How to play Pawloam

A visual guide · Make your first gentle stroke, follow favourite spots and learn streaks, visits and Bank.

Your goal

Gentle strokes. Happy friends.

Welcome cats and dogs onto the cushion. Stroke their glowing favourite spot, fill eight affection pips, then invite the next friend. Keep visiting for as long as you like and choose Bank when you are ready to finish.

These are simplified teaching diagrams. Your game waits while this guide is open.

Head or Back: follow the glow

The label names the current favourite spot. This picture shows both locations for learning; only one spot glows during play. The same idea applies to the puppy.

01Make your first gentle stroke

Before: press, slide, release

Press inside the Head oval, slide left or right across it, then lift your finger or release the mouse. Stay near the glow and move mostly sideways.

After: one happy pip

A first Gentle stroke earns 10 base points plus 5 Gentle points: 15 total. The pet smiles and one of eight pips fills. Each release can earn only one stroke.

Use a mouse, touch or pen. Slide about 36 screen pixels or more within the oval, rather than tapping. Take at least 0.18 seconds; a calm 0.35–1.4 second stroke earns Gentle points.
With a keyboard, Tab to the pet, hold Left, Right or Space briefly, then release. The same timing applies, with no pointer movement needed. Holding a key never repeats awards.
Lift between strokes and leave a short beat before starting again. A tap, mostly vertical movement or leaving the spot does not fill a pip. Start again on the glow; your earned points stay safe.

02Find a calm rhythm

Every third Gentle stroke adds a little extra

Three consecutive Gentle strokes from a fresh run earn 15 + 15 + 25 = 55 points. The third includes a 10-point streak bonus.

Every accepted stroke earns 10 points. Gentle timing adds 5, and every third consecutive Gentle stroke adds another 10. An accepted stroke outside Gentle timing resets that streak; a rejected or cancelled stroke does not.
Streaks continue across visitors. Completing eight strokes adds 50 more points. Eight Gentle strokes in the first visit earn 190 points in total.
Visits 1–2 stay on Head. Visits 3–4 change spot after four strokes. From visit 5 onward, the spot changes after three and six strokes. Follow the new label; this pattern continues without a final stage.

03Another friend, or a cosy finish

A visit ends; your run can continue

After eight strokes, enjoy the short celebration, then choose Next friend for the other species. Choose Bank whenever you want to finish, including partway through a visit.

There is no countdown or loss condition. Bank keeps all earned points, but an unfinished visit earns no extra completion bonus. Play Again begins a fresh run; Menu returns to the games.

Head and Back label the active target; eight small pips show visit progress. Score belongs to the whole run. Visit counts the friends you have welcomed.
Use the shared sound button to mute or unmute. Full screen offers more room where supported; otherwise use Expand game. If space becomes too small, play pauses and your run is preserved.
Help cancels a stroke still being held. Close it, focus the pet and start a fresh stroke. Earned points and any remaining celebration time are preserved.

Play Pawloam