How to play Tap the Mole
The field has nine holes arranged in a three-by-three grid. Press Start and a 60-second round begins. Moles pop up from random holes and stay up for a short time before ducking back down. Tap a mole while it is visible to score.
- Brown mole: 10 points.
- Golden mole: 30 points, but it disappears faster.
- Bomb: do not tap it. Hitting a bomb costs one of your three lives.
Tapping moles one after another builds a combo. From the fifth mole in a row onward, each mole is worth 5 extra points. If a mole escapes back into its hole before you tap it, or you hit a bomb, the combo resets. Tapping an empty hole costs nothing.
As the round goes on the game speeds up: moles appear more often, sometimes two at once, and they stay up for less time. Bombs also become a little more common.
The round ends when the timer reaches zero or when you lose all three lives. Your score is compared with your best, which is saved on this device. The timer pauses automatically if you switch to another tab, so you will not lose time by accident.
Controls
| Desktop | Click the moles. Or use the number pad layout: 7, 8, 9 for the top row, 4, 5, 6 for the middle and 1, 2, 3 for the bottom. Arrow keys and Enter work too. |
|---|---|
| Mobile | Tap a mole the moment it appears. Avoid tapping bombs. |
Tips and strategy
Watch the whole field
Rather than chasing each mole with your eyes, rest your gaze on the centre hole. From there your peripheral vision can catch movement in all nine holes, and your hand or finger only has to travel a short distance.
Check before you tap
Bombs appear from the same holes as moles, and a quick tap on the wrong thing costs a life. A fraction of a second to confirm the shape is almost always worth it. Early in the round, when things are slow, practise that habit so it holds up when the pace picks up.
Protect your combo
- Combos give 5 extra points per mole from the fifth in a row onward, which adds up fast over a minute.
- A single escaped mole resets the combo, so prioritise moles that have been up the longest.
- When two appear together, take the nearer one first, then the other.
Prioritise golden moles
A golden mole is worth three regular ones but ducks back down sooner. If a golden mole and a brown mole appear at the same moment, go for the gold first.
Plan for the final stretch
- The last twenty seconds are the busiest and the most valuable. Stay calm and keep your taps accurate.
- If you are down to one life, slow down slightly on anything that might be a bomb.
- On a phone, use two thumbs, one for each side of the grid, to cover the field faster.
- On a keyboard, keep your fingers resting on the number pad so every hole is one keypress away.
About Tap the Mole
Games where you knock down targets as they pop up at random have been a fixture of amusement arcades and fairgrounds for decades. The classic cabinet version uses a padded mallet and mechanical critters rising out of holes in a table, and it is a simple test of reaction speed and hand-eye coordination.
The idea translated naturally to touch screens, where a tap replaces the swing of a mallet. It is easy to pick up for players of all ages and makes a satisfying one-minute challenge.
Tap the Mole is our own browser version made for PlayNook. The moles are drawn with plain web styling rather than image files, and we added golden bonus moles, combo points and bombs to avoid so there is more to think about than raw speed. It works with a mouse, a keyboard or a touch screen.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a round last?
Each round lasts 60 seconds, unless you hit three bombs first, which ends it early.
What happens if I tap an empty hole?
Nothing. Missed taps do not cost points or lives, although letting moles escape will reset your combo.
How do combos work?
Tap moles in a row without letting one escape or hitting a bomb. From the fifth mole in the streak, each one is worth 5 bonus points.
Where is my best score kept?
It is stored in your browser on this device. Clearing site data for this website will reset it.
