How to play Baskmere

A visual guide · Settle your first pond at par

Your goal

Settle every turtle into its basking plan.

Each pond shows a basking plan above the rocks. Move the turtles one at a time until every rock matches its plan. Every move uses Daylight, and the Daylight you save carries on to the next pond. Baskmere is turn based with no timer and no final pond, so take your time and see how far your run can drift.

This picture is a simplified teaching example of a real pond: the plan cards along the top list each rock's turtles from bottom to top.

01Lift a turtle, then set it down

Two taps make one move

Tap 1 · lift the top turtle

Turtle 2 lifts. Rock 2 glows because turtle 3 is bigger.

Tap 2 · set it down

One move · 1 Daylight used.

A simplified teaching example. Tap a rock to lift its top turtle, and every rock it can go to glows. Tap a glowing rock to set it down. You can also drag the top turtle onto a rock.

Only the turtle on top of a pile can move.
A turtle only climbs onto a bigger turtle, or onto an empty rock.
Tap the lifted turtle's rock again, or press Esc, to put it back down for free.

Keyboard: press 1 to 5 to pick rocks from left to right, U or Backspace to step back, Esc to put a lifted turtle back down, and Enter for the next pond. Step back and End Run are also buttons in the band below the pond.

02Solve a small pond at par

Pond 4 in seven moves

Start
Daylight used 0
1 · Turtle 2 to Rock 2
Daylight used 1
2 · Turtle 1 to Rock 2
Daylight used 2
3 · Turtle 4 to Sun Rock
Daylight used 3
4 · Turtle 1 to Rock 1
Daylight used 4
5 · Turtle 2 to Sun Rock
Daylight used 5
6 · Turtle 1 to Sun Rock
Daylight used 6
7 · Turtle 3 to Rock 1
Settled · 7 of par 7

A real three rock pond with par 7, shown as a simplified teaching example. Turtle 4 has to reach the Sun Rock before 2 and 1 can settle on it, so the first moves clear the way. A check appears on a rock as soon as it matches its plan.

Par is the fewest Daylight a pond can take. Finishing in exactly par makes it a Perfect pond. Before your first move, find where the biggest turtle needs to go and clear its path.

03Read the plan, counters and shells

The basking plan

A simplified teaching example. Each card sits above its own rock and lists the turtles it should hold, from bottom to top. A dash means that rock should end empty. A check means the rock already matches.

Symbols at a glance

Size numeral1 is the smallest. A turtle only climbs onto a bigger number, or an empty rock.
Amber shell · dotted rimMoss shells are plain green. Shell colour matters only on shy shell ponds.
DaylightWhat you have left. Each move and each Step back uses some.
ParThe fewest Daylight this pond can possibly take.
SpareHow much Daylight you had above par when the pond began.
Last lightExactly enough Daylight left. Every move from here must be a par move.
Glowing rockA place the lifted turtle can go.
Creek arrowsBetween creek rocks, turtles swim only the way the arrows point.
Grandshell · 2 badgeEvery move of the Grandshell, and every Step back of it, uses 2 Daylight.
Lily padHolds at most 2 turtles. It is never the Sun Rock.

Size never depends on width alone: every shell carries its number. Amber shells also have a dotted rim, so shells never rely on colour.

04Mistakes cost Daylight, taps never do

A tap that is not a move is free

Turtle 2 is lifted, you tap Rock 1

Turtle 1 is smaller than turtle 2, so this is not a move.

Free · turtle 1 lifts instead

A short message explains why. No Daylight is used.

A simplified teaching example. Tapping a rock the lifted turtle cannot use never spends Daylight. A short message explains why, and that rock's top turtle lifts instead. Tapping an empty rock that is not allowed just gives a little shake.

The tempting move

Tempting · turtle 1 onto turtle 2

1 Daylight used, but turtle 4 still has to reach the Sun Rock first.

Step back · 1

Back where you began, with 2 Daylight used. Par from here still takes 7.

On the same pond, putting little turtle 1 where it belongs feels right, but turtle 4 still has to go underneath. Step back undoes it and uses Daylight like any move, so the pond now needs 9 Daylight instead of 7.

Step back undoes your last move. It uses the same Daylight as that move, so a mistake plus a Step back costs 2.
Finishing within 2 of par is a Tidy pond, so one mistake and a quick Step back, with the rest at par, still keeps your streak.
When the Daylight counter shows Last light, you have exactly enough left. Every move from then on must be a par move.
If a move leaves too little Daylight to finish, the sun sets and the run ends. With exactly 7 Daylight on this pond, the tempting move would end it at once: 8 more needed, 6 left.

05Meet the pond surprises

Four surprises, one at a time

Lily pad · holds 2 turtles

A third turtle cannot join a full lily pad.

Shy shells · no matching colours

Moss turtle 1 skips moss turtle 2 and climbs onto amber turtle 3.

Creek · swim with the arrows

Rock 1 to Rock 2, Rock 2 to the Sun Rock, and the Sun Rock round to Rock 1.

Grandshell · 2 Daylight a move

Look for the tuft and the small 2 badge.

Simplified teaching examples. Each surprise is introduced on its own before ponds start mixing them.

Pond 7 brings lily pads, which hold only 2 turtles.
Pond 11 brings shy shells: a turtle will not climb onto a turtle with the same shell colour. An empty rock is always fine.
Pond 15 brings the creek. Between creek rocks you can only swim with the arrows, and Step back cannot send a turtle back against them.
Pond 19 brings the Grandshell. Each of its moves, and each Step back of it, uses 2 Daylight.

06Carry your Daylight forward

Spare Daylight by pond

Each pond gives you its par plus some spare. The spare starts at 8, drops by one every two ponds, and from pond 17 each pond gives exactly its par.

Daylight you do not use carries over to the next pond.
A Perfect pond earns a Sunbeam worth 1 extra Daylight, so precise play can keep a run going for as long as you like.
The Spare counter shows how much Daylight you had above par when the pond began, including everything you carried.

07Score, streaks and ending your run

Perfect ponds grow your streak

Each Perfect pond adds one to your streak, and each step adds 0.25x to the multiplier, up to 3x at a streak of 8. A Tidy pond keeps your streak. A pond finished more than 2 over par resets it to 0.

A settled pond scores 20 points for each Daylight of its par, plus 10 points times the pond number (counting up to pond 60).
A Perfect pond scores 1.5 times that, then your streak multiplier applies.
Example: pond 4 with par 7 gives 20 × 7 + 10 × 4 = 180. As your fourth Perfect pond in a row that becomes 270, times 2 for a streak of 4: 540 points. Finished as Tidy with a streak of 3, it scores 315.
Points you earn are always yours to keep.

Between ponds

A simplified teaching example. When a pond settles, a card shows your grade and points, and Next Pond and End Run appear in the band below the pond.

End Run after a pond settlesYou Win!One tap on End Run in the band below the pond.
The sun sets mid-pondGood Game!Not enough Daylight is left to finish this pond.
End Run during a pondGood Game!Tap End Run, then tap it again when it reads Tap again to end run.

Play Baskmere