Here is the deal: you are a spider putting a tangled web back in order. Cocoons sit on the knots of the web, joined by silk threads that cross over each other. Drag a cocoon, drop it near a knot, and it snaps to the nearest empty one. Once no two threads cross, the web is woven. Every move spends silk, though, and if the silk runs dry while the threads are still tangled, the web sags and you start again.
DAY ONE
Your first lair is the Garden Shed, with small webs and plenty of thread to spare. The early webs are named after things you would find out there among the pots and tools: Flowerpot, Old Boot, Watering Can, Bike Wheel. You soon learn to read the board. Threads glowing red are crossing another thread; pale ones are already clear. The web itself is a pattern of rings and spokes, so a cocoon never floats in empty space. It always settles on a knot, which keeps every move neat and deliberate. Undo refunds the move, reset starts the web afresh, and the hint picks out one cocoon along with the knot where it belongs.
Stars arrive in three separate ways: one for untangling the web at all, one for finishing within par, and one for leaving a cocoon resting on every fly. Flies buzz on certain knots, and covering them all is often the trickiest part of a clean weave. Each finished web fills a jar in the Larder, and three stars make that jar glow.
AFTER A WEEK
By now the Haunted Attic has opened. Weaving seven webs in the Garden Shed unlocks it, and the same rule later opens the Crypt. Attic webs are busier and the silk is tighter, across Rocking Chair, Gramophone, Birdcage and Music Box. You begin counting moves before you make them, because the silk meter beneath the web leaves less room for second thoughts.
This is also when the Cauldron starts to matter. Every web pays candy, and candy buys six silk colours (Moon Silk, Ghost Green, Pumpkin Spun, Witch Violet, Blood Moon and Grave Frost), five spiders including the Tarantula, the Jewel Spider and the pumpkin-orange Jack Spider, and three moons that recolour the night sky: Harvest, Blood and Ghost.
Midnight becomes a habit as well. A fresh web is spun every night, with names like Moonlit Gate, Scarecrow and Old Mill, with tonight's moon phase displayed alongside. It pays 45 candy and keeps a night streak running, so coming back on consecutive evenings earns the Creature of Habit seal.
MASTERY
The Crypt holds big webs with barely enough silk: Iron Gate, Stone Angel, Bone Arch, Organ Pipes and, at the very end, The Spider Queen. Here a three-star weave means untangling, staying within par and covering every fly in the same run, with nothing left over to rescue a careless drop.
The Grimoire records how far you have crawled: webs woven, stars earned, cocoons moved and your fastest time. It also holds twelve wax seals, from Quick Fangs for a web in under twenty seconds to Eight Eyes for ten unaided webs in a row and Crypt Queen for weaving every web in the Crypt. A Larder of thirty glowing jars is the quiet trophy waiting at the end.
By this stage many weavers tune the room to taste in Settings. You can hide the red glow on crossed threads and judge every tangle by eye alone, let haptics buzz as each cocoon snaps into its knot, or switch off the drifting fog and bats for a stiller night.
Everything works without a connection or a login. You will meet no adverts and find no in-app purchases; candy comes only from weaving. The game adapts to phones and tablets alike, so the web stays crisp and roomy on a bigger screen.
When the last thread lies flat and the candle burns low, the web is yours to admire.
Spin the web, catch the flies