ArcadeWhale 
Thunk
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Thunk tips & strategy
Tap when the gap is at the bottom, not before
The knife sticks exactly where the bottom of the wheel is at the moment you tap. The short flight you see is only for show, so there is nothing to lead and no reason to tap early on a fast wheel. Watch the strip of wood just above the waiting knife and tap when a clear gap sits there. Tapping a beat early is the most common way to clip the blade just in front of a gap.
Fire fast on steady wheels, tap once on slow ones
A new knife is ready about a fifth of a second after the last one, and a tap made while you wait is remembered and fires the instant it can. On a wheel turning at its normal pace that leaves room after your last knife, so a quick steady stream is safe. On a stop-and-go wheel it is a trap: the wheel freezes for 0.7 seconds, your knife now fills the bottom, and a second tap lands right on it. One knife per freeze.
Throw on the slow beat of a moving wheel
Moving wheels repeat a rhythm, and each one has a calm stretch worth waiting for. A surging wheel dips to about a fifth of its top speed every two to three seconds. A whip wheel idles at a little over half speed and lashes round in a burst of about half a second, roughly every three seconds. A reversing wheel slows right down each time it changes direction. Learn the beat during the first lap, then throw in the calm part.
Pop balloons first, while the rim is still open
A balloon pays 3 coins, and in the early acts a cleared normal wheel pays only 4 to 6, so one balloon nearly doubles the take. Balloons are always tied a few knife widths clear of the old blades, and the pop zone is a little wider than a knife, which makes a balloon the safest target on a fresh wheel. Take it with your first throws, before your own knives crowd the space around it. The Cream Pie boss comes with two or three.
Treat a boss as a long, roomy wheel
A boss asks for three more knives than the first wheel of its act, but it is always drawn at full size while normal wheels shrink as you go. On a bigger wheel each knife covers less of the rim, so there is more open wood to work with. A boss also spins plainly until you have met its kind of wheel earlier in the campaign. Keep an even spacing, and if a knife bounces near the end, the continue hands that knife back.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play Thunk?
Tap anywhere, click, or press Space to throw a knife into the spinning wheel. Get all the knives of the level into the wood and the wheel breaks. On a desktop Enter and the up arrow also throw, and P pauses.
What makes me lose?
Only one thing: hitting a knife that is already stuck in the wheel. That includes the old blades that some wheels start with. Wait for an open gap in the wood to come round to the bottom, then throw.
Does it get harder?
Yes, and quickly. The first wheel asks for seven knives and by the second act a normal wheel wants twelve or thirteen. The wheels shrink and change their face as you go, so the same knife leaves narrower gaps, old blades in the wood come in more and tighter shapes, and the wheels turn faster and in trickier ways.
What are the balloons for?
Balloons are tied to the rim of some wheels. Stick a knife where a balloon is and it pops for three coins. They never end the act, so they are a small bonus for good timing.
What are boss wheels?
Every fifth wheel is a boss with its own design, such as the Iron Gear or the Grinning Moon. It needs more knives and usually turns in a trickier way. Beating it finishes the act, pays a bigger coin reward and raises a new circus tent for the next act.
What do coins buy?
New knives in the shop, ten in all from the Classic to the Starblade. They are cosmetic only: every knife plays exactly the same.
What happens when I lose?
Retry starts the same wheel again, so you can learn how it turns. An optional short video lets you continue once per wheel from where the knife bounced off.
Do I need to download anything or pay?
No. Thunk runs directly in the browser on phones and desktops - no download, no plugin, no account. It is free; the optional short videos give one continue per wheel or double a boss reward, and nothing is ever bought with real money. Your progress stays on your own device.
Is Thunk like Knife Hit?
Yes. You tap to throw knives into a spinning wheel, and hitting a knife already stuck in the wood ends the act. It is our own game, not the official Knife Hit. Thunk is set under a circus big top, puts a boss wheel at every fifth level across thirty-four acts, and mixes in wheels that reverse, stop and go, or wobble with no pattern. Play it free on a phone or desktop without installing anything.
