World: –
Score: 0
Coins: 0
Lives: ♥♥♥
Combo: x1
🎮 Game Overview
Falling Stars Catcher is a vertical arcade game where reflexes and resource management are key. You control a basket at the bottom of the screen, scrambling to catch falling stars while dodging bombs. The game features a persistent progression system, meaning coins you collect can be spent on permanent upgrades to help you tackle harder worlds.
🕹️ Controls
The game is designed to be accessible on all devices with three control schemes:
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Mouse (PC Recommended): simply move your cursor left or right. The basket follows your mouse position instantly. This offers the highest precision.
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Keyboard:
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Arrow Left / ‘A’: Move Left
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Arrow Right / ‘D’: Move Right
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Touch (Mobile/Tablet): Drag your finger anywhere on the game canvas to slide the basket.
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UI Controls:
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Pause: Top right button.
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Fullscreen (⛶): Top right button (expands game to fit the whole monitor).
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🌍 The Worlds (Levels)
There are 4 distinct worlds, each with unique visuals, difficulty scaling, and target scores required to unlock the next.
1. Sunny Fields ☀️
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Theme: A bright blue sky over green grass.
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Visuals: Yellow Stars, Dark Grey Bombs.
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Difficulty: Easy.
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Description: The training ground. Objects fall at a moderate pace, allowing you to learn the hitbox size and build your first combo chains.
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Unlock Requirement: Default / Open.
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Goal: Reach 200 Score to complete.
2. Neon City 🌃
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Theme: A synth-wave aesthetic with a purple/night-blue gradient background.
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Visuals: Cyan Neon Stars, Hot Pink Bombs.
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Difficulty: Medium.
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New Hazard: Moving Bombs. Unlike World 1, bombs here have a chance to drift horizontally, forcing you to predict their path rather than just standing still.
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Goal: Reach 450 Score to complete.
3. Mystic Jungle 🌿
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Theme: Deep forest greens.
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Visuals: Pale Yellow Stars, Brown “Coconut” Bombs.
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Difficulty: Hard.
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Bonus: Higher spawn rate for coins, making it a good farming spot for upgrades.
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Goal: Reach 800 Score to complete.
4. Galactic Ice ❄️
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Theme: Deep space blue.
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Visuals: White Stars, Bright Red Bombs.
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Difficulty: Expert (Chaos Mode).
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Mechanics:
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Extreme Speed: Gravity is significantly higher here (
1.6xbase speed multiplier). -
High Density: Objects spawn much faster.
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Goal: Reach 1300 Score to complete.
⭐ Items & Power-ups
Items fall from the top of the screen. You must catch the good ones and avoid the bad ones.
| Item | Visual | Effect |
| Star | ⭐ 5-pointed shape | +10 Points (plus combo bonus). Increases Combo count. |
| Coin | 🟡 Yellow Circle | +5 Coins. Used for purchasing upgrades. |
| Heart | ♥️ Red Heart | +1 Life. Very rare. Restores health up to a max of 5. |
| Shield | 🔵 Blue Ring | Invincibility. Protects you from exactly one bomb hit. |
| Bomb | ⚫ Round w/ fuse | -1 Life. Resets your Combo to zero. If you have a Shield, the shield breaks instead. |
🛠️ Upgrade System (The Shop)
You earn Coins by catching Stars (+1 coin) and Coin items (+5 coins). These persist even after Game Over. You can spend them in the Pause or Game Over menu on three permanent stats:
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Basket Speed:
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Effect: Makes your basket move faster (crucial for Keyboard players).
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Cost: Starts at 50 coins.
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Basket Size:
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Effect: Widens your basket, making it significantly easier to catch stars without perfect precision.
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Cost: Starts at 60 coins.
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Star Magnet:
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Effect: Creates a magnetic field around you. Stars and Coins that “almost” miss you are pulled into the basket automatically.
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Cost: Starts at 70 coins.
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💯 Scoring & Combo Mechanics
The secret to high scores is the Combo System:
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Chain Catches: Every Star you catch adds +1 to your Combo counter.
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The Bonus: You get extra points equal to
2 * Current Combo.-
Example: If your combo is 20, the next star gives you 10 (base) + 40 (bonus) = 50 points.
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Combo Breakers:
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Missing a Star: If a star hits the ground, your Combo resets to 0.
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Hitting a Bomb: You lose a life AND your Combo resets to 0.
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💾 Save System
The game uses localStorage to automatically save:
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Your total Coins.
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Your Upgrade Levels.
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Your Unlocked Worlds.
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Your High Score.
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Mid-Run State: If you close the browser tab in the middle of a game, you can click “Continue” next time to resume exactly where you left off.