What happens when your last tennis ball misses and the enemy raft still has two fighters standing? In Raft Wars, that single missed shot is usually the difference between finishing a level clean and watching your own raft take three unanswered hits in a row.
| Genre | Turn-based artillery / physics shooter |
| Players | Single player |
| Playable Characters | Simon and his baby brother |
| Core Goal | Defeat every enemy raft and reclaim the stolen treasure |
Raft Wars follows Simon and his little brother as they chase down a treasure chest that’s been stolen from them, drifting from raft to raft and level to level while aiming projectiles at whoever’s floating in their way. The setup sounds like a simple lobbing game, and the first couple of levels really are that simple, but the difficulty curve in this game climbs faster than most players expect once new enemy types start showing up with their own attack patterns.
Each level is really a small puzzle disguised as a shooting gallery. You’re not just aiming at a target — you’re accounting for how far your raft has drifted, how much health each enemy has left, and whether it’s worth spending a stronger shot on a low-health target or saving it for whoever’s still at full health.
Aiming Tennis Balls, Grenades, and Everything After
The opening weapon in Raft Wars is the humble tennis ball, and it stays relevant longer than most players give it credit for. It’s cheap, it arcs predictably, and against early enemies it’s often the fastest way to clear a raft without wasting money on anything fancier. As you progress, grenades, rocks, and eventually more specialized shots become available, each with a different arc and blast radius that changes how you approach crowded enemy rafts.
Players who rush toward the flashiest weapon in the shop often regret it a few levels later.
Money earned from clearing levels is limited, and Raft Wars rewards people who spend it on raft upgrades just as much as weapon upgrades. A wider raft with a taller sub-base gives you a better angle to aim over your own crew, and it also keeps you from getting knocked into the water by a lucky enemy shot. Skipping raft upgrades to save for a big weapon usually backfires the moment a level throws several enemies at once.
- Players who favor precision tend to stick with tennis balls well past the point where they’re technically outdated
- Players who prefer clearing enemies fast lean on grenades for their splash damage against grouped targets
- Players who dislike replaying levels usually over-invest in raft defense early, trading offense for safety
Reading Enemy Patterns as Raft Wars Escalates
Once you reach level 5, three Japanese warriors take over the opposing raft, and their shurikens travel in a flatter, faster arc than anything you’ve faced up to that point, which catches a lot of players off guard the first time. By level 7, the game introduces a trio of savages wielding flaming arrows, and their attacks tend to keep burning or dealing extra damage if a shot lands close enough, forcing players to start prioritizing distance rather than just raw aim.
What makes Raft Wars genuinely clever is that it never explains these pattern shifts directly — you’re expected to notice that the Japanese warriors’ shurikens fly differently than a tennis ball, and adjust your own arc accordingly on the next shot. That trial-and-error rhythm is exactly what keeps players coming back to a level they lost, since a second attempt with the pattern already learned feels completely different from the first blind run.
Simon’s Parents and the Final Confrontation
The game’s twist arrives late: Simon’s own parents turn out to be the final obstacle, driven by a desire for the treasure that’s been fueling the entire chase. It’s a strange, comedic gut-punch that longtime players still bring up in discussions about the game, since nothing earlier in Raft Wars signals that the final boss will be a family member rather than a random pirate crew.
What weapon should I use against the Japanese warriors in Raft Wars?
Something with a flatter trajectory works best, since the shurikens they throw already travel fast and low. Matching that arc with your own tennis balls or an upgraded rapid shot cuts down the number of turns you spend adjusting aim.
Why does my raft keep losing health even when I dodge shots?
Raft health in this game isn’t purely about dodging individual projectiles — a raft with a low sub-base takes splash damage more easily, especially from grenades and flaming arrows. Upgrading the raft itself reduces this even when your aim hasn’t changed at all.
How do I beat Simon’s parents at the end of Raft Wars?
The final fight rewards patience over speed. Since both parents can absorb more hits than earlier enemies, saving your strongest upgraded weapon for this stage, rather than spending it earlier, usually makes the difference between a quick finish and running out of ammo mid-fight.
By the time the credits roll on Raft Wars, the treasure chest that started the whole chase feels almost secondary to the string of ridiculous opponents standing between Simon and the shore — the shurikens, the flaming arrows, and finally his own parents all add up to a game that gets far weirder and sharper than its opening tennis-ball duel ever suggests.
