Hamster Game

This hamster game is a tube-maze puzzle: lay plastic tubes across the floor of the hamster’s play pen so its ball can roll from the cage to the snack bowl. Play the hamster game free online in your browser, on a laptop or a phone, with no download or sign-up. There are 15 hand-checked levels, and your stars and unlocked levels are saved in your browser.

How to play

Each level is a small grid. The hamster’s cage has one tube stub pointing out of it, and the red snack bowl has one opening. Your job is to connect them with tubes.

• Pick Straight or Corner, then tap an empty square to lay a tube. Tap the same tube again to turn it.
• Use Erase, right-click or Delete to take a tube away, and Undo to step back through your changes. Clear empties the board.
• Orange tubes are bolted down. You can’t move, turn or erase them, but the ball rolls through them like any other tube. A bolted cross lets the ball pass straight through in either direction, so a route can cross itself there.
• Rocks block a square completely, and the cage and bowl can’t take tubes.
• Press Roll ball. The hamster rolls out of the cage and follows the tubes until it reaches the bowl or hits a gap, a rock, a wall or a tube facing the wrong way. If it stops short, you’re back in editing mode with your tubes still in place.
• The bowl only accepts the ball through its opening, so plan the last tube to line up with the stub.

Stars and par

Sunflower seeds lie on some squares. A tube laid over a seed square carries the ball across it, and the hamster picks up the seed as it rolls by. Each level awards up to three stars:

• One star for getting the ball to the snack bowl.
• A second star for collecting every seed on the way.
• A third star for collecting every seed using par pieces or fewer. Par is the smallest number of tubes that can do it, and every level’s par was worked out by a solver that checks every possible route. Bolted tubes don’t count toward your total.

Reaching the bowl, even with one star, unlocks the next level. Your best stars per level are kept, so you can come back later and replay a level for a better score from the Levels menu.

Tips

• Start from both ends. The cage stub and the bowl opening fix the first and last squares of your route. Lay those two tubes first, then work toward the middle.
• Seeds bend the route. The shortest path to the bowl usually skips the seeds. Look at which seeds sit near bolted tubes, because a bolted piece is a free stretch of route that doesn’t count toward par.
• Read the bolted pieces. A bolted corner tells you the direction the ball must enter and leave. If your route can’t meet both of its ends, it’s a decoy and you should route around it.
• Test early. Rolling the ball costs nothing. Roll a half-built route and watch where the hamster stops to find the first broken joint.
• Count against par. The piece counter turns green when you’re at or under par. If you’re over, look for a detour you can straighten.

Controls

On a phone or tablet, tap squares to place and turn tubes and use the buttons below the board. On a computer you can click, or use the keyboard: 1, 2 and 3 choose Straight, Corner and Erase; the arrow keys move a cursor; Space places or turns the tube under it; Delete removes it; Enter or R rolls the ball; Z undoes; and L opens the level list.

FAQ

Is this hamster game free?

Yes. It’s free to play in the browser with no account and no install.

How many levels are there?

There are 15 levels. They grow from 5 by 5 boards to 7 by 7 boards with more rocks, more seeds and more bolted tubes. Clearing level 15 shows your star total out of 45.

Is my progress saved?

Yes. Unlocked levels and your best stars are stored in your browser on this device. Clearing your browser data resets them.

Do I have to collect every seed?

No. Reaching the bowl is enough to clear a level and unlock the next one. Seeds and par only decide how many stars you earn.

Is every level possible with three stars?

Yes. Every level was checked with a solver that found a route collecting every seed in exactly par pieces.

Like route-building puzzles? Try Maze for classic path-finding, or sneak through the kitchen in Mouse Game.