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HOW TO PLAY

Everything you need to know about Reel Isles — from your first cast to endgame mythic hunts.

01 The Basics

Start playing

Connect a Solana wallet, set your angler name and look, then press Set Sail. Reel Isles places you into the live ocean automatically and keeps your progress tied to your wallet.

First-time players get Captain Maro's guided tasks in the harbor. Follow the gold minimap marker to learn the Fish Market, Fisher's Shop, home pond, and first ship upgrade.

Core controls

  • WASD / Arrow keys — move your boat
  • Click / tap water — aim and cast toward that spot
  • Space — cast, hook, reel, board, or dock when prompted
  • Hold Space / hold press — reel during a fish fight
  • E — interact near shops, the market, benches, and home
  • Tab — open Backpack and equipment
  • L — open the detailed leaderboard
  • Ctrl/Cmd + wheel — zoom the camera

HUD buttons

  • Backpack opens gear, cargo, cosmetics, and aquarium inventory.
  • Leaderboard shows all-time ranks and live score updates.
  • Captain's Log tracks discovered fish, ship status, and stats.

Mobile controls

  • Use the left joystick to sail or walk.
  • Tap the water to cast; hold on the playfield or reel meter to fight.
  • Use contextual action buttons for sell, shop, market, dock, board, and home.

Harbor interactions

  • Fish Market sells cargo for credits.
  • Fisher's Shop sells rods, bait, tackle, ships, and cosmetics.
  • Marketplace handles player trading with $REEL.
  • Home Pond displays aquarium fish.

How to catch a fish

1
Sail

Navigate your boat to a fishing spot. Better zones open as your ship tier increases.

2
Cast

Click anywhere within your cast range ring to drop the bobber. A white ring shows how far your rod can reach.

3
Wait for the bite

Your bobber bobs in the water. When a fish bites, you have a limited time window to react. Miss it and the fish escapes.

4
Fight the fish

A tension bar appears. Hold Space or tap to reel in. Keep the bar in the green zone to land the catch.

5
Sell or keep

Fish go into your cargo. Dock at the Fish Market to sell for credits, or move fish to your Aquarium to display them.

02 Fishing Mechanics

The reel bar

Once a fish bites and you respond, a vertical bar appears on screen. This bar tracks line tension.

Red — snap risk
Yellow — hold on
Green — reeling well
  • Green zone (top 33%) — you are winning. Sustain it to auto-catch.
  • Yellow zone (mid 33%) — borderline. Keep reeling.
  • Red zone (bottom 33%) — line snap imminent. A "⚠ SNAP RISK" warning shows.

Your angler

Your character is the center of every catch. Upgrade gear, stock your backpack, and bring the right rod before chasing harder fish.

  • Green means you are controlling the fight.
  • Red means ease off before the line snaps.
  • Better tackle gives you more room for mistakes.

Fish rarities

There are five rarity tiers. Higher rarities earn more XP, credits, and score — but fight harder and require better gear.

Common

Sardine, Mackerel, Sea Bass, Perch, Herring

Rare

Red Snapper, Mahi-Mahi, Tuna, Salmon

Epic

Swordfish, Marlin, Giant Squid

Legendary

Golden Koi, Golden Grouper, Thunder Marlin, Phantom Ray, Megalodon Tooth

Mythic

Leviathan Fry, Coelacanth, Kraken Eye, Eternal Koi — mythic encounters only

Shiny fish — Any rarity can be caught as a shiny variant. Shiny fish are worth 2.5× credits and XP.

Mythic encounters

Sometimes the sea stirs and a mythic catch rises for a short hunt. Drop everything, sail toward the commotion, and bring your best gear. These catches are meant to feel rare, risky, and memorable.

03 Gear & Equipment

Three equipment slots — Rod, Bait, Tackle — each with their own upgrade path. All are purchased from the Fisher's Shop using credits.

Rods

Rods set your cast range, reel power, and the maximum rarity fish you can hold. Trying to land a fish above your rod's cap causes a near-instant snap.

RodLevelRangeQualityMax rarity
Bamboo RodLv 14×1.0Common
Fiberglass RodLv 56×1.15Rare
Carbon Fiber RodLv 129×1.35Epic
Titanium Spin RodLv 2012×1.6Legendary
Mythril RodLv 3014×2.0Legendary
Trident RodLv 4016×2.5Mythic
Celestial RodLv 4818×3.0Mythic

Bait

Bait raises rare-fish odds and speeds up bite times.

BaitLvBonusSpeed
EarthwormLv 1Normal
Fresh ShrimpLv 3+6%Faster
CricketLv 8+12%Fast
Golden LureLv 15+20%Much faster
Calamari StripLv 22+28%Very fast
Moon BaitLv 32+38%Extreme
Abyssal LureLv 44+50%Ultimate

Tackle

Tackle improves line strength (reduces snap risk) and fish size.

TackleLvLineSize
Iron HookLv 1×1.0
Barbed HookLv 7×1.2+8%
Circle HookLv 16×1.4+12%
Deep SinkerLv 24×1.1
Titanium RigLv 34×1.8+18%
Mythril LineLv 46×2.5+25%

04 Ships

Your ship tier is tied to your player level and determines how far from the harbor you can sail. You automatically receive the ship that matches your level — no purchase needed.

T1
Harbor RaftLevel 1+

Starter. Home harbor only.

T2
SkiffLevel 4+

First sail. Slightly wider range.

T3
DinghyLevel 8+

Lantern added. Reaches outer reefs.

T4
SloopLevel 13+

Cabin + lantern. Mid-ocean access.

T5
CutterLevel 19+

Figurehead. Two masts.

T6
BrigantineLevel 26+

Cannon. Sail farther into dangerous waters.

T7
CaravelLevel 34+

Crow's nest. Three masts.

T8
GalleonLevel 42+

Full crew ship. Near-full map access.

T9
Man-o'-WarLevel 48+

Fleet command. All zones.

05 Economy

Credits

Credits are the in-game currency earned by selling fish at the Fish Market. Spend them in the Fisher's Shop on better rods, bait, and tackle.

RarityBase valueShiny value
Common8 cr~20
Rare28 cr~70
Epic75 cr~188
Legendary180 cr~450
Mythic cr— (market only)

Size adds a small bonus: roughly +1 credit per 12cm of fish length.

$REEL & the marketplace

$REEL is the Solana on-chain token used for player-to-player trading. Connect a Solana wallet to access the marketplace.

  • Mythic fish are never sold for credits — they can only be listed on the player marketplace for $REEL.
  • Eligible premium items and cosmetic rod skins can also be traded between players on the marketplace.
  • Player-to-player marketplace sales include a 5% fee, and that fee is contributed to $REEL burn.
  • Transactions settle wallet-to-wallet on Solana.
Contract:

Harbor services

  • Home Pond stores and displays aquarium fish you keep instead of selling.
  • Fisher's Shop sells rods, bait, tackle, ships, cosmetics, and premium in-game items.
  • Fish Market buys regular cargo fish for credits.

Premium item burn

Premium in-game items are sold inside Fisher's Shop. 100% of premium item sales are contributed to $REEL burn.

Marketplace trading is separate from the shop: players list eligible assets for $REEL, and the marketplace applies the 5% burn fee on player-to-player sales.

XP & levelling

Every catch earns XP. Bigger catches and rarer fish push you forward faster, and levelling up unlocks new gear tiers and ship upgrades.

RarityBase XP
Common50 + size bonus
Rare200 + size bonus
Epic550 + size bonus
Legendary1,400 + size bonus
Mythic3,500 + size bonus
BonusMultiplier
Shiny catch×2.5
Streak ×1+8%
Streak ×5+40%
Streak ×10+80%

06 Features

Catch streaks

Every successful catch extends your streak. Each streak step adds +15% score and XP. Missing a bite or letting the line snap resets your streak to zero.

Fish journal

Every species you catch is logged in your journal with your best size record and total count. Shiny variants are tracked separately. Try to complete the journal — 20+ species to discover.

Aquarium

Instead of selling a fish, move it to your personal Aquarium. Fish in the aquarium are displayed in an animated tank and are removed from your sellable cargo.

Leaderboard

The daily leaderboard ranks every player in the room by score. Score is determined by rarity, fish size, shiny bonus, streak multiplier, and rod quality.

Ready to fish?

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