Sea Miner: how stars work, what to hook and what the tiger sells

Sea Miner is a hook-and-haul game under the sea. Your fisherman's hook swings back and forth; tap to drop it and it reels in whatever it touches. Double tap to use a bomb. The adventure map has 12 levels, each with a score target and a timer.

What is worth hooking

| Catch | Points | Notes | |---|---|---| | Pearl (open oyster) | 10 | Only while the shell is open; a closed oyster sends the hook back empty | | Cuttlefish | 5 | Heavy, slow to pull | | Small fish | 3 | Fast swimmer, light | | Shark | 3 | Needs the strong hook; otherwise the hook bounces off | | Medium fish, starfish, big stone | 2 | The big stone is very heavy | | Can, jellyfish, small stone | 1 | | | Whale | −10 | Avoid it |

Heavier catches come up more slowly, so a big stone can eat several seconds for just 2 points. Torpedoes give no points: touching one blows up everything in a radius, and the super torpedo has a wider blast but leaves pearls intact. A shark destroyed by a blast or a bomb costs you 3 points.

Stars are counted at the end

Reaching the target no longer ends the level. A notice says the target is reached, and you keep fishing until time runs out, or you press the Finish button in the bottom-right corner to stop early. Once you have hit the target the level counts as won with at least 1★, even if a whale later pulls your score down. The 2★ and 3★ ratings use your final score: about 1.3× the target for 2★ and about 1.65× for 3★ (1.45× on levels 1 and 2, which have fewer things to catch). Under your score the HUD shows the next star threshold.

| Level | Target (1★) | 2★ | 3★ | Time | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | 17 | 23 | 25 | 60 s | | 2 | 20 | 26 | 29 | 60 s | | 3 | 23 | 30 | 38 | 60 s | | 4 | 26 | 34 | 43 | 60 s | | 5 | 29 | 38 | 48 | 60 s | | 6 | 32 | 42 | 53 | 60 s | | 7 | 35 | 46 | 58 | 63 s | | 8 | 38 | 50 | 63 | 66 s | | 9 | 41 | 54 | 68 | 69 s | | 10 | 44 | 58 | 73 | 72 s | | 11 | 47 | 62 | 78 | 75 s | | 12 | 50 | 65 | 83 | 78 s |

A level also ends early if nothing worth points is left in the water.

The tiger's shop

Before each level a tiger offers three items, paid with coins. Every win adds your final score to your coins, so extra stars also mean a bigger budget.

• Bomb, 10 coins: double tap to blow up whatever the hook is holding, handy for dropping a stone halfway up. You start with one, and bombs carry over between levels.
• Strong hook, 10 coins: pulls 1.6× faster and lets you catch sharks. Lasts one level.
• Extra time, 15 coins: +15 seconds on the next level.

Quick tips

• Go for open pearls and cuttlefish early; they make the target fastest.
• Skip big stones unless nothing else is in reach.
• After the target is reached, every extra catch is a step toward the next star, so don't press Finish while there is still time.
• Buy the strong hook for levels with many sharks; each one is 3 points that would otherwise block the hook.

In Adventure mode you play the newest unlocked level; after all 12 are cleared, any level can be replayed. Mission mode lets you pick any unlocked level. More on the Sea Miner page.