Trap the Bear

Prospectus

Trap the Bear is a turn-based puzzle game about a crew of lost penguins stuck on an Arctic ice floe with a hungry polar bear. On each turn you move one penguin a single step along the snowy paths, then the bear moves. It can step, or jump over a penguin next to it and catch it. To win, surround the bear until it has nowhere left to go, before it catches too many of your crew. The rules take seconds to learn, but every move counts. Lure the bear onto cracked ice that breaks behind it, use whale holes to block its way, and bring in a sleepy seal that the bear can't jump. Across 40 levels in four chapters, with boss bears and a new daily puzzle, it's easy to win and hard to master: three stars means trapping the bear with no penguins caught, in the fewest moves possible.

How it plays

Click or tap a penguin, then click or tap a highlighted mound next to it to move it one step. After each of your moves, the bear moves too. It can step one mound, or jump over a penguin next to it into an empty space and catch that penguin. To win, block every path so the bear can't move. You lose if the bear catches too many penguins or your penguins can't move. Cracked ice breaks after something steps off it, whale holes can't be crossed, and the bear can't jump the seal. Use Undo to take back a move, and Hint if you get stuck. To earn three stars, trap the bear without losing a penguin, in the fewest moves possible.

Opening an account with this game takes one press: Open the holding, above, and it loads on this page itself — nothing downloads and no form stands between you and the first decision. It is drawn for a flexible screen and takes its instructions from mouse, keyboard or touch, as the game prefers. It adjusts itself to upright and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all present it properly. If a fullscreen control is offered, take it — a growing enterprise deserves the whole desk.

Analyst's notes for strategy holdings

• Write the plan before the first move, even if the plan is one sentence. Strategy games punish improvisation politely and reward a rough intention revised on purpose.
• Spend your first session on reconnaissance. Watch what the game charges you for — time, space, resources, attention — because that price list is the whole game in miniature.
• Keep a reserve uncommitted. The player who deploys everything into the opening has read only the first page of the problem; the answer usually arrives in chapter two.

Trap the Bear — questions from the readership

What does it cost to open Trap the Bear?

Nothing, at any point. The holding is free from the first click to the last upgrade — no account to open, no download to wait for, no paywall filed anywhere in its pages. The advertising around this page is what pays the bookkeeping.

What kind of game is Trap the Bear, exactly?

We file it on the Strategy shelf of the ledger. It is a browser game through and through — the prospectus above is the publisher's own summary of what the game asks of you and what it gives back.

Can I play Trap the Bear on a phone or tablet?

Yes — it runs in the browser on phones and tablets just as it does on a computer. It adjusts itself to upright and wide screens alike, so phone, tablet and desktop all present it properly.

Is there anything to download or install first?

Nothing at all. Trap the Bear is an HTML5 game: press the open button and it loads on this very page, and closing the tab leaves nothing behind on your device.

Closing entry

Finished the audit, or still mid-season? The full Strategy shelf is one click away — The deliberate shelf: 102 games where the win is decided several moves before it happens. Plans, counters and patience, filed in roster order with the strongest thinkers first.