# Pebble Count

> Open squares by the numbers and flag the pebbles.

Open garden squares by the numbers and flag the buried pebbles. Today's plot is the same grid for everyone. Practice opens larger plots as you clear them.

- Play: https://sidekickarcade.com/play/pebble-count/ (in the browser, phone or computer, free, no sign-up needed)
- Neighborhood: [Puzzle Park](https://sidekickarcade.com/category/puzzle/index.md)
- Controls: Tap a square, or arrows and Space
- Best on: portrait screens
- Coins for goals: 3 per 1 stars, up to 9 a run

## How to play

1. Tap a square to open it. On a keyboard, arrows move and Space opens the square you are on. A number is how many pebbles touch that square. The gold dot is a safe start.
2. Flag a pebble with the Flag button, a long press, or X on the square you are on. A flag on a safe square costs a star. Taking the flag off does not give the star back.
3. When the flags around an open number match that number, tap the number to open the rest. A wrong flag can uncover a pebble, and that ends the round.
4. Three stars means every flag was a pebble, inside the time. Today's plot is one grid for everyone. Pause stops the clock.

## Tips

- The gold dot is empty, and so are the squares next to it. You can still open somewhere else.
- A number is how many of the eight squares around it hide a pebble.
- Flag those, then tap the number to open the rest. Count the flags before you do.
- Three stars means a clean finish inside the time. A flag on a safe square leaves one star.

## Questions

### Is it free?

Yes. It is free in the browser, with no download and no sign-up needed. Coins are for fun and can never be bought.

### Is today's plot the same for everyone?

Yes. Today's plot is one grid, from the date. Practice plots are your own, and they get bigger as you clear them.

### What earns three stars?

Clear the plot with every flag on a pebble, inside the time for that size. A flag on a safe square still clears the plot, for one star. Pause stops the clock.

### Can I play on a phone?

Yes. Tap a square to open it. Flag sits under the grid, so it never covers a square. A long press marks a square too. It is a minefield puzzle played on a garden grid.

## Achievements

- **First plot** (bronze, 15 coins): Clear your first plot.
- **Today's plot** (bronze, 15 coins): Clear today's plot.
- **Three days** (bronze, 25 coins): Clear a plot three days in a row.
- **Clean plot** (silver, 30 coins): Clear a plot with every flag on a pebble, inside the time.
- **Week of plots** (silver, 50 coins): Keep a 7-day streak.
- **A field** (silver, 40 coins): Clear a field.
- **A range** (gold, 60 coins): Clear a range.
- **Forty plots** (gold, 80 coins): Clear 40 plots.
- **Month of plots** (gold, 120 coins): Keep a 30-day streak.
- **Ten clean** (gold, 80 coins): Clear 10 plots with every flag on a pebble, inside the time.
- **Two hundred** (diamond, 200 coins): Clear 200 plots.
- **Pebble Warden** (diamond, 300 coins): Keep a 100-day streak. Earns the title "Pebble Warden".

## More to play

- [Lamp Flip](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/lamp-flip/index.md): Flip lamps until every one is dark. (Puzzle Park)
- [Square Secrets](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/square-secrets/index.md): Fill squares from the clues to reveal a picture. (Puzzle Park)
- [Isle Links](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/isle-links/index.md): Link the islands with just the right number of bridges. (Puzzle Park)