How to play Last Pebble

The goal and the first move

Take one, two or three pebbles. Whoever takes the last one wins. Open the first challenge if this is your first round. Before pressing Start, read the goal in the side panel and locate the controls. There is no entry fee, score purchase or account requirement. You can restart a round whenever you need another attempt.

Choose how many pebbles to remove when it is your turn. On a narrow screen, the controls appear below the board. Keep the page still while interacting with the game, and finish any typing before using keyboard shortcuts. This avoids sending an intended game move to a text field.

A strategy to try

Count backwards from the last pebble and think about what total you want to leave.

With a maximum take of three, a multiple of four is a useful total to leave to your opponent.

Try one change at a time. For example, play a round while prioritising the tip above, then compare how the board develops with your previous attempt. A single useful observation is more valuable than a rushed restart. The result belongs to this challenge; it is not a comparison with other players.

Choose your challenge

The ten entries below share the same basic rules. Their settings determine the goal, the available time, the board or the computer behaviour. Easy, Medium and Hard are labels within this game family; they are not standardised ratings across every game on the site.

1. Last Acorn — starting pebbles: 11, computer foresight: 10%
2. Last Pearl — starting pebbles: 13, computer foresight: 20%
3. Last Cookie — starting pebbles: 15, computer foresight: 30%
4. Last Crystal — starting pebbles: 17, computer foresight: 40%
5. Last Coin — starting pebbles: 19, computer foresight: 50%
6. Last Battery — starting pebbles: 21, computer foresight: 60%
7. Last Apple — starting pebbles: 23, computer foresight: 70%
8. Last Star — starting pebbles: 25, computer foresight: 80%
9. Last Parcel — starting pebbles: 27, computer foresight: 90%
10. Last Candy — starting pebbles: 29, computer foresight: 100%

When a round does not go to plan

Check the controls before changing your strategy. A blocked move can be part of the game rules, such as moving into a wall, choosing a filled cell or using a disabled letter. Read the status line above the board for the current prompt. It reports progress and explains the result when the round ends.

Use Restart to return to a fresh board. Where the game uses shuffled layouts, the next round can have a different arrangement while keeping the same challenge settings. A harder label means a changed set of parameters, not a guarantee that every random layout will take longer.

Short breaks and local records

Finish a round, put the game down and return when you want another short break. PLAYDAY saves favourites, recent game IDs and small result records in browser storage. It does not provide cloud saves or a public leaderboard. Clearing browser data, using a different browser or private browsing may remove or separate these records.

The games do not make claims about improving intelligence, treating a condition or measuring professional ability. Their purpose is ordinary recreation. You can read more about the stored information on the privacy page.