Support

Hold anywhere on the screen to dive, and let go to rise. On a computer, hold the mouse button or the space bar.

You're a puffin feeding your hungry puffling. Dive to catch capelin (up to 12 in your beak), come up for air, and fly your catch to a burrow on a sea stack to feed the puffling. Watch out for seals, gulls, whales and more: every level adds something new. A run ends when something catches you, or your puffling gets too hungry, or you make it home by nightfall.

The How to play button on the start screen runs a short guided tutorial.

Every level has Calm seas (gentler and shorter), Choppy (the game as designed) and Rough water (harder; it opens once you've finished a level on Choppy). Each level has three stars: finish it, feed your puffling well, and reach the level's score. Stars are earned on Choppy and Rough water, not on Calm seas, and they unlock outfits.

One short run a day, the same for everyone: today's place, two foes and a twist. You can try as often as you like and your best counts. It changes at midnight Newfoundland time. Play on days in a row to build a streak, and share your result as a row of coloured squares.

The weekly board adds up your best Daily Puffin from each day, Monday to Sunday, and starts fresh every Monday.

If your Daily doesn't match a friend's, one of you is probably on an older version of the game. Update Beakful (or reload the page) and it will match.

In the iPhone and iPad app, your progress is also kept in your iCloud, so after a reinstall or on a new device signed in to the same iCloud account it comes back the first time you open the game. (Check that iCloud is on for apps in Settings, then your name, then iCloud.)

On the website, your progress is saved in your browser, and Safari can clear a website's saved data after about a week without a visit. Make a save code to be safe (next question), and on iPhone or iPad, add Beakful to your Home Screen (Share, then "Add to Home Screen") and play from there.

To back up: open Records, find Save code, and tap Make a save code. Write the code down or copy it. After that your backup is kept up to date after every run. You can also give your email there to have the code sent to you, and tick the box only if you'd like Beakful news.

To restore: on the other device (or after your browser cleared the game), open Records, type the code into Save code to restore and tap Restore.

Forgot it? If you gave your email, tap "Forgot your code? Email it to me". Anyone who has your code can restore your progress, so keep it private. You can delete your backup any time in the same place.

It's optional. Open Records, then the Leaderboard tab, and choose Join the leaderboard. Pick a name (no real names, please). Each name belongs to one player, and rude ones are turned away. Your name and best scores then show on the public boards: each level, the Daily Puffin, and the weekly total.

To change your name or leave, use the links in the same place. Leaving removes your name and scores from the boards; your own records stay on your device. In the iPhone app there's also a Game Center button there, for the Game Center leaderboards.

A score is posted only if your copy of the game rolled the same Daily as everyone else's, and only for a day close to today's date, so check your phone's date and time are set automatically if a score doesn't appear.

The speaker button (bottom right) turns the sound effects and the sea on or off. The music note button next to it turns the music on or off, separately. On a computer, M toggles the sound and N the music.

No sound at all? Turn the volume up, check your iPhone's Ring/Silent switch, and tap the screen once (browsers wait for a tap before playing sound).

Tap the pause button, or press P or Esc. The game also pauses by itself when you switch away. On a computer the arrow keys change level on the start screen.

Open Wardrobe on the start screen to dress yourself, your partner and your puffling in outfits you've earned, and to give them names (the dice suggests Newfoundland ones). Outfits are only looks. Unlock more by finishing levels, earning stars and playing in different ways; locked items can be tried on to see how to earn them.

You can make a postcard from the Wardrobe or after you make it home, and save or share it. The map button by the level dots shows every level where it really is on the coast.

Beakful is in English and Canadian French. Switch with the English / Français buttons at the top of the start screen. This page and the privacy page follow your choice.

Update Beakful to the latest version (App Store, or reload the page), close other apps, and try again. If it keeps happening, tap Send us a message above and tell us your device, its iOS or browser version, which level, and what you saw. If it's the iPhone app, also tell us the app version.

The game works offline, including the Daily Puffin. Only the leaderboard, save code backup, feedback and emails need a connection. Beakful is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases. On the website there's an optional tip link to support the game, handled by Stripe, and refunds within 30 days are easy: reply to the Stripe receipt, or send us a message. The iPhone app has no tip link.

The short version: progress is saved on your device with an optional backup, the play stats are anonymous (and you can turn them off in Records), the leaderboard is opt-in, and we never sell or share your information. The details, and how to delete things, are on the privacy page.

Everyone. If you're under 13, ask a parent or guardian before you join the leaderboard or give an email address.