Rocks is a one-button space-rock shooter. Your little paper ship floats in the middle of a doodled starfield, spinning round and round on its own. Tap to fire a shot the way the nose is pointing. Hold to stop spinning and burn the thruster. Big rocks crack into two medium rocks, medium rocks into two small, fast ones, and the screen wraps at every edge. Clear the field for the next wave, watch for stray rocks drifting in, and look out for the red saucer that shows up later and shoots back. One bump and the run is over.
How to play Rocks
- Tap anywhere to fire in the direction the ship is facing.
- Hold to stop the spin and thrust forward. Let go to start spinning again.
- Every rock you crack is a point. Big ones split into smaller, faster pieces.
- Fly off any edge to come back on the other side. Don't touch a rock or a saucer shot.
Tips to get a high score
- Wait for the nose to sweep across a rock, then tap. The dotted line shows where you're aiming.
- Lead moving rocks a little: fire just before the nose reaches them.
- A short hold makes a small nudge. Use it to slip out of a rock's path, not to fly around.
- Small rocks are fast. Crack big rocks when you have room, not when the field is full.
- Hits in a row climb in pitch, and every tenth one drops a coin. The saucer is worth a point and drops two coins.
How the field fills up
The first wave has four big rocks, and each wave after adds one more, up to eight from wave 5. Rocks get faster over the first 70 seconds of a run. A small rock spawned late can move about twice as fast as one from the opening wave.
Stray big rocks are the real clock. While anything is left on the field, a fresh big rock drifts in from an edge, aimed roughly at you. At the start that happens every 25 seconds. By about 70 seconds it's every five or six seconds, so a slow, careful wave can keep growing.
The red saucer first shows up about 40 seconds in, and returns 15 to 25 seconds after each pass. It fires at you more often and with better aim as the run goes on. Touching the saucer ends the run, the same as a rock.
Points, splits and a plan for waves
Every rock you crack is one point, whatever its size. A big rock becomes two medium ones, and each of those becomes two small ones, so one big rock is worth seven points in total. The saucer is worth one point too.
Splitting adds to the danger, though. The pieces fly off to either side of the rock's path and are faster than the rock they came from. A good habit is to finish one big rock's family before you crack the next big rock. That way the field never has more than a few fast pieces in it.
Don't leave the last rock drifting either. Clearing the field starts the next wave right away. A single small rock that you leave alone still lets a new big rock drift in every few seconds.
Timing the spin and using thrust
When the run starts, the ship makes a full turn in about 1.7 seconds. That speeds up to about 1.3 seconds over the first 70 seconds. You can have four shots in the air, with a short pause between them. Each shot flies about one screen width before it fades, and it wraps around the edges like everything else.
Holding stops the spin, but the press that starts the hold also fires a shot. So a hold is a natural shoot-and-push move. Point at a rock, hold briefly, and you fire while you nudge.
Thrust carries on after you let go and fades slowly, and your shots pick up half of your speed. Long burns leave you sliding toward the rocks while the ship is spinning again. Short taps of thrust that point you away from the nearest rock are almost always enough.
Daily levels and ghost races
Today's Rocks level is the same for everyone, and you race the ghosts of other players' runs. How daily levels and challenges work.
FAQ
How do I turn the ship?
You don't need to: it spins constantly. You choose when to shoot. Holding the button pauses the spin while you thrust.
Why do new rocks keep appearing?
Stray big rocks drift in from the edges every so often, more often as the run goes on. Clear the whole field to start the next wave.
Is it free?
Yes. Every Tapamine game is free to play in your browser with no download and no account.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Tapamine is built for phones first: portrait, one thumb, and it works offline after your first visit. It also works with a mouse or the spacebar on a computer.
How do challenges work?
After a run, tap “Challenge a friend” to send a link. Your friend plays the exact same level and races your ghost — a replay of your run — to see who wins.
Add Rocks to your site
Rocks is free to embed on your blog, class page or website. Paste this code:
<iframe src="https://tapamine.com/embed/rocks/" title="Rocks: free one-tap game" width="360" height="640" style="border:0;border-radius:16px;max-width:100%" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; web-share" loading="lazy"></iframe>