Cannon Cry Pirates game guide
Goal of the game
In Cannon Cry Pirates you play with your hand in front of the camera. Move your HAND left and right to sail your ship and dodge incoming cannonballs (watch for the red splash markers). Say FIRE (or any loud "arr! ") to shoot a cannonball straight ahead.
Say CHAIN for a wide chain-shot spread (5 s recharge) and REPAIR to patch your hull (+1 ❤️, 20 s recharge). Make a FIST to raise sails for a short speed burst. Sink the pirate captain every 4th wave for treasure!
Quick start
Cannon Cry Pirates in one line: Steer your ship with your hand and roar FIRE for cannon broadsides — sink the pirate fleet!
- Press Play on this page — Cannon Cry Pirates loads in a few seconds right in the browser.
- Tap Allow when the browser asks for the camera, then read the short tutorial card.
- Play your first run of Cannon Cry Pirates slowly to learn how it reacts to your hand in front of the camera.
- After a game over, press Play again to try to beat your best.
Controls explained
- Quick reminder shown in Cannon Cry Pirates: Hand = sail · say FIRE · CHAIN · REPAIR · fist = speed.
- Hold one hand about an arm's length from the camera so Cannon Cry Pirates can see your whole palm and fingers.
- Move slowly at first: Cannon Cry Pirates follows your fingertip in real time, and smooth movements are tracked more accurately than jerky ones.
- If Cannon Cry Pirates feels too hard at first, play a practice round to learn the timing before chasing a high score.
Scoring and levels
Points in Cannon Cry Pirates come from the code-defined rewards of 5 and 100 points for different actions, so the bigger moves are worth chasing. Every 450 points you reach a new level, and Cannon Cry Pirates speeds up and sends more at you each time. You start with 3 lives. Your best score is saved in your browser, and signed-in players also appear on the Cannon Cry Pirates leaderboard. Watch out for boss waves, which take several hits but pay out big points.
Power-ups
Power-up orbs appear every few seconds in Cannon Cry Pirates. Touch or collect them to activate:
- 🛡️ Shield (10 s): blocks the next hit so a mistake does not cost a life.
- 🧲 Magnet (9 s): pulls nearby coins and pickups toward you.
- ⏳ Slow-Mo (6 s): slows the whole game down so you can line up precise moves.
- 2️⃣ Double Points (10 s): doubles every point you earn while it lasts.
- ❤️ Extra Life: adds one life (up to six).
- ✨ Triple (8 s): multiplies your attack or catch three ways.
Characters and world
The 3D world of Cannon Cry Pirates features ships, ship pirates, ship pirate mediums, ship ghosts, boat rows and cannon balls. Learning how each one moves is the key to reading the screen quickly.
Tips and strategy
- Stay near the centre in Cannon Cry Pirates; it gives you the most room to dodge in either direction.
- Don't chase every pickup in Cannon Cry Pirates — grab only the ones on your safe path.
- Aim at the nearest threat first in Cannon Cry Pirates; letting one slip through costs more than a missed shot.
- Save your focus for the moment a Freeze or Slow-Mo starts — that is when Cannon Cry Pirates gives you free points.
- With a Shield active, play aggressively in Cannon Cry Pirates; the next mistake is free.
- Good, even lighting from the front makes tracking in Cannon Cry Pirates far more reliable than a bright window behind you.
- Replay Cannon Cry Pirates a few times: each run teaches you the patterns, and scores usually double after the first five games.
Device requirements and privacy
Cannon Cry Pirates needs a device with a front or web camera (any recent Android phone, iPhone, laptop or Chromebook) and works best in Chrome, Edge or Safari. Allow camera access when asked; hand tracking runs entirely on your device with Google MediaPipe, and no video ever leaves it. It is free to play; free players may see a short ad between rounds (never during play), and Premium removes all ads.
