How to play Puck Catcher
Puck Catcher is Egg Catcher on ice. Four skaters shoot pucks down four chutes, two on each side, and a goalie in the middle swings a catching glove to whichever chute the next puck is coming down.
Glove every puck. Miss one and it slides along the ice into the net and the goal lamp lights.
Rules
- Everything moves in beats. On each beat every puck slides one place down its chute; after five places it comes off the end on the next beat, and only one puck ever comes off on any beat.
- If the glove is at that chute, it is a save for a point. If not, it is a goal against: the screen clears and play waits for the puck to reach the net.
- Three goals against end the game. Now and then the referee looks out of the window at the top; while he is watching, a goal counts as half.
- At 200 and 500 points the goals against are wiped. Reach either mark with none at all and every save counts double until the next goal.
- The beat gets faster through each hundred points and eases off a little at every hundred, and more pucks are in play as the score climbs, up to four. Game B starts faster and with three pucks.
Controls
- ← → ↑ ↓
- Swing the glove to that side or height
- Q A E D
- Jump straight to the top-left, bottom-left, top-right or bottom-right chute
- Mouse / touch
- Click or tap the corner of the screen you want; corner buttons on phones
- P / Esc
- Pause
- Enter / Space
- Start
Tips
- Watch the pucks, not the goalie. The puck nearest the end of its chute is the only one that matters right now.
- Use the direct keys. Q, A, E and D reach any chute in one press, while the arrows need two for a diagonal.
- When the referee is out, a goal costs half, so it is the moment to stretch for an awkward puck rather than give it up.
Puck Catcher strategy
Same game, same numbers
Puck Catcher runs on Egg Catcher’s engine. Game A opens with a beat of about 0.56 seconds and Game B with about 0.44; each point takes about 2 milliseconds off and each hundred takes 65 off for good while resetting the rest. Game A allows two pucks and one more every 25 points, up to four at 50; Game B starts with three and allows the fourth at 20. A puck spends five beats in its chute and comes off on the sixth, and never two on the same beat.
Spending the referee
The referee looks out for 6 to 10 seconds, then is away for 14 to 26. While he watches, a goal costs half, so you could survive five of those where you survive only two full goals. Goals go back to zero at 200 and 500, and a clean run to either mark makes every save worth 2 until the next goal.
About Puck Catcher
The four-chute catching game was so popular on the LCD handhelds that it was re-skinned many times. The Soviet Elektronika line, best known for its wolf-and-eggs «Nu, pogodi!», also put out a hockey version with pucks in place of eggs.
This version runs on the same rules as our Egg Catcher, with its own goalie, skaters and referee drawn as LCD segments, the faint ghosts of the unlit ones showing as on the real screens.
Questions
Is this the same as Egg Catcher?
Yes, the rules and timing are the same; only the picture is different. Its best scores are kept separately.
What is the difference between Game A and Game B?
The rules are the same. Game B starts with a faster beat and three pucks at a time, and gets to four sooner. Each keeps its own best score.
Why did my goals against disappear?
They are wiped at 200 and 500 points. If you had none when you got there, saves count double until the next goal.
How do I play on a phone?
Tap the corner of the screen where you want the glove, or use the four corner buttons under the game.
