4, 5 and 6 for the middle and 1, 2 and 3 for the bottom. In a duel, the second player can use Q, W, E, A, S, D, Z, X and C.
Does the game get harder during the round?
It does. Moles appear more often and hide faster as the minute goes on, so save some energy for the final seconds.
Last updated: 2026-09-30
