How to play & controls Mini Golf
Mini Golf is a portrait-format putting game built on 15 hand-made holes. Each tests one idea: a slope band that bends the ball sideways, a bumper grove, sand, a pond, a sliding gate, a cup ringed by slopes falling away from it, and three gimmick holes with purple one-way tunnels and an orange launch pad. Par runs from 2 to 4, and a hole closes at par + 4 strokes, never more than 8.
The physics is deterministic. The ball advances in fixed 1/240-second steps using only basic arithmetic and square roots, so the same putt ends in the same spot on any device. Each putt is stored as two whole numbers plus the instant you released it, and the server re-rolls those putts to get your score instead of trusting the browser. The same replays let a rival's exact ball paths appear as a gold dotted ghost.
Around the rounds sit a shot review that replays each putt with its angle and power, practice from just before any shot, and a 15-hole album of your best medals.
Goal
Drag back and release to putt, and sink the ball in as few strokes as possible. The lower your course total, the better.
How it works
- Pick 'Quick 3 holes' to start without an account. You can send and play friend challenges without signing in.
- Press anywhere and drag back to show the aim line. The ball goes the opposite way, and harder the further you pull.
- Release to putt. A very short pull is cancelled instead of hit.
- Water costs 1 stroke and returns the ball to where you hit it. Sand slows the ball and bumpers bounce it away.
- Sink the ball or reach the stroke limit to move to the next hole. Finish the course to send a friend challenge. Saving a world ranking requires GameNow sign-in.
Modes
Quick 3 holes
Holes 1–3 (First Putt, The Tilt, Dogleg), par 7, for one player. Unranked, but it earns stars, fills the Hole Album and can be sent as a friend challenge.
Daily Challenge
Three holes drawn by UTC date from holes 2–12, possibly mirrored, the same for everyone. Each account's best counts, rounds are accepted until 10 minutes past UTC midnight, and consecutive days build a streak.
9-Hole Course
Holes 1–9 in order, par 26. The world ranking keeps each account's best round.
Hard 9
Par 31: harder holes, some mirrored, plus the gimmick holes Underpass, Launch Pad and Triple Warp. Ranked worldwide.
Pass & Play
Two to four players take turns on one device over Random 3 holes or the 9-hole course. Lowest total wins; nothing is saved.
Challenge (⚔)
Opened from ⚔ on a ranking or from a friend's link: the same holes, with the opponent's ball paths drawn as a gold dotted line. Friend links stay open for 7 days.
Controls
| Action | Mouse & keyboard | Touch | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aim and set power | Hold the left mouse button anywhere and drag back | Hold anywhere and drag back | Left stick / D-pad: left-right turns, up-down sets power |
| Putt | Release the button, or Space | Lift your finger | A / × |
| Keyboard aim | ← → turn 5° (Shift + ← → 1°), ↑ ↓ power ±5% | — | — |
| Precision aim | Precision aim button: releasing a drag only locks the aim; nudge ±1° / ±1%, then Confirm shot | Same button; step 0.1, 1 or 5; hold to repeat | — |
| Cancel aim | Esc | Release after a very short pull (under 3% power) | B / ○ |
| Scorecard | Scorecard button, top right | Tap Scorecard | X / □ |
| Quit the round | Quit button, top right | Tap Quit | START |
| Review a hole | Click a hole score on the result scorecard | Tap a hole score on the result scorecard | — |
Tips
- Keyboard aiming starts pointing up at medium power. ← → turn 5° and ↑ ↓ change power by 5% per press.
- Daily Challenge: everyone plays the same 3 holes each UTC day and competes on that day's ranking.
- Pass & Play: 2–4 players take turns on one device (quick 3 holes or 9 holes). Scores are not saved.
- Press ⚔ on the ranking to challenge that player's record. Their ball path shows as a gold dotted line.
- Stick/D-pad left/right: aim; up/down: power; A/×: shoot; B/○: cancel; X/□: scorecard; START: menu.
Strategy tips
Line beats pace
The cup catches a ball crossing it under 300 units per second; a faster ball loses 3% of its speed each tick over the hole, so a firm putt struck dead centre can still drop. On First Putt a straight putt drops from about 66% power up (above about 91% only on the rebound off the back wall), but only within about 1.3° of straight. Keyboard aim starts each hole straight up at 35%, already on line there: press ↑ seven times, then Space.
Finish long, not short
Grass takes 280 units per second off the ball's speed every second, so a putt that would roll up to about 160 units past the cup (about 3 m on the practice readout) still drops if it's on line. A short putt never does.
Slopes bend, they don't roll
Arrows show which way a slope pushes. Every slope is weaker than grass friction, so a ball that stops on one stays put, and slopes switch off within 18 units of the cup. On the unmirrored Tilt the band pushes right: a putt aimed straight at the cup finishes right of it, and the hole-in-ones that use no wall are aimed about 1.5–7° left of the cup.
Sand, walls and bumpers
Sand friction is almost four times that of grass (1,100 against 280). Walls return 78% of the head-on speed going into them; bumpers return 112%, capped at full power, so the ball always leaves a bumper faster than it arrived.
Water and the stroke limit
A splash adds a penalty stroke and returns the ball to where you hit it: two strokes, no ground gained. The HUD shows the limit (6, 7 or 8 strokes on par 2, 3 or 4) and flags your last stroke. A hole that ends at the limit without holing out scores the limit and earns no album medal.
Time walls for arrival
The wall you see at release is exactly where the physics starts, because the replay stores that moment. The Moving Gate's slider makes a round trip every 2 seconds, The Summit's every 2.5 and Triple Warp's about every 2.2, and they keep moving while the ball rolls: time the wall for the ball's arrival.
Tunnels keep pace, pads ignore it
A tunnel releases the ball at the same speed and direction; a dotted purple line shows the exit. On Underpass a pond lies beyond it, and in a sweep of tee shots through the tunnel none under 80% power reached it. Launch pads ignore incoming speed and fire the ball at 620 units per second (about 86% of a full putt) along the arrow. Triple Warp's middle tunnel returns you to the start.
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