# How to play PUTTLE

PUTTLE is a free daily pixel-art mini-golf puzzle. Play at [https://puttle.golf](https://puttle.golf/) in any modern browser — no download, no account.

## Controls

1. Open [https://puttle.golf](https://puttle.golf/) and start today’s course (first time: a one-hole **RANGE**, then the daily), or choose Practice (first time: the same RANGE, then a random course) to learn with no streak.
2. Drag **back** from the ball like a slingshot. Pull farther for more power — the ring fills **SOFT · MED · HARD**.
3. Release to putt. A short pull is a tap; a long pull is a hard shot.
4. Trust the aim line for **direction only**. It does not draw the bounce or the curve — you read rails, slopes, and distance yourself.
5. Follow the red arrow if the cup is off-screen. A cyan pip points to an uncollected gem. **Hold empty space** (or tap **👁 PEEK**, or press **V**) to see the whole hole. Drag empty space or two-finger / scroll to pan. Your first putt is always a slingshot — empty-green pan starts after that.
6. Miss a line? **Undo** takes back your last putt. You can then aim again from that rest spot. A ball jammed in a corner gets a **free lie** (a tiny nudge, no extra stroke); if you're still wedged, drag from empty green. If **Pick up** appears (two over par), it ends the hole with those strokes — a double bogey, not a walk-off eagle. In Practice, **↺ HOLE** restarts the current hole from the tee.

## Keyboard

7. Use **← →** to aim and **↑ ↓** (or **+** / **−**) to set power. Hold **Shift** for finer aim and power.
8. Press **1**, **2**, or **3** to snap to **SOFT · MED · HARD**.
9. Press **Space** to putt. **U** undoes the last putt. **V** peeks the whole hole. **C** opens the scorecard.

## Hazards

10. **Rails and posts** — the ball banks off them. Use the bounce; do not treat every wall as a miss.
11. **Sand** — slows the ball. Extra power, or stay out.
12. **Ice** — the ball glides and can overshoot. Plan the stop, not only the start.
13. **Water** — a splash costs **+1** stroke, then you replay from where you putted. Leave a dry lane.
14. **Sloped greens** — the roll curves downhill, the way the arrows point. The low side is shaded darker. Aim with the slope in mind.
15. **Speed strips** — pads that accelerate the ball the way their chevrons point, sometimes back toward the tee. Ride them on purpose, or miss them on purpose.
16. **Carnival bumpers** — candy-ring pinball posts that pop the ball (they add energy). Optional — leave a lane around them.
17. **Mushroom pads** — enchanted trampolines. Roll onto one for a launch. Score-neutral, like gems.
18. **Windmills** — carnival vanes that turn on the hole clock (the same puzzle for everyone). Bank them or leave a lane; you never have to wait for a gap.
19. **Sliding gates** — royal marble slabs that shuttle along a rail. A dry lane stays open the whole cycle.
20. **Booms** — coastal driftwood arms that extend and retract from a rail post. Bank them or leave a lane; you never have to wait.
21. **Rolling logs** — tropical trunks that shuttle along a rail. A dry lane stays open the whole cycle.

## Scoring

22. Sink all **5 holes**. Par is the target number of strokes. Under par is better, over par is extra strokes, and **E** means even — right on par.
23. Water’s +1 is a real stroke. Optional **gems** (5 per daily) do not change your score. Collect all 5 on one daily to unlock the Sapphire ball.
24. The **Director's Challenge** is a score-neutral extra on the daily (bank a putt, skirt water, and the rest). A week-long extra on the title and in Stats (for example bank 3 putts this week) is also score-neutral. Clearing either never changes par or your score.
25. The **daily** is one official attempt. A mid-round checkpoint saves progress, so closing the tab does not lose the round. After you finish, **Practice this course** retries the same holes with no streak or board. Stats shows a month of your cards — tap a past day to replay it unofficially.
26. **Practice** is unlimited and does not affect your streak. Use it to try lines; **↺ HOLE** restarts the current hole. After a wild layout you can **SHARE LAYOUT** — a seed-only link, never your path. Play the daily when you want the official card. First-time PLAY TODAY starts on the RANGE.
27. After you finish, share a spoiler-free scorecard. You can post to the global honor-system leaderboard or a friends group without creating an account.
28. Ghosts on the Daily are other players' balls, not a walkthrough. They loop faintly while you putt; posted friends tint a distinct color. After you hole out, one or two traces loop on that green as a gallery. The recap map shows their traces after you finish.

## Tips

29. Judge the banks. The puzzle is often a rail, not a straight putt.
30. Scout before the hard shot. Holes wind; the camera follows the ball.
31. Skip gems if you are protecting par. They are optional.
32. A new course appears at **local midnight**. Everyone on that local date plays the same five holes, seeded by the date.
33. From day 81 the round is a park-style tour with named silhouettes (dogleg, island, keyhole, and others) and rotating worlds that *play* differently: coastal ice, water, and crossing booms; enchanted mushrooms and spore gates; carnival bumpers and windmills; royal marble rails and sliding gates; tropical lagoons and rolling logs; treasure crates and rolling carts. Seasonal and holiday themes change how the course looks, not how you putt.

Full stroke-play rules, including hole names (ace, birdie, bogey) and what never counts: [PUTTLE scoring](https://puttle.golf/scoring). More on banks and pace: [mini-golf strategy](https://puttle.golf/strategy). Keyboard, reduced-motion, and the live region: [PUTTLE accessibility](https://puttle.golf/accessibility).

[Play PUTTLE](https://puttle.golf/) · [More](https://puttle.golf/more) · [About](https://puttle.golf/about) · [FAQ](https://puttle.golf/faq) · [Scoring](https://puttle.golf/scoring) · [Install](https://puttle.golf/install) · [Support](https://puttle.golf/support) · [Privacy](https://puttle.golf/privacy)