Quackoria Play
Flyway
A duck migration game on real flyways: lead a flock of twelve along a North American route, feed at real wetlands to build fat, choose your path, and fly before the ice line reaches you.
Ducks do not wander south. They follow flyways — broad corridors that the US Fish and Wildlife Service divides into four administrative regions for North America: Atlantic, Mississippi, Central and Pacific. Along each one sit wetlands that matter far more than their size suggests. Ducks Unlimited reports that in wet years 70 percent or more of the continent’s duck production comes from the Prairie Pothole Region alone, and that the Mississippi Alluvial Valley is the most important wintering habitat on the continent for mallards.
Flyway turns that geography into a duck migration game — a route puzzle, turn by turn. You lead twelve ducks from one end of a flyway to the other, deciding at each wetland whether to stay and feed or fly on. Feeding builds fat, and fat is what a flight costs. But every day you spend eating, the ice line moves — and a wetland that freezes under you has nothing to eat and takes two ducks and 15% fat for every day you stay. Three of the four stages run south in autumn ahead of the ice. The Central Flyway stage runs north in spring behind the thaw, because that is how its staging grounds are actually used: Ducks Unlimited describes 5 to 15 million ducks and geese staging on the Rainwater Basin and Platte River each spring before moving on to breed.
The scoring rewards arriving with a full flock, arriving with fat to spare, and arriving early. Each of those pulls against the others, which is the whole game. Every fact card you see on the way is drawn from Ducks Unlimited, the US Fish and Wildlife Service or the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The map is schematic and the numbers are game design, not field measurements.
Sources: US Fish and Wildlife Service, administrative flyways; Ducks Unlimited, Prairie Pothole Region; Ducks Unlimited, Mississippi Alluvial Valley; Ducks Unlimited, Southern Great Plains; Ducks Unlimited, Central Valley; Ducks Unlimited, the magic of migration; Cornell Lab, American black duck.
How to Play
- Press Migrate. Your flock of twelve starts at the far end of the flyway with 70% fat.
- Tap a highlighted wetland to fly there, or pick one with the arrow keys and press Enter. Only connected wetlands further along the flyway are open.
- Every leg costs fat: 14% plus 8% for each row of the map you cross, and 6% more if you are leaving a frozen wetland. A storm on the crossing adds 12%.
- Press Feed a day (or F) to stay and eat. Each day at a wetland adds 12% fat per food dot, up to 100%, and the ice line moves.
- In autumn the ice moves south behind you; in spring the thaw opens the way north ahead of you. A day on a frozen wetland gives no food and costs two ducks and 15% fat.
- Reach one of the flyway's destinations — the wetlands in bold type, shown gold unless frozen — and the stage is scored. The next flyway loads; after all four, the ice moves faster.
Controls
Desktop
- Arrow keysPick the next wetland among the open ones
- Enter or SpaceFly to the selected wetland (or to the only open one)
- FFeed for one day at the current wetland
- RRestart from the Atlantic Flyway
- MToggle sound
Mobile
- Tap a highlighted wetlandFly there
- Tap Feed a dayStay and build fat
- Tap the map when pausedCarry on
Gameplay tips
- Three food dots means +36% fat a day; one dot means +12%. Plan your feeding stops around the rich wetlands, not the nearest ones.
- A two-row leg costs 30% before any storm, and 36% if you are taking off from ice. Leaving on 40% fat is a gamble; leaving on 60% is a plan.
- Arriving early is worth points: every day under 24 on the calendar adds 2. Do not linger once the flock is fat.
- On the Mississippi, the choice at the Cache River is between a short leg to the Alluvial Valley and a longer one to the Louisiana coast, which pays 40 extra on arrival.
- In spring the rule flips. The wetland you want may still be frozen, so feed while you wait and watch the thaw line.
- Between flyways the flock gains four ducks and 20% fat, up to the full twelve. A rough stage is not the end.
About the game
Flyway is a turn-based duck migration game built on the four administrative flyways of North America — Atlantic, Mississippi, Central and Pacific — and on wetlands that Ducks Unlimited and the US Fish and Wildlife Service describe as breeding, staging or wintering grounds: the Prairie Pothole Region, Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, the Rainwater Basin, the Central Valley and more. The map is schematic, not geographic. The species on each route are real too: the American black duck on the Atlantic, the mallard on the Mississippi, and the northern pintail on the Central and Pacific flyways. Every fact card is drawn from those two sources and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; the numbers in the game — fat, days, food — are game design, not measurements.
Frequently asked questions
Are these real places?
Yes. The named wetlands — Chesapeake Bay, the Prairie Pothole Region, the Rainwater Basin, the Central Valley and the rest — are places Ducks Unlimited or the US Fish and Wildlife Service describe as important for migrating ducks. A few stops, such as the Eastern Canada wetlands, the Alaska and boreal wetlands or the Southern Great Plains, stand for a whole region rather than one site. The positions are schematic so the routes read clearly on a phone.
Why do the ducks migrate at all?
Ducks Unlimited puts it plainly: migration lets waterfowl find food-rich habitat when the landscapes to the north are frozen and covered with snow. Day length prepares them; weather fronts set them off.
What does the fat number mean?
A stand-in for the body fat a duck burns in flight. Ducks Unlimited notes that a mallard in good condition, with fat near a quarter of its body mass, can go up to seven days without food. In the game, fat drops with each leg and with each day spent on ice, and rises with each day spent feeding.
Why does the spring stage fly north?
Because that is what the source describes: each spring, Ducks Unlimited says, 5 to 15 million ducks and geese stage on the Rainwater Basin and Platte River before moving north to breed. The thaw line takes the place of the ice line.
How is a stage scored?
Ten points per duck that arrives, plus your remaining fat percentage, plus 2 for every day under 24 on the calendar, plus a site bonus where one exists. The Louisiana coast pays 40 extra.
Can I lose ducks?
Yes. Landing on a frozen wetland, or staying while the ice reaches you, costs two ducks and 15% fat for that day. Running out of fat mid-flight costs one duck for every 10% you were short, rounded up.
Does it end?
After the fourth flyway the game loops back to the Atlantic with the ice moving faster each time. The run ends when the flock is gone.
Is my best score saved?
Yes, in your own browser.
