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WAKE: Tidal Duels

Steer one shared buoy to your shore. Its wake blocks the way, with no retreat.

  • Android
  • iPhone & iPad
  • Windows

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About

WAKE is a tense abstract strategy game for 1 to 4 players. One buoy drifts across the sea, and every player steers that same buoy toward their own shore. Every cell the buoy leaves becomes impassable wake, and there is no retreat: each move closes doors for everyone.

Play the computer, or share one phone or tablet with friends. Any empty seat is taken by the computer.

  • One buoy, many shores. Steer it onto your shore and you win. Push it onto a rival’s shore and they win, so read every step.
  • Ways to play. A duel against the computer or a friend, 2 vs 2 in two teams of two, or four-way with four tides, four shores and walled-off corners.
  • Seas from 7×7 to 21×21. You choose the size and who moves first.
  • Read the tide. On every turn the board marks winning steps and steps that would hand a rival the win.
  • An optional Hint suggests the move the computer would make. It is offered only when you have a real choice.
  • Pass and play. Share one device, with no accounts and no online play needed.
  • Plays offline. No account, no sign-in.

Screenshots

  • A 9 by 9 duel: the golden buoy, dark wake cells behind it, and red marks on steps that would gift the win.
  • A four-way game on a larger sea with four shores and walled-off corners.
  • The result card: North wins. North steered the buoy home.
  • The setup panel: number of players (2, 2 v 2 or 4-way), sea size, who moves first, sound, and human or computer seats.

On tablets and computers

  • A two-player duel on the dark teal grid: the glowing buoy near the South shore, with the blocked cells of its wake behind it.
  • A four-way game: shores on all four sides of the grid and the buoy's winding wake across the middle.
  • The buoy reaches the North shore: confetti and a "North wins" banner.

Tips & tricks

How to win

  • Steer the buoy onto your shore and you win.
  • Push it onto a rival’s shore and they win.
  • In a duel, a side that is left with no move loses.
  • In four-way play, when the tide locks and nobody can move, the shore nearest the buoy wins.

Reading the board

  • The buoy is the glowing ball. Everywhere it has been becomes wake, and wake can never be crossed again.
  • A winning step is marked with a bright marker. Take it.
  • A step marked in red as one that gifts the win would let a rival win next. Avoid it unless you have no choice.
  • In four-way play some corners are blocked and cannot be entered.

Tips

  • Every move closes doors for everyone, not only for your opponent. Before you step, ask what you have just made impossible for yourself.
  • Start on a small sea to learn the feel of it. The 7×7 sea is quick.
  • In the setup panel any seat can be a person or the computer, so you can play alone, against a friend, or with a mixed table.
  • Four-way games suit a tablet in landscape, with a player on each side.
  • The Hint is not offered when there is only one move, when a winning step is already marked, or when every move loses.

Frequently asked questions

Is WAKE free?

Android and iPhone/iPad: free, with an optional rewarded Hint and a short ad between games. A one-time “Remove ads” purchase (in the settings drawer) removes every ad and makes the Hint a free tap.

Windows: free to try, with no ads at all. A demo game pauses before it is decided, and a one-time purchase unlocks the full game: you play every game to the end, and a paused game resumes right where it stopped.

Which ads are there, and when?

There are no banners. The Hint is an optional rewarded ad: it appears only when you choose to watch one. A short ad plays between games after every fourth finished game. It never plays at launch, never in the middle of a game, and never during your first three games ever. A watched Hint ad counts as the ad for that cycle.

Does watching ads change how hard the game is?

No. Difficulty never depends on ads, consent or your device.

How many people can play?

One to four on a single device. Choose a duel, 2 vs 2 (two teams of two) or four-way, and set each seat to a person or the computer. There is no online play.

How does the computer play?

In duels and 2 vs 2 it searches ahead through the moves with minimax. In four-way games it takes a simpler, greedy approach.

Does the game collect my data?

There are no accounts and we run no analytics. Your game setup stays on your device. On Android and iPhone/iPad the ads come from Google AdMob, which may process device data, and where you live may decide whether you are asked for consent. After Remove ads the game requests no ads. The Windows version has no ads and no advertising software. Read the privacy policy for the full picture.

Does it work offline?

Yes. There is no account or sign-in, and the game plays offline.

Which devices does it run on?

Android: Android 8.0 or newer. iPhone and iPad: iOS or iPadOS 17 or newer. Windows: Windows 10 (version 1809) or newer; play with the mouse, touch or a pen.

How do I contact you?

Write to support@halfskypublishing.com.

Get it

WAKE is on its way to the stores.

  • Google Play: coming soonAndroid
  • App Store: coming sooniPhone and iPad
  • Microsoft StoreWindows

Join the test

Try new versions before everyone else, for free, and tell us what you think.

Android: join the Halfsky Testers group, then become a tester on Google Play.

Join the group Become a tester

iPhone and iPad: install Apple's TestFlight app, then open the invitation.

Open the invitation

All the steps, with QR codes

Privacy

There are no accounts and we run no analytics. Your game setup stays on your device. On Android and iPhone/iPad the ads come from Google AdMob, which may process device data, and where you live may decide whether you are asked for consent. After Remove ads the game requests no ads. The Windows version has no ads and no advertising software.

Read the privacy policy

Support

Questions, a bug, or an idea? Write to support@halfskypublishing.com. It helps to say which device and which version of its system you use.

How WAKE: Tidal Duels handles your data is in the WAKE: Tidal Duels privacy policy.