Grow a Mackerel: Idle Fish

One tiny medaka swims out through Busan's harbor and grows into the Livyatan of the ancient abyss. Grow a Mackerel is a cozy pixel idle game: tap, upgrade and evolve. ■ Tap, grow and evolve • Tap your fish to gather food, then grow its jaw, fins, tail, scales, gills and eyes. • Evolve through 15 stages: medaka → minnow → crucian carp → carp → catfish → salmon → mackerel → tuna → marlin → great white → dunkleosteus → megalodon → helicoprion → leedsichthys → livyatan. • Every stage grows from fry to adult to trophy. • Move from the stream to the river, the sea, the ancient deep and the ancient abyss. Every new habitat opens new body parts and new allies. ■ Keeps growing while you're away • Your fish hunts on its own even when the app is closed. Collect everything it gathered when you come back. • Build a school of allies — medaka, freshwater shrimp, marsh snails, mandarin fish, jellyfish, octopus, whale sharks and more — for steady income. ■ Bosses guard each habitat • Beat the grey heron, the brown bear, the orca, the Lord of the Ancient Sea and the Kraken of the abyss against the clock to reach the next habitat. • Each boss has its own trick: regeneration, diving, a hard shell, ink or a charge. • Six wandering bosses drop by now and then (giant water bug, snakehead, king crab, moray eel, vampire squid, anomalocaris). Beat each one for a pearl. ■ Treasures of Busan • Catch the shrimp crackers and Busan fish cakes that tourists toss into the water. • Open gull chests for treasures from Busan: a Gwangan Bridge bulb, a Yeongdo Bridge bolt, Gamcheon paint, a Jagalchi basket, a Haeundae hourglass, an Oryukdo stone and more. Every treasure is a permanent bonus. ■ Lay an egg to come back stronger • When evolving slows down, lay an egg to earn pearls. Pearl upgrades, treasures and badges carry over to the next generation. ■ Something new every day • 7-day check-in rewards, daily quests, badges and a fish book to complete. • Back up your progress with your Google account and pick up on any phone. Available in English, Korean and Japanese.

• New icon: a big-eyed mackerel • Smoother evolution, boss wins and buttons • Boss fights and the fish book run lighter • Fixed treasure pulls and reward edge cases • Late-game growth paced a little slower