Shooting a better score in Bullseye Archery, Games by Zaweba

You get six ends of three arrows, shot at three distances, in Bullseye Archery. It is a calm, careful game on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba, where a steady hand and a little patience score far more than speed.

Drawing and shooting

Point at the target with the mouse, then press and hold to draw the bow. Let go to shoot. That is all the control there is, but the bow does not sit still. It sways as you breathe, so the sight drifts gently round your aim point.

Hold Space to hold your breath. The sway settles and your aim becomes steadier, which is when you want to release. Do not overdo it, though. Hold the bow drawn too long and your arm tires, and your aim gets worse rather than better. The skill is to draw, settle, hold your breath for the steadiest moment and release before fatigue sets in.

Distance, drop and wind

You shoot at 18, 30 and 50 metres. At the short distance, the arrow flies almost straight, and you can aim right at the gold. At longer distances the arrow drops on its way to the target, so you need to aim a little higher to compensate.

There is wind as well. A flag shows which way and how strongly the breeze is blowing, and the arrow drifts with it. Aim off into the wind so the breeze carries it back to the middle. Like drop, drift grows with distance, so the same breeze matters far more at 50 metres than at 18.

How Bullseye Archery is scored

The target rings score from 10 in the gold down to 1 at the outside. Six ends of three arrows makes eighteen arrows, so 180 is a perfect score.

Use each arrow to learn about the next. If your first arrow at a new distance lands low and to the right, you know how far the drop and the breeze took it, and you can correct by that much for the second. Archers on a real range do the same, adjusting their aim by where the last arrow went rather than starting fresh each time.

Habits that raise your score

Settle into a routine. Point, draw, wait for the sway to slow, hold your breath, release. Doing the same thing every time makes your results more consistent, which makes your corrections more reliable.

Check the flag before every arrow. A breeze that changes between shots will undo a good correction.

And do not rush the long distance. At 50 metres a small wobble at release becomes a big miss at the target, so the steady moment matters most there.

Pairing Bullseye Archery with other games

Bullseye Archery sits on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba alongside Pub Darts, which uses a similar hold-your-breath idea, and Hill Cannons and Long Drive, where wind also carries your shot. At the end of each round you see your score and your best, so you can measure every improvement. Press Esc to pause and F1 for the rules.