Pollen Smash
Burst one dandelion and watch its seeds drift on the wind, setting off the flowers they touch in a long, quiet chain.
- Developer
- GAMEFREEX
- Released
- Updated
- Game engine
- HTML5 (WebGL, Babylon.js)
- Platforms
- Browser (desktop, mobile, tablet), installable app (PWA)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Controls
- Keyboard, Mouse, Touch, Controller
- Multiplayer
- Yes, with friends: score race, up to 4 players
- Offline play
- Yes, once opened or saved with Download games for offline
- Price
- Free, no download, no sign-up
- Puzzle16
- 3D16
- WebGL17
- Portrait53
- Keyboard42
- Mouse55
- Multiplayer53
Controls
Computer
- Click a flower to burst it
- Or arrows to pick one, Space to burst it
- With Wind Whisper: drag or hold the arrows during a chain to bend the wind
Phone or tablet
- Tap a flower to burst it
- With Wind Whisper: drag during a chain to bend the wind
Controller
- Left stick: move the cursor, A: burst the flower under it
- D-pad or right stick: ring a flower, X or Y: burst it
- With Wind Whisper: hold the D-pad during a chain to bend the wind
- B: close, Start: pause
Pollen Smash: how to play, tips and FAQ
Written by the GAMEFREEX team.
Pollen Smash is a chain-reaction puzzle in 3D. A meadow of dandelion seed heads floats in the air, you tap one, and it lets go of its seeds. They drift on the wind, and every flower a seed touches bursts a moment later and lets go of its own. One good tap can clear a whole meadow; a bad one fizzles after three flowers.
There are 40 levels over eight biomes, from Dusk Meadow to Aurora Tundra, five levels each. A level gives you one to three taps and a goal, either a share of the meadow or a score, and up to three stars. Later biomes bring soap bubbles that soak up seeds until they pop, floating leaves and thorny branches that stop them, and flowers that drift in circles while you wait for the right moment.
It is a slow game on purpose. There is no clock in most levels, the music is a soft pad with chimes that climb the scale as a chain grows, and Zen mode drops the goal entirely.
- Spatial reading
- Planning
- Patience
At a glance
- Campaign
- 40 levels, 8 biomes
- Taps per level
- 1 to 3
- Special flowers
- 6, grown in the garden
- Upgrades
- 15, in 4 branches
- Modes
- Zen, daily, duel, online race
How to play Pollen Smash
- Look for the spot where flowers are packed closest, and tap the one in the middle of it. Seeds fly about two flower widths before the wind takes over.
- Watch the wind. Seeds drift with it once they slow down, so a flower upwind of a cluster often does better than one in the middle.
- Keep an eye on the goal bar at the top: its three marks are the three stars. The first one clears the level and opens the next.
- Spend petals in the GARDEN between levels. Long Reach, Fuller Heads and Long Float make every chain longer; special flowers start to show up in the meadows once you grow them.
- With Wind Whisper, drag across the screen (or hold the arrows) while a chain runs to bend the wind toward the flowers that are left.
Controls, action by action
| Action | Computer | Phone or tablet |
|---|---|---|
| Burst a flower | Click it, or pick it with the arrows and press Space | Tap it |
| Bend the wind (Wind Whisper) | Drag, or hold the arrows during a chain | Drag during a chain |
| Level menu | The menu button at the top left | The menu button at the top left |
| End a Zen meadow | END at the bottom right | END at the bottom right |
How a seed sets off a flower
A burst throws its seeds out in every direction at 3 to 4 units a second. Drag slows them within a second or so, and from then on they drift with the wind, which has its own slow gusts, plus a light pull downward and a flutter like a parachute. A seed lasts 3 seconds without upgrades (Long Float takes it to 5.3).
A seed that comes within reach of a flower is caught by it, and the flower bursts about a sixth of a second later. Each seed sets off one flower at most, so a plain dandelion with 8 seeds can reach 8 more flowers. Fuller Heads raises that to 18, and the flower you tap lets go of up to 2.5 times as many with Big Breath.
Soap bubbles hold 4 to 6 seeds and then pop. Leaves and thorny branches catch every seed that hits them. None of them move much, so a chain that has to get past one is better started on the far side.
The special flowers
Six kinds unlock in the garden, and once grown they replace about one flower in nine in the campaign and Zen (one in six, then one in four with Rare Blooms). The Golden Puff is worth five times the points. The Big Puff is larger and lets go of 2.4 times the seeds. The Glow Bloom sends a spark to the three closest flowers within 4.2 units, which burst at once. The Sticky Clover pulls passing seeds toward itself. The Wind Bell bursts with a gust that throws nearby seeds outward and keeps them in the air longer. The Rainbow Head adds x1 to the multiplier of the whole chain it joins.
Bonuses at the end of a chain
A chain of 5 or more flowers adds 4 times its length to the power 1.5 (a chain of 20 adds about 360). A chain at least 4 bursts deep adds 15 per level of depth. A Bouquet is one flower that set off three or more others (40 points), a Crossing is two bursts reaching the same flower before it pops (25), and each special flower and bubble in the chain adds 30 and 20.
Bloom rush levels (8, 18, 28 and 38) run for 45 seconds: a tap comes back every 6 seconds, up to two, and burst flowers grow back somewhere else in the meadow. Because a chain can run for the whole level there, its multiplier stops at x4 instead of x12, as in Zen. A Rainbow Head adds x1 to its chain, two at most.
Zen gives a tap back every 5 seconds, up to three, and ends by itself after 30 minutes. It pays one petal per 400 points, 60 at most.
Tips to score higher
- Two taps on one level: save the second until the first chain is completely over, then aim it at the largest group still standing.
- Tap a Big Puff or a Glow Bloom first when you can. A Glow Bloom bursts the three closest flowers in reach at once, which almost never fizzles.
- Bubbles are worth popping on purpose in score levels: 20 points each at the end of the chain.
- Taps you do not need are worth 250 points each (Spare breath), so a one-tap clear on a two-tap level scores more.
Common mistakes
- Tapping the flower nearest the edge. Half its seeds fly out of the meadow; a flower with neighbors on every side wastes none.
- Using every tap at once on a two or three tap level. Wait for the meadow to go still, then aim at what is left.
- Spending the first petals on looks. Long Reach and Fuller Heads change every level; the looks only change the view.
- Ignoring the wind. Seeds fly against it for a moment, then drift with it for most of their life.
Pollen Smash FAQ
How is the score counted?+
Every burst is worth 10 points times the flower's own multiplier (5 for a Golden Puff, 2 for most special flowers) times the chain multiplier, which grows by 0.2 with every flower in the chain up to x12 (x4 in Zen and Bloom rush levels). When a chain ends, it adds bonuses: its length, how deep it went, Bouquets, Crossings, special flowers and bubbles. Clearing every flower adds 400 plus 10 per flower.
What are petals for?+
The garden: 15 upgrades in four branches (seeds, wind, special flowers and looks). A cleared level pays 10 petals plus 6 per star, 8 more for every star you did not have before, and 2 per Golden Puff. You can also trade 400 Freex Coins for 50 petals.
Is my progress saved?+
Yes. Stars, petals and upgrades are kept in this browser, and in your account when you are signed in, so they follow you to another device. Progress made before signing in joins the account the first time you sign in.
What is the daily meadow?+
One meadow a day, the same for every player, with the same upgrades for everyone: 46 flowers, three taps and every special flower. It changes at midnight UTC. The first try of the day pays 20 petals.
Can I play with other people?+
Yes. 2 PLAYERS is a duel on one device: one meadow of 42 flowers, three taps each, and each chain scores for the player who started it. Online, a score race gives every player the same meadow from the room, and everyone sees the others' scores climb while they play.