Guide
Reef Shooter: the four cannons, what the Shop is worth, and how the reef gets harder
The cannon fires on its own; your job is aiming. Damage and ammo for every cannon, which Shop buy gives the most damage per coin, how drops work, and why the fish get tougher the longer you play.
Reef Shooter is a relaxed fish-shooting game: a cannon sits on the sand, fish swim across from both sides, and every fish you pop pays coins. There is no timer and no game over. You can also play it in your browser.
Controls
The cannon fires automatically, all the time. You only aim: touch the screen or drag your finger, and the barrel turns toward that point. A shot stops at the first fish it hits, so big fish in front shield the small ones behind them.
The four cannons
| Cannon | Damage | Fire rate | Ammo | |---|---|---|---| | Standard Cannon | 1 | about 3 shots/s | 18 per magazine, reloads in 1.1 s, never runs out | | Power Cannon | 5 | a little slower | 50 when bought | | Rapid Cannon | 1 | about 11 shots/s | 80 when bought | | Spread Cannon | 2 × 3 shots in a fan | about 2.5 volleys/s | 40 when bought |
Special cannons don't reload: when one is empty, the next one waiting in Stored takes over, in the order you got them. When storage is empty, you're back on the Standard Cannon. You can't switch by hand, so think before stacking up several guns.
Is the Shop worth it?
The Shop sells Power (48 coins), Rapid (62) and Spread (88). Counted as total damage, the Power Cannon is by far the best deal: 50 shots × 5 = 250 damage for 48 coins. Rapid gives 80 damage for 62 coins. Spread can reach 240 damage, but only when all three pellets hit, so it pays off when the screen is crowded. Don't waste a Power Cannon on the smallest fish: they have 1 HP at the start, so 4 of the 5 damage is lost.
Fish and drops
There are five kinds of fish, from small fast ones (1 HP, 5 coins) to big slow ones (18 HP, 110 coins at the start). About a quarter of popped fish also drop something that sinks to the cannon and is collected by itself: extra coins, ammo for the gun you're holding, or a bonus special cannon.
The longer you play, the harder it gets
Difficulty follows your total play time, which is saved: every 40 seconds the reef goes up a tier, up to tier 6 after four minutes. Each tier makes fish tougher (+38% HP) but better paid (+55% coins), brings in bigger species and raises the drop rate. Coins and stored guns are saved too, and you always start a session with at least 40 coins.
Quick tips
- Aim at the big, slow fish: they're worth far more coins per second than chasing small ones.
- Since you can't switch back by hand, buy a special cannon when big fish are on screen, not when only small ones are swimming by.
- When the screen fills up, that's the moment for the Spread Cannon.
More on the Reef Shooter page, or play now.
