Field guide · Sunstruck Shelf

How to play SHOALSHOT

Shoalshot is an original browser arcade game about reading a living tide pool and placing one pressure shot at the right moment. It is free to play, needs no account, and keeps your progress in a local save on this device.

The dive loop

1. Read the shelf. Watch the shoal move. Each species has its own depth, speed, size and resistance, so the same shot is not equally good everywhere.
2. Choose a target. Aim where the shot can actually land. Rare and larger specimens resist more pressure and usually pay more.
3. Place the shot. Tap or click the water to fire. Keyboard players can aim with the arrow keys or W A S D, hold Shift for fine aim, and fire with Enter or Space.
4. Bank the payout. A landed specimen pays coins and can reveal a Field Note, mastery mark or variant record. Spend coins on launcher ranks and Tide Tools, then return to the water.

Controls at a glance

Ways to dive

• Standard Dive — the authored Sunstruck Shelf run, with thirteen Dive Orders that teach the loop and pay permanent rewards.
• Tide Rush — a scored run built around a shrinking tide window and a streak that rewards clean pressure.
• Deep Run — choose a route between stages and carry the risk deeper.
• Field Survey — a calmer objective run focused on observing and recording species.
• Practice and Zen / Watch — try a setup without touching your save, or watch the shelf without firing.
• Custom Dive — combine an available mode with modifiers such as fast current, manual-only fire or no Tide Tools.

Launchers and Tide Tools

Three launcher families — Tide-Pressure, Needle Lance and Shoal Bell — each have three ranks with different pressure, radius and cooldown trade-offs. Three finite-use Tide Tools, Glow Bait, Pulse Mine and Bloom Charge, can shape a shoal or improve a shot. Tools recharge; launcher ranks are permanent once bought.

Creatures, notes and mastery

Eighteen authored species live on the shelf, from common Glimmerfin to the Apex. Landing one reveals its record in the Collection. Repeat catches advance mastery, and specific observations unlock Field Notes. A sealed record charts only its pressure band and broad habitat until you land the species; its name, art and lore stay sealed.

The Sunken Chorus is the shelf's authored encounter. It is part of the same dive, not a separate game, and its choices use the same save and economy.

Saves, installing and offline

Progress is stored in a versioned local save in your browser, with a current and previous verified snapshot. You can export and import that save from Settings, and reset it there too. There is no login, cloud sync, advertising or in-app purchase.

You can install Shoalshot to your home screen from the Home action where your browser supports it. Installing gives you a full-screen icon and launcher entry; the game still loads from the web at launch, so installation is not an offline mode.

Quick answers

• Is Shoalshot free? Yes. There is no account, ad or in-app purchase.
• Does it work on a phone? Yes. The game is designed for landscape play on phones and also runs on desktop browsers.
• Will I lose progress if I reload? Confirmed progress is written to the local save. Pause, reload and orientation changes preserve the current run.
• Where are the creatures? Land one in a dive, then open Collection from Home to see its record, Field Notes and variants.

The tide does not wait. Start with a Standard Dive, follow the first Dive Order, and let the shelf teach the rest.

Play Shoalshot