Something is crawling out of the holes on Oh, my Dots! this Halloween. Meet Whac-A-Spider, our brand new Halloween Challenge: spiders pop out, you whack them before they get away, and your score goes up against players from all over the world. It’s free, there’s nothing to sign up for, and one round takes as long as your reflexes last.
It’s also a bit different from everything else on the site. No dots to connect, no puzzle to solve. Just you, a board full of holes and a lot of very determined spiders.
How to play
- Go to the Halloween Special page and hit Play now on the big Whac-A-Spider banner at the top, or jump straight into the game.
- Turn your sound on. The game page says it plainly: this game requires audio, and the spooky music and splats are half the fun.
- Press Start.
- Tap or click every spider as soon as it shows up, before it climbs out of view.
That’s it. It works with a mouse on a computer or with your finger on a phone or tablet.
One spider gets away, game over
Here’s the rule that makes every round tense: there are no extra lives. The moment a single spider escapes, the game ends. You can’t let one slip and make up for it later, so every spider counts.
When it’s over, you’ll see how many points you scored and how long you lasted.
Combos: whack the pile, score double
Each spider you whack is worth a point. But when spiders pile up on top of each other, you can get them all with a single tap, and every spider in a combo counts double. Two spiders in one hit is four points, three spiders is six.
You’ll know you nailed one when the game shouts Double Whack!!, Triple Whack!!! or, for the really big piles, Whack Master!!!!
It starts easy. It doesn’t stay easy
The first few seconds are almost relaxing: a spider here, a spider there, only a few holes in use. Then things pick up. The longer you play, the faster and sneakier the spiders get, more holes join in and more spiders come out at the same time.
A few tips from the spider-whacking trenches:
- Watch the whole board, not just the spot you last tapped. The next spider is rarely where you’re looking.
- Go for the piles. A combo clears several threats in one move and doubles the points.
- Don’t panic-tap. Aim for the spider, not the hole it came out of.
Climb the leaderboard
This is where Whac-A-Spider turns into a real challenge. At the top of the Halloween Special page, the banner shows two leaderboards:
- This week: the best scores of the current week, so there’s a fresh race to join every week.
- All time: the highest scores since the game launched.
After every round you’ll also see the High scores list, with your own position highlighted. You don’t need an account to be on it: type a name (at least 4 characters) into the Enter your name field and save it, and that’s what the other players will see.
Everyone plays on the same boards, whether they’re on the English, Spanish or Portuguese version of Oh, my Dots!, so your name really is up against players from all over the world.
Perfect for Halloween family fun
Whac-A-Spider is made for passing the phone around the couch. A few ideas:
- Family tournament: everyone gets three rounds, best score wins the last piece of Halloween candy.
- Beat last week: write down your best score and try to top it next week.
- Classroom brain break: a two-minute round between lessons, with the class cheering on whoever’s playing.
Only here for Halloween
Whac-A-Spider is a Halloween season special, so it won’t be around all year. Get your name on the board while the spiders are still crawling.
And when you need a break from whacking, the Halloween Special page has plenty of calmer spooky fun: connect the dots, mazes, swap puzzles, a word search and a crossword. Our Halloween round-up walks you through all of it.
Happy whacking! 🕷️