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How to play Snugfort

A visual guide · Make your first tag, read a throw, duck to reload and learn streaks, stations and Bank.

Your goal

Peek out. Tag the Pompoms. Stay dry.

Crouch behind your snow fort, tap the mischievous Pompoms as they pop up around the village, and duck when they throw snowballs back. Clear each station, keep your hearts and play on through an endless snowball skirmish.

These are simplified teaching diagrams using the game's own characters, separate from your live field. Snugfort runs in real time and needs no sound. Reading help pauses your run; close it and choose Resume when ready.

01Make your first tag

Tap a Pompom to fire at it

Tap the PompomBeforeAfterTag · +100
Before: an orange Pompom peeks over a hedge. After: your snowball tags it and it bursts into a snow puff for 100 points. Your fort stays put; you aim by tapping or clicking right on the scene.
  • Choose Start. Touch: tap the scene to fire a snowball at that spot, and hold the Cover button to duck. One thumb is enough, because you cannot fire and duck at the same time.
  • Mouse: click to fire. Hold Space, the right mouse button, S or the Down arrow to duck. P pauses or resumes. Aiming needs touch, a mouse or a pen.
  • Your popper holds 6 snowballs. The first few Pompoms of a run only wave, so take your time with the first tags.

02Read a throw, then choose

Three answers to every snowball

A throw is comingWinding up!About to land1 · Tag it first+502 · Pop the snowball+503 · Hold CoverBlocked
A Pompom holding a snowball overhead inside a filling gold arc is winding up. Tag it before it throws for a Stopped bonus of 50 (an orange one is then worth 150), pop its snowball in the air for 50, or hold Cover. A dashed ring with "!" means a snowball is about to land.

Snowballs fly slowly and grow as they come closer, so there is always time to answer. A snowball that lands while you are peeking costs a heart; one that lands while you hold Cover splats harmlessly.

03Duck to block and reload

Cover is safe, but you cannot fire

Hold Cover · wall upSplat! No heart lostPackingLet go of Cover to fire
Holding Cover raises the wall and blocks every snowball. After a moment you start packing snowballs one by one, from empty to all 6 in about 0.75 seconds. Taps while you duck are ignored and cost nothing. Let go to peek out again.
  • Out of snowballs? The game says so and the Cover control pulses. Hold Cover to reload.
  • Blocking never scores, and you need tags to clear a station, so reload in the quiet moments and get back to peeking.

04Know your Pompoms

Who is who

Who is whoOrange PompomThrows one snowball100Big teal PompomThrows two snowballs150Berry PompomTag when its sled shield drops200Gold sled PompomBonus runner, never throws300Cocoa mugRestores one heart100
Pompoms differ by size and by what they carry, not just colour: the big teal one throws two snowballs, the berry one hides behind a round wooden sled shield (tag it while the shield is lowered), the gold one rides a red sled across the scene and never throws, and a cocoa mug on a parachute gives a heart back when you are missing one.
  • Shooting a raised shield is a Thunk: the snowball is spent and nothing is tagged.
  • Tag a Pompom within 0.6 seconds of it appearing for a Quick bonus of 50.

05Hearts, streaks and points

Keep your hits coming

Hits in a rowHits 1 to 4×1From hit 5×2From hit 10×3From hit 20×4Hit 5: 100 × 2 = 200Miss · Thunk · Splash → back to ×1
Every tag, pop or cocoa in a row adds to your streak. Points double from hit 5, triple from hit 10 and quadruple from hit 20. A miss, a Thunk or a splash starts the streak again. Points are never taken away.
  • You start with 3 hearts. A splash costs one and gives you a moment of protection. In the very first station your last heart is always safe.
  • Clearing a station earns 500, plus a Pace bonus of 20 per second under par (up to 500) and Toasty 300 if you stayed dry.

06Keep going, or Bank

The village loops forever

Around the village1 · Village Green+5002 · Market Lane+5003 · Frozen Pond+5004 · Rooftop Row+500Round done · +1,000 and a heartThen again: mirrored, new lightBank · keep your pointsor play until your hearts run out
4 stations make a round. Finishing a round earns 1,000 and a heart, then the village repeats mirrored with new light. Pompoms get busier until round 4, then the pace holds steady. Your run ends when your hearts run out or you Bank.
  • Bank asks you to confirm. Bank score finishes with the points you have earned; Keep playing returns to a paused run. Play Again starts fresh; Menu returns to the games.
  • How to Play keeps the original text. Visual Guide opens these pictures. Help, browser interruptions and too little room keep your run safe, then wait for you to choose Resume.
  • The snow field needs at least 320 × 240 pixels, with room for the score, status line and Cover controls. If the game asks for more room, resize or rotate your device.
  • Use Full screen when your browser supports it, or Expand game for a larger view. Browser bars may remain. Scroll outside the field to reach information below the game.
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