How to play Swarmdle
Survive 12:00. Swarmdle is a daily survivors-like. Every player in the world gets the same draw today: the same two modifiers, starting weapon, map, wave timeline, and daily hunter, all derived from the calendar date. You get one official run per day. Practice runs are unlimited and never touch your record.
The daily draw
The lobby shows today's modifiers (two run-wide rules that bend the game, so read them before you start), your starting weapon, and the daily hunter: a featured enemy with its own hunting behavior that will be after you all run. Same for everyone, everywhere.
Controls
| Desktop | WASD or arrow keys to move. Weapons fire automatically. |
| Mobile | Touch and drag anywhere. A virtual joystick appears under your finger. |
| Level-up | Tap a card, or press 1–4. The run pauses while you choose. |
Leveling and builds
Enemies drop XP gems; collect them to level up and pick one of three upgrades: new weapons, accessories, or improvements to what you have, drawn from today's shared upgrade pool. Max out a weapon while holding its catalyst accessory and the next level-up offers a gold EVOLVE! card, a transformed and more powerful form.
The fourth card is always the Dark Pact: permanent damage, but every future spawn gets tougher and faster. A deliberate gamble. The swarm remembers.
Reading the run
Every pre-meditated enemy action telegraphs itself: a white blink before a dash, a marked circle before artillery lands. If you got hit, there was a warning. Elites arrive at 4:00 and 8:00; the boss at 10:00. Some minutes are surge minutes with heavier pressure.
The share string
After your official run you get a spoiler-free emoji result to share: one square per completed minute (green = healthy, yellow = you dipped low that minute), a 💀 cap if you fell, your time, level, and kill count, and your streak. It never reveals today's modifiers or weapon. That surprise belongs to the next player.
Tips
Keep moving; standing still is how the swarm closes. Don't grab every gem mid-fight; kite the pack, then sweep. Evolutions beat raw levels, so plan around your catalyst. The Dark Pact is strongest taken early or not at all. And the daily hunter's behavior is in its lobby blurb. Read it.