Comet Lasso

What is Comet Lasso?

Comet Lasso is a drawing game where your tail is the pencil. Your comet leaves a trail of light behind it that lasts about two seconds. When the comet crosses an older part of that trail, the shape snaps shut, flashes, and anything inside it is yours: critters, floating gems, even the grumpy space rocks.

It's free, it runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and there's nothing to download. A round of the main mode takes 90 seconds, which makes it a good one for a coffee break.

How to play

Critters drift in from the edges of the screen in little flocks of four to seven. Fly a circle around a flock and cross your tail to close the loop. The loop has to enclose a real area, so a tiny scribble won't count. Once a loop closes, your tail resets and you start drawing fresh.

Space rocks are the danger. If one hits your comet you lose a heart, and you only get three. If a rock crosses your tail, it cuts it, and everything behind the cut is gone. That's how a loop you were halfway through suddenly stops working.

Controls

• Computer: the comet chases your mouse pointer. Just move.
• Phone or tablet: drag anywhere on the screen. The comet moves in the direction you drag, a bit faster than your finger, so you don't have to cover it with your thumb.
• Keyboard: arrow keys steer. P or Esc pauses, and Enter or Space starts a round from the menu.

How scoring works

Every critter has a value, and a loop multiplies the total by how many critters are in it. So five Bliplings worth 10 each give you 50 times 5, which is 250 points. Catching them one at a time would get you 50. That's the whole game in one sum: big loops win.

On top of that comes the chain. Close another successful loop within three seconds of the last one and the chain goes up by one, all the way to Chain x10. Each step adds one more to the loop's multiplier.

A loop with four or more critters also drops a bonus gem, and six or more drops two. At the end of a round you get one extra gem for every 600 points.

The critters

There are 13 critters, and the rarer ones only start showing up as the clock runs. Bliplings, Puffmotes and Wobbits are there from the first second. Nibbly arrives after about 6 seconds, then Squish, Twinkfin, Mossmallow, Zoomlet (small and quick), Dozer, Bloop and Hushling. Starnose, worth 35, doesn't appear until about 64 seconds in.

Then there's the Golden Gleam. It's worth 60, it shows up every 16 to 28 seconds, and it runs from your comet. Catching one slows time for a moment, which is a lovely little gift if there are other critters around.

Modes

• Play: the 90 second Harvest. Up to four rocks fly at once.
• Daily: the Daily Harvest. Same critters and rocks for everyone on the same day, with a day streak to keep alive.
• Endless: no clock. You play until your three hearts are gone. Rocks get faster and up to nine can be on screen, and rare critters take a little longer to appear.

Signed in players can post scores to the leaderboards from the menu link.

Critter Book and the Comet Shop

The first time you loop a new kind of critter, it goes into your Critter Book as a sticker. Gems buy new comet colors and tail styles in the Shop, and a few can't be bought at all.

Tips and strategy

Wait for the flock to gather

Since the multiplier is the number of critters in the loop, one loop around six critters beats six quick loops by a mile. Flocks drift in from the edges toward the middle, so let two of them come together before you draw. The best loop is often a lazy oval around two flocks at once.

Keep the chain alive with small loops

The chain counts any loop that catches something, even a single gem or one rock. If the next big flock is still a few seconds away, close a small loop around a gem or a straggler to keep the chain ticking, then go for the big one with the chain already at x4 or x5.

Your tail only lasts two seconds

The tail fades after about two seconds, so a huge slow circle will vanish before you close it. Fly fast when you draw big loops. On a phone, use longer drags rather than tiny wiggles, because the comet moves faster than your finger.

Lasso the rocks instead of dodging them

Rocks flash a warning ring when they come in. A rock inside your loop is smashed for 50 points and a gem, and it counts toward the chain. Better still, include a rock in the same loop as a flock and you remove the threat and collect at the same time.

Circle the Gleam from a distance

The Golden Gleam only flees when your comet gets close, roughly within a third of the screen width. Don't chase it. Swing a wide circle around it and close the loop on the far side. It also tends to stay near the middle at first, then heads for an edge and leaves after about 18 seconds, so go for it early.

Protect your tail, not just your comet

A rock crossing your tail wipes out the part behind the cut. If a rock is drifting through the area, draw your loop on the side away from it, or close it quickly before the rock arrives.

Save the endgame for rare critters

In the 90 second Harvest, the best critters (Bloop, Hushling, Starnose) only appear in the last 40 seconds or so. That's when your chain matters most, so don't lose a heart to a careless rock early on.

Questions