Door 15 · Catcher
Prawn Rain: Day 15 of Sunburnt Santa
It's raining prawns at the beach, and you slide the esky (the cooler box) underneath to catch every one before it hits the sand. Dodge the thongs (flip-flops) falling off the clothesline, ignore the seagull feathers, and hold out for the king prawn.
How to play Prawn Rain
- Slide your finger to move the esky.
- Catch the prawns. Thongs dropping off the clothesline cost a life, and so does a prawn hitting the sand. Feathers do nothing.
- Catches in a row build a multiplier. The king prawn is worth 5x.
Scoring
| What | Points |
|---|---|
| Prawn | 50 |
| King prawn | 250 |
| Seagull feather | 0 (harmless) |
| Thong off the clothesline | costs a life |
| Prawn that hits the sand | costs a life |
Catches in a row build a multiplier: x2 from 5, x3 from 10, up to x5 from 20, so a king prawn at x5 is 1,250. Losing a life resets the streak. You have 3 lives, and the prawns fall 4% faster with every 10 you catch.
Stars: the three targets
Stars don't lock anything; they show how you're going, and doors with at least one star count towards the bonus games.
Tips for three stars
- The streak is everything: a plain prawn is 50 on its own but 250 at x5. Losing a life resets it, so a dropped prawn costs you far more than one prawn. Never chase a far-off prawn if it means a thong lands in the esky.
- Thongs drop off the clothesline, much lower down than the prawns start, so you get less warning. Keep half an eye on the line and drift away from any thong as it lets go rather than waiting until it is close.
- Feathers do nothing at all: catching one doesn't cost a life or break the streak. Don't waste a move dodging them. From 30 catches two prawns can fall at once, so park between them and slide to the lower one first.
The real story: Christmas is prawn season in Australia
In Australia, Christmas lunch often means a cold plate of prawns rather than a hot roast. The Marine Stewardship Council says 40% of all the prawns Australians eat in a year are eaten over Christmas, and in its 2020 survey seven in ten Australians called prawns a vital part of their Christmas [1]. The same survey found only about half planned to buy sustainably sourced prawns, so the council asks shoppers to look for its blue fish tick [1].
The best-known sign of it is the Sydney Fish Market's Christmas seafood marathon. In 2023 the doors were due to open at 5am on 23 December and stay open for 36 hours, until 5pm on Christmas Eve, with more than 100,000 customers expected and about 120 tonnes of prawns on the list of what would be sold [2].
Prawn Rain is that day at the beach turned up to eleven: the prawns are falling out of the sky, your esky is open, and the only thing in the way is somebody's thongs blowing off the line. See how the rest of the day goes in Christmas in Australia.
Read more: Christmas in Australia: the complete guide.
When it opens
Door 15 opens on day 15 of your own calendar (your Day 1 is the day you first play), and for everyone by 15 December. Play the door before it to open it. Once it's open you can replay it as often as you like, and after Christmas Eve all 24 doors stay open. How the calendar works.
Play now
Same kind of game: Mango Madness, Backyard Cricket, Present Drop.
Sources for the real story
- Don't make a shellfish choice this Christmas, Marine Stewardship Council
- 36 hour seafood marathon returns to Sydney Fish Market, City Hub Sydney