Mole Smash looks like a reflex test, but the engine behind this build reduces it to arithmetic. Every mole type shows for a computed duration, every tap checks a 66 px radius, and the combo ladder climbs at fixed hit counts. Here is the window math, straight from the spawn timers.
Spawn odds and payouts
Each spawn rolls one random number and picks a type.
1. Normal mole, 70 percent of spawns, 10 points.
2. Bomb, 13 percent, costs 20 points and one life if you tap it.
3. Helmet mole, 12 percent, 25 points but needs two taps.
4. Golden mole, 5 percent, 50 points.
You hold three lives for the whole run and each round lasts 60 seconds. A bomb tap also resets your combo to zero, which makes it the single most expensive mistake in the game.
The exact hittable window
A mole rises out of its hole at a pop speed of 4.0 progress units per second at level 1, so the rise takes 0.25 seconds. The tap check ignores any mole below 30 percent progress, which it reaches 0.075 seconds after spawning. Falling follows the same speed, and the check cuts off again below 30 percent.
Add the fully up duration and you get the window.
1. Golden mole at level 1, up for 0.8 seconds. Window is 0.175 plus 0.8 plus 0.175, about 1.15 seconds total.
2. Normal mole at level 1, up 1.5 to 2.0 seconds. Window is about 1.8 to 2.3 seconds.
3. Bomb at level 1, up 2.0 seconds. You have the same long window to see it and keep your hammer away.
Level scaling shrinks every number by the same factor. The speed multiplier is 1 plus 0.15 per level above one, and it divides the up duration while multiplying the rise speed.
1. Level 3, multiplier 1.3. Golden up time is 0.8 divided by 1.3, about 0.62 seconds, and the full window is about 0.88 seconds.
2. Level 5, multiplier 1.6. Golden up time is 0.5 seconds and the window is about 0.72 seconds.
3. The engine clamps the up duration at 0.4 seconds minimum, so windows stop shrinking near level 4 for golden moles.
The 66 pixel rule
A tap hits when it lands within 66 px of the mole center, which is the 44 px mole radius times 1.5. The grid uses 160 px horizontal spacing and 175 px vertical spacing, so the hit circles of adjacent holes never overlap. A tap registers on at most one mole, and the engine checks the most recently spawned one first.
Two rules follow.
1. Aim at the mole center, never between holes. A tap in the gap hits nothing, and a miss resets your combo.
2. A bomb sitting within 66 px of your target is a block. Wait for the next spawn of the target mole rather than risk the overlap.
Combo math you can plan around
The multiplier ladder is fixed. Three consecutive hits give x2, six give x3, ten give x4. Any miss or bomb tap resets the counter to zero. The multiplier applies to the mole being scored, so a golden mole at x4 pays 200 points.
The opening sequence of every round should therefore be mechanical.
1. Hit the first three normal moles regardless of position to lock x2.
2. Hold the ladder. At six hits you earn x3, at ten you earn x4.
3. Spend x4 windows on helmet and golden moles, 100 and 200 points, and treat normal moles as ladder maintenance.
One number caps the plan. The miss penalty is absolute, so a 50/50 tap between two holes is a losing bet at any multiplier above x2.
Spawn pacing sets your tempo
The spawn interval starts at 1.2 seconds at level 1 and drops 0.1 seconds per level to a floor of 0.4. Within a round, the interval is further divided by a ramp factor of 1 plus elapsed time times 0.005, which reaches 1.3 at the 60 second mark.
1. Level 1 spawns about every 1.2 seconds early and every 0.92 seconds late in the round.
2. Level 5 spawns about every 0.8 seconds early and every 0.62 seconds late.
The simultaneous mole cap is three at levels 1 and 2, four at levels 3 and 4, and five from level 5. Higher levels fill the board, which raises the chance that a bomb spawns next to your target. Check neighbors before every tap from level 3 on.
Mole Smash honest downsides
The windows above are deterministic, but spawn positions are random across nine holes, so travel distance varies and the effective window shrinks by your reaction path. Up durations for normal and helmet moles roll a random 0.5 second spread, so two normal moles at the same level do not offer the same time. Golden moles are 1 in 20 spawns, which means some 60 second rounds hand you none, and no tactic fixes that variance.
Per tap checklist
- [ ] Mole type identified before the tap, bombs read first.
- [ ] Tap aimed at the mole center, inside the 66 px circle.
- [ ] No bomb within 66 px of the target.
- [ ] Combo state known, x2 at three hits, x3 at six, x4 at ten.
- [ ] Golden moles taken inside their sub-second window at level 3 plus.
- [ ] Helmet moles budgeted for two taps inside one window.
Play the [Mole Smash game](https://webrecast.com/en/whack-a-mole) and count one golden mole window against the table above. If a tap inside 66 px ever missed, or a bomb penalty landed without contact, send the level, the time stamp, and the hole position. Your run data sharpens these numbers.
