Mermaid Game

Mermaid Game is a side-scrolling underwater adventure where you swim your own mermaid through a coral reef, a kelp forest, a sunken shipwreck and an icy cave. Collect pearls, untangle sea creatures caught in nets, slip past jellyfish and open stone gates by solving shell and glow-coral puzzles. Then spend your pearls on new tails, hairstyles and accessories. You can play Mermaid Game online free in your browser with no download, on a keyboard, a mouse or a phone’s touch screen.

How to play

Each level scrolls from left to right and ends at a glowing EXIT ring. Swim into it to finish the level.

• Swim: use the arrow keys or WASD, or hold down on the water and drag, and your mermaid swims toward your finger or pointer. She glides to a stop when you let go.
• Collect pearls: swim through a pearl to pick it up. The counter in the top-left corner shows how many you have found.
• Free sea friends: seahorses, sea turtles, crabs, pufferfish, seal pups and more are stuck in rope nets. Swim into a net to start the untangle game. The level waits while you work.
• Avoid stings: you have three hearts. Jellyfish drift up and down or side to side, while sea urchins and ice spikes stay put. Each touch costs a heart, and losing all three ends the level so you can try again.

Untangling knots

Every net has one to three knots, shown as dots under the creature:

• Hold knots: press and hold Space (or hold your finger or mouse on the screen) until the bar fills. If you let go early, the bar slowly slides back.
• Tight knots: tap quickly. Six taps undo the knot.
• Timing knots: a marker slides back and forth along a bar. Tap when it is inside the green zone. A miss costs nothing, so wait for the next pass.

Gates and puzzles

From level 2 onward, stone gates block the way. The symbol on a gate shows what opens it.

• Glow-corals: touch a dull coral to light it up. When every coral linked to a gate is glowing, the gate slides open.
• Numbered corals: some corals carry numbers and must be lit in order. Touching the wrong one puts them all out, and you start again from 1.
• Frost corals: in the ice cave, a lit coral fades 9 seconds later, and a ring around it shows the time left. Light the whole set before the first one fades.
• Shells and rings: swim into a big scallop shell from behind to push it, and nudge it onto the glowing ring, where it clicks into place.
• Currents and kelp: arrows mark currents that push you up, down or sideways, and some are too strong to swim against. Thick kelp slows you right down.

Stars, pearls and the wardrobe

There are 12 levels, three in each area. Finishing a level earns 1 star, freeing every creature earns a second, and also collecting every pearl earns the third. Clearing a level unlocks the next, and you can replay any unlocked level.

The pearls you collect go into your pearl bank each time you finish a level, and every new star you earn adds a 5-pearl bonus. Spend them in the wardrobe on tail colors (including Rainbow), tail prints, hair colors, hairstyles and accessories such as a star clip, pearl necklace, swim goggles or shell crown. Five skin tones are free. Your stars, best times, pearls and outfit are saved in your browser.

Tips

• Watch the jellyfish first. Each one moves on a steady rhythm. Wait just outside its path, then swim past when it is at the far end.
• Push shells in short nudges. If a shell drifts off line, swim around it and push again from behind.
• Go back for 3 stars. The finish screen tells you how many pearls or friends you missed, so you know what to look for on a replay.

FAQ

Is Mermaid Game free?

Yes. It is free to play, with no account and nothing to install. Press Play to start at level 1.

Is it suitable for kids?

Yes. There is no fighting, the untangle games cannot be failed, and you can retry any level straight away.

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Drag on the water to swim and tap or hold the screen to untangle knots. The game area will not scroll the page while you play.

Can I pause the game?

Press P or Esc, or use the Pause button. It also pauses when you switch tabs.

Love the ocean? Try Dolphin Game to leap and spin through the waves, or Shark Game to grow from a tiny pup into a giant of the deep.