How to play

A new haul every day: five categories, thirty seconds each. Type every answer you can think of. Rare answers are heavy fish, common ones are light, and the heaviest bucket wins.

01The haul

A new haul opens every day at midnight in your time zone, and everyone gets the same five categories on the same date. Each category stays hidden until its countdown. On zero your line casts and the clock starts: type an answer, press Enter (or tap Catch), and keep going until time runs out. You can reel in early if you’re out of ideas; the clock is only a ceiling.

02Weight is rarity

Every correct answer is a fish, and how heavy it is depends on how few people would name it:

• Minnow, about 1 lb: the answers almost everyone gives.
• Trout, about 2.5 lb: well known, but not the first thing people say.
• Marlin, about 5 lb: you have to know the subject.
• Anglerfish, about 7.5 lb: deep cuts.
• Kraken, about 10 lb: one per category, the rarest answer of all.

Each fish has a little natural variation, so two Marlins won’t weigh exactly the same, but the same answer always weighs the same for everyone. Your score is the total weight of your bucket.

03Round 5 is the specialty

The fifth category is a narrower, deeper subject, and every catch in it weighs double. It’s where hauls are won.

04Typos and nicknames

The exact name or a known nickname goes straight into your bucket. Anything the game had to fix asks first: type “brazl” and it asks Did you mean Brazil? Press Enter again or tap the name to accept, or keep typing to ignore it. The game never guesses on your behalf. If a real answer isn’t on the list, it’s logged and reviewed so it can be added.

05Twists on returning categories

A category can come back after at least a month, always with a twist shown in its name: a new Kraken (a different rare answer is the Kraken this time) or a speed round with 20 seconds instead of 30.

06Between rounds

There’s no leaving in the middle of a haul, and refreshing the page brings you back to the next round, not the start. A row of bobbers above each round shows where you are: finished rounds take the color of their rarest catch.

07After the haul

Your report shows your total weight, how you compare with other players, your rarest catch and every accepted answer in every category, with yours highlighted. Tomorrow, “Yesterday’s haul” in the menu shows each category’s Kraken, and the full lists go into the answer archive.

08Streaks, rods and bobbers

Finish a haul every day to build a streak. Streaks unlock a better rod every 5 days up to day 25, and big single hauls unlock bobbers. The Rod rack in the menu keeps track.

09Playing with friends

With the Hooked Pass you can start a crew (you and up to four friends, one shared bucket) or a 1v1 duel. Share the six-letter code; friends join for free. Everyone gets the same five random categories at the same moment, and the scoreboard shows each round as it finishes.