Tricky Cups

How to Play Tricky Cups

🎮 Controls

On desktop, click the cup you think hides the ball. On touch screens, simply tap a cup. Use the ⛶ Full Screen button for a bigger table and the ⚡ Speed button to control how fast the cups shuffle.

🔴 The Goal

This is the classic shell game (also called the cup and ball game, thimblerig, or "find the ball"). One cup hides a small red ball. The cups then shuffle and swap places — your job is to keep your eyes locked on the right cup and track the ball.

🔀 How a Round Works

• At the start, one cup lifts to reveal the ball — note exactly where it is.
• The cups shuffle, swapping positions back and forth.
• When the shuffling stops, tap the cup you believe hides the ball.
• Guess right to clear the level and keep your streak alive.
• Guess wrong and your streak resets — but you can try the level again.

🎯 Scoring & Streaks

• Each correct guess earns points — more cups and more swaps pay out more.
• Build a streak of correct guesses for an escalating points bonus.
• Playing on Fast speed boosts your points reward for every win.

♾️ Endless Levels

The challenge never ends! Every level adds more cups, more swaps and quicker shuffles, so this focus and observation game keeps getting trickier. Your progress and best streak are saved automatically on this device.

About Tricky Cups

Tricky Cups is a free, browser-based shell game and cup and ball puzzle for all ages. Follow the hidden ball as the cups shuffle and swap in this colourful concentration and observation game — perfect for kids, students and anyone who loves a quick test of focus and reflexes.

✨ Features

• Endless, auto-generated rounds with gradually increasing difficulty.
• Smooth cup-swap animations, ball sparkles, particles and cheerful sounds.
• Adjustable shuffle speed, full-screen mode and automatic progress saving.
• Plays great on desktop, tablet and mobile — no downloads, no sign-up.

🧩 Great For

A fast brain training game, a focus-boosting concentration game, a classic shell game or thimblerig, or just a fun puzzle game to pass the time.