Lantern Reef

Week 01

By Kyle (design & code) · Released 2026-07-14

Lantern Reef is a bubble shooter set in a dark stretch of ocean. You aim a glowing bubble, bank it off the walls, and pop groups of three or more. A dotted guide traces every bounce before you commit. The campaign runs 100 depths, and a depth chart lets you replay any level you have reached. The Trench mode keeps adding rows until the reef takes you.

How to play

• Aim with the dotted guide.
• Fire to attach your bubble to the reef.
• Match three of a color to pop them.
• Clear the board before your shots run out.
• Replay any cleared depth from the chart.

Desktop: Aim with the mouse and click to fire. Arrow keys rotate your aim and Space fires. Escape pauses. · Mobile: Touch to aim. Release to fire. The pause button sits in the top corner.

Why we built this

We built a playtester that aims like a person, and it kept losing endgames until the solver learned to set up pairs instead of scattering. For the 100 depth update we made it play sloppy on purpose. Shot budgets that survived a perfect run kept failing a human one, so now every level is proven against missed shots before it ships.

FAQ

• Is Lantern Reef free to play?

  Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download or signup.

• How do I play Lantern Reef on my phone?

  Open it in your phone browser, touch to aim, and lift your finger to fire.

• How many levels does Lantern Reef have?

  The campaign has 100 depths. The Trench mode has no end and keeps pushing new rows down until you lose.

• Can I play Lantern Reef with a keyboard?

  Yes. Arrow keys rotate your aim and Space or Enter fires.

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