Shooting Birds Carnival

Step right up. The birds are on the rails, the carny is running his mouth, the prize wall is waiting.

Shooting Birds Carnival is a shooting-gallery arcade game across eleven booths of a very strange funfair. Every booth has its own birds, its own trick and its own boss — and every one of them is a cut-out, a spring-loaded target or an animatronic. Nobody gets hurt. Everybody gets knocked over.

The first three booths are free. Play the Midway, the Big Top and the Haunted Funhouse as long as you like — whole booths, real bosses, every score and prize kept. Unlock the other eight when you are ready. No ads, no energy meters, nothing to wait for.

HOW TO PLAY • Tap to shoot. That is the whole control scheme. • Knock down birds before the clock runs out. • Chain hits to build your combo — every miss resets it. • Do NOT shoot the decoys. The baby bird and the clown both cost you. • Clear the booth, earn your stars, move on.

ELEVEN BOOTHS, ELEVEN TRICKS • The Midway — pop-ups and rail sliders. Learn the ropes. • The Big Top — trapeze birds swinging on the rigging. • Haunted Funhouse — things leap out from behind the tombstones. • The Pier — a crosswind bends every shot you take. • Wild West — fast rails and quick-draw timing. • Red Square — armoured targets you strip plate by plate. • Lucha Libre — birds off the ropes and off the top turnbuckle. • Winter Wonderland — falling snow, and cold hands that reload slowly. • Jungle Safari — dense foliage, and something prowling behind it. • Neon Space Arcade — swarms, and a booth that speeds up as the clock runs down. • Grand Finale — every trick at once, and the mega-boss.

BOSSES WITH A WEAK SPOT Every booth ends with a boss, and none can simply be shot to bits. Each seals its core and opens it only in bursts, so you read the rhythm and take your shot in the window — then break the next phase, and the one after. Get greedy and it knocks your combo clean off you.

THE SOUND OF THE FAIR Original carnival music written for these booths — band organ and glockenspiel on the Midway, and a boss arrangement that lifts when the fight turns serious. Every knockdown is a tin clunk, a hot streak rings the accuracy bell, and the crowd groans when you shoot the decoy.

THE CARNY Each booth has its own attendant, and yes, you can shoot them. They are never hurt and there is no reward — but keep it up and you get a yelp, then a sarcastic sign, then an umbrella, then a very dizzy carny on the floor. He throws things back.

NINE WEAPONS TO EARN You start with the water pistol and buy the rest with tickets. Slingshots and bean bags lob clean over cover. The BB rifle fires as fast as you can track. The foam rocket and party cannon clear a swarm at once — catch a decoy in the blast and you pay for it.

TICKETS Every round pays tickets — more for a good score, more for stars, a windfall for the Golden Bird. Duplicates convert to tickets too, so no round is wasted.

THE PRIZE WALL Twenty-six prizes to collect, from wax lips and a rubber duck up to the gold champion trophy. Every booth has its own grand prize, and the one you win flies out big enough to actually look at.

PLAY IT YOUR WAY Three difficulty levels that change the booth, not the clock — every round is a full sixty seconds. Easy thins the decoys and armour for younger players; hard piles both on. Best scores are kept for every booth on every level.

WORTH FINDING • A rare Golden Bird that pays a jackpot in points and tickets. • Cameos from Dropping Birds, Swooping Birds and Bird Blitz photobombing the booth. • An end-of-round accuracy bonus that rewards snipers over sprayers.

FEATURES • One-handed pick-up-and-play — no energy meters, no lives, nothing to wait for • Three booths free; one purchase opens the other eight. Family Sharing is on • Plays entirely offline. No account, no sign-up, no data collected

Three booths free. One purchase opens the rest. No ads, no subscription, nothing else to buy.

Step right up and take your shot.