Duck Hunt Level Guide: What Each of the Six Levels Throws at You

The browser version of Duck Hunt on this site keeps its level table in plain sight inside the game script, so there is no guessing about what comes next. Every level is a set of waves; every wave has a number of ducks, a number of shells, a speed and a time limit. You pass a level when the ducks you hit are more than 60% of all the ducks in it. A duck is worth 100 points on every level, so the score is just a hit counter with two zeros on the end.

The table

• Level 1: 3 waves of 2 ducks, 3 shells, speed 5, 13 seconds a wave. Need 4 of 6.
• Level 2: 5 waves of 3 ducks, 4 shells, speed 6, 10 seconds. Need 10 of 15.
• Level 3: 6 waves of 3 ducks, 4 shells, speed 7, 10 seconds. Need 11 of 18.
• Level 4: 3 waves of 10 ducks, 11 shells, speed 7, 18 seconds. Need 19 of 30.
• Level 5: 5 waves of 2 ducks, 3 shells, speed 8, 13 seconds. Need 7 of 10.
• Level 6: 1 wave of 15 ducks, 15 shells, speed 8, 25 seconds. Need 10 of 15.

Levels 1 to 3: learn the turn

Ducks fly in straight lines and change heading every second or so. The instant a duck turns it is nearly stationary, and that is the shot. On the early levels you have one spare shell per wave, so wait for a turn rather than firing the moment a duck appears. The time limit is generous here; running out of shells is what ends a wave badly, not the clock.

Level 4: the crowd

Ten ducks at once is the hardest thing in the game. They launch from the grass close together and spread out fast. Fire at the cluster in the first two seconds, when a single click's 60-pixel hit radius can only catch one duck but every duck is an easy target. After that, pick the ducks nearest the middle of the screen — the ones at the edge are about to leave and you cannot afford the shell. You need 19 of 30, so roughly two escapes a wave is fine.

Level 5: speed eight, three shells

This feels like a break after level four but the ducks are at top speed and you have one spare shell. Play it like level one: wait for the turn, fire once, wait for the next turn.

Level 6: fifteen ducks, one wave

Fifteen shells for fifteen ducks with 25 seconds. You only need ten hits, so five misses are allowed, but there is no second wave to recover in. Treat it like level four's opening: hit the cluster early, then work the middle of the screen. Clear it and you get the You Win screen with your score as a percentage of the maximum and a one-line verdict — from "Flawless victory." at 100% down to "Yikes." — and a Play Again prompt that starts from level one.

Practice with the level creator

Press C at any time. The form lets you set waves, ducks, points, speed, shells, hit radius and time, and it writes them into the page address, so the browser back button takes you out of the drill and a bookmark takes you back in. Set one wave of ten ducks at speed seven with thirty shells and you can practice the level-four opening without the pressure.