How to play Cresswheel

A visual guide · Make your first catch and pour, read occupied scoops, and learn reserves and Bank.

Your goal

Catch at the top. Pour at the bottom.

Turn three scoops around the little waterwheel. Catch each approaching water bead in an empty scoop, then carry it to the bottom outlet to water the cress.

These simplified static diagrams follow real commands in the first round. Your live mill runs in real time. Scoops stay upright as they travel around the wheel, and either turning direction can pour.

01Meet the first water at Left

Before: an empty scoop at L

Choose Start Wheel. The first empty scoop already meets the Left inlet, so let the first bead reach it. Next water names the current inlet and the following cues. Only one bead approaches at a time.

Touch or mouse: hold Left or Right to turn, then release to stop. Holding both directions keeps the wheel still.
Keyboard: focus the game and hold Left/Right or A/D. Tab visits the labelled buttons; Enter or Space on a direction button gives a small turn.
Start and Resume wait for a fresh press. Release old holds before turning again.

02Catch, then carry your water

Caught: 50 points

The bead fills the scoop and earns 50. A filled scoop has a bright water surface and a solid front mark. An empty scoop has a dark open cavity and no front mark. L and R name the two inlets; the lower chevron marks where to pour.

Watch the scoop’s position around the wheel. Catch near the named upper inlet. Pour through the marked bottom sector. A full scoop cannot receive another bead, so prepare an empty one for the next catch.

03Turn through the bottom outlet

Poured: 150 points

For this first catch, turn Left until the loaded scoop enters the bottom outlet, then release. It pours once for 100, giving 50 + 100 = 150. The scoop is empty again. Turn back toward Left for the next bead, or prepare another empty scoop.

You start with 3 reserves. A bead that misses an empty scoop uses one reserve, including a bead that reaches a full scoop.
The third unrecovered miss finishes the run with your earned points. Turn farther to pour, then line up an empty scoop for the next inlet.
After 8 arrivals, pour any remaining loads. There is no extra drain timer. Completing the round earns 200; catching all eight also earns 100 and restores one reserve, up to 3.
A clean round earns 8 × (50 + 100) + 200 + 100 = 1,500 points.

04Keep growing, or Bank your points

Bank keeps 200, with one scoop still full

This example returns to Left and catches the second bead. Two catches and one pour have earned 200. Stop & Bank finishes immediately with 200; it adds no points for the water still waiting to pour. The full scoop stays visible in this teaching diagram.

Rounds continue through repeating patterns A, B, C and D, then return to A. The early rounds ease you in; from round4 the pace stays steady. There is no overall time limit or final introductory victory.
Stop & Bank is immediate, even at zero or while manually paused. Play Again starts fresh; Menu returns to the games.
Pause or P parks the mill. Escape pauses active play when the game has focus. Help, Water List, this guide, an interrupted tab or a too-small window preserve the run. Resume needs a fresh press and never catches up help-reading time.
Water List shows this round’s caught, missed and upcoming arrivals. Poured is a separate total; an earlier caught arrival stays caught after its water pours.
The stage needs at least 296 × 400 pixels stacked or 488 × 240 wide, including a 224 × 224 square field. Platform controls, browser bars and safe areas need additional room.
If More room to play appears, enlarge the window or rotate your phone. Full screen provides a reachable exit; unsupported browsers offer Expand game. Phone browser bars may remain.
Scroll outside the stage for the original How to Play instructions and rankings below it.

Play Cresswheel