Dig Tunnel is a free online arcade digging game for one player: tunnel down through the earth and clear out what is living in it. There are no walls you cannot pass, only ground you have not removed yet, so the maze is the thing you are making — and every tunnel you dig is a tunnel the creatures can use too. There are two ways to kill something and they ask for opposite play. The pump takes four presses, during which you cannot move a step, and is worth two hundred. A rock is instant and worth five hundred, doubling for every extra creature the same rock catches, but a rock only falls when you have dug out the earth beneath it, and the creature has to be underneath when it does — which means arranging it. That gap is the whole game: the safe kill is slow and cheap, the fast kill is worth more and has to be set up. Creatures wander the tunnels and only make for you about one step in five, which is what leaves you the room to set a rock up at all. But a creature that has been stuck too long gives up on the tunnels and comes straight through the earth at you, so sealing yourself into a pocket and waiting is not a plan. Each depth also has air, and running out of it costs a life. Four depths, three lives, and a fixed-step simulation underneath it all, so the same seed buries the same creatures under the same rocks.
How to play Dig Tunnel
- Press Play. You start at the surface; hold a direction to dig into the earth below.
- There are no walls, only earth you have not removed. Every cell you dig scores a point and becomes a tunnel you and the creatures can both use.
- Hold space or the Pump button to fire the pump along the way you are facing. It only travels through ground that has already been dug.
- Four pumps bursts a creature for two hundred points. You cannot move while pumping, so it is the slow, safe kill.
- A creature you stop pumping deflates again, so the four have to be consecutive — the pump is a commitment, not a hold.
- Rocks fall when you dig out the earth under them, and a creature underneath is crushed for five hundred.
- Two creatures under the same rock is worth double, three is worth four times. Arranging that is the highest-scoring thing in the game.
- A rock that lands settles for good and becomes part of the scenery, so each one is worth exactly one drop.
- Creatures wander the tunnels and only head for you about one step in five, which is what gives you time to set a rock up.
- A creature stuck too long gives up and comes straight through the earth at you. It cannot be pumped while it is doing that, so move.
- Touching a creature costs a life, and so does running out of air. Clear every creature to reach the next depth — four in all.
Tips
- Dig with the rocks in mind. A tunnel that leaves a rock hanging over a corridor is a trap you can spring later; a tunnel that drops it immediately is one you have wasted.
- Herd, do not chase. Creatures wander, so digging a tunnel that leads where you want them and waiting is far more effective than following one around.
- Two under one rock is worth four pumps and takes far less time. If two are drifting toward the same corridor, that is the moment to dig the support out.
- Never pump at a creature with earth in between. The pump only travels through tunnel, so you will stand there doing nothing while it walks into you.
- Keep a line of retreat. The four presses of a pump are four presses you are not moving, so start one only when the way behind you is open.
- Watch for a creature turning pale — that is one about to come through the earth, and it cannot be pumped until it surfaces again.
- Do not over-dig. Every tunnel you make is a tunnel they can use, and a wide open chamber is much harder to survive than a corridor.
- The air is a real clock. Hunting the last creature across a fully dug stage is how a depth is lost, so kill the far ones early while the ground is still tight.
FAQ
Is Dig Tunnel free to play?
Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download, no install and no account.
What are the two ways to kill a creature?
The pump — four presses, two hundred points, and you cannot move while you do it — or a falling rock, which is instant and worth five hundred but has to be arranged. They ask for opposite play, which is the point.
Why is the rock worth so much more?
Because it has to be set up. A rock only falls once you have dug out the earth beneath it, and the creature has to be underneath at that moment. Two under the same rock is worth double and three is worth four times.
Why is my pump not doing anything?
It only travels through ground that has already been dug. If there is earth between you and the creature, the pump stops at the earth — you have to open the line first.
Why did the creature I was inflating shrink again?
Because you stopped. A creature deflates when the pump comes off it, so the four presses have to be consecutive. It is a commitment rather than a way to park something.
What is the pale creature coming through the earth?
One that has been stuck too long and given up on the tunnels. It moves straight through solid ground toward you and cannot be pumped until it surfaces, so hiding in a sealed pocket is not a strategy.
What is the air for?
It is the clock on each depth. Running out costs a life, so a stage cannot be stretched out indefinitely — without it a careful player could simply never be forced into anything.
Does Replay this dig deal the same ground?
Yes. The layout is drawn from the seed and the whole game is a fixed-step simulation, so the same creatures are buried under the same rocks every time.