Fish 'N Frog

Fish ’N Frog is officially released.

After months of development, testing, level building, enemy tweaking, packaging, and all the other little things involved in actually getting a game out the door, Fish ’N Frog launched for Windows on September 16 under Boss Toad Games.

It’s a retro-style single-screen arcade puzzle game where you play as a frog trying to survive ponds full of increasingly troublesome fish.

The basic idea is simple: push blocks, crush fish, create chain reactions, and don’t get crushed yourself.

https://www.indiedb.com/media/iframe/2991178

Fish 'N Frog Trailer - IndieDB

Simple rules, increasingly nasty fish

Fish ’N Frog starts out easy to understand. Wooden blocks can be pushed across the pond and used to crush enemies. Fixed blocks shape the arena, and positioning matters because a bad push can leave you trapped—or put a moving block somewhere you really didn’t want it.

As the 50 levels progress, the enemies begin changing the rules.

Armor Fish can take a hit before becoming vulnerable. Worse, hitting one with a moving block while its armor is intact can send the block rebounding back in the opposite direction.

That means the block you just launched as a weapon can suddenly become a threat to you.

https://www.indiedb.com/media/iframe/2993810

Knock Off the Armor — Then Watch the Rebound - IndieDB

Later Armor Fish also become smarter about hunting you down, so simply keeping your distance becomes increasingly difficult.

Then come the Shockers

Shocker Fish behave very differently.

They actively hunt through the pond and can launch fast attacks that stun the frog for several seconds. A Shocker doesn’t directly kill you when it stuns you—but being unable to move while other fish are closing in can be considerably worse.

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ShockerFishShortClip - IndieDB

Shockers can’t simply be handled the same way as ordinary fish, so later levels force you to think about which enemy you’re dealing with before sending a block flying.

Chain kills and high-score play

Crushing one fish is useful.

Crushing several with the same moving block is better.

Fish ’N Frog rewards chain kills, encouraging you to line enemies up and use the arena rather than simply taking the safest possible shot every time.

That creates a choice between just surviving a pond and taking risks to push the score higher.

https://www.indiedb.com/media/iframe/2994289

multiChainKillVideo - IndieDB

The Bubble Wave

There is one special ability available to Boss Toad: the Bubble Wave.

It can be a lifesaver when the pond gets crowded, damaging or defeating enemies around you and giving you some breathing room.

There is a trade-off, though. Enemies defeated using the Bubble Wave are worth fewer points than enemies crushed with blocks, so high-score players have an incentive to save it for the moments when they really need it.

50 ponds

Fish ’N Frog contains 50 levels, with the difficulty gradually increasing as new enemies and mechanics are introduced.

My goal was to make something that feels immediately understandable in the way older arcade games often were:

Move. Push. Dodge. Survive.

But understanding the controls and mastering the game are two very different things.

By the later ponds, block placement, enemy behaviour, rebounds, stuns, chain opportunities and escape routes all start interacting at once.

And if you manage to make it all the way through, there is a final challenge waiting at the end.

More platforms are coming

The Windows and Linux versions are complete and available now. I also have Android, and macOS builds, and those versions are planned for release once I finish the remaining hardware testing and have the game available through additional marketplaces.

I’ve already begun the process of expanding distribution beyond the Microsoft Store.

Available now!

Fish ’N Frog is currently available for Windows through the Microsoft Store for CAD $4.99.

50 levels. No ads. No in-app purchases. No battle pass. No microtransactions.

Just the game.

Get Fish ’N Frog for Windows on the Microsoft Store:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N2LH9XZXSP7

If you enjoy old-school arcade games, block-pushing puzzlers, chasing high scores, or games that start friendly and gradually decide they hate you, have a look at the footage and let me know what you think.

Thanks for checking out Fish ’N Frog.

Peter Didow
Boss Toad Games