Gold Miner is a claw on a cable and not enough time. The claw swings by itself, so the only decision you ever make is when to drop it — and that decision is worth knowing the numbers for. Here is the whole price board, how the quota really works, and what to buy first.
Objective
The claw swings back and forth on its own. Press Down and it drops, grabs the first thing it touches, and reels it in. Heavy things come up slowly. Meet each level's cash quota before the shift ends.
The quota settles against your bank
This is the rule that changes how you play. The quota is charged when the shift ends, and it is settled against your bank — not against that level's takings alone.
- Bring up more than the quota and you keep the difference.
- Bring up less and your savings cover the rest.
- You only fail when the bank cannot cover the quota at all.
So with $10,000 banked, a $2,000 quota and only $1,000 mined, you carry on with $9,000. A good level buys you a bad one. It also makes every shop purchase a real decision, because the money you spend is the money that would have covered your next mistake.
The price board
| Find | Pays | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond | $600 | light |
| Mole with a diamond | $625 | light, and moving |
| Gold Boulder | $500 | very heavy |
| Big Gold | $200 | heavy |
| Gold | $100 | medium |
| Nugget | $50 | light |
| Mole | $25 | light, and moving |
| Rock | $20 | very heavy |
| Skull | $15 | light |
| Big Rock | $12 | dead weight |
| Bone | $6 | light |
| Grab Bag | cash, dynamite or winch speed | medium |
The diamond pays the most for its weight; the big rock is the worst deal in the mine. Pull speed is roughly 1500 × strength ÷ (weight + 6), so a big rock comes up about four times slower than a diamond and can eat ten seconds of your shift for $12. That mistake is what the game is built around.
TNT
TNT never comes up the cable. Touching it sets it off where it lies, clearing everything within reach and sending the claw home empty. Any other stick caught in that blast goes off too, and so does anything caught in that one — a badly chosen grab can roll across half the mine and take your gold with it.
Both the reach and the count grow with depth: the blast starts at 78 units and widens to 124 by level 10, and where level 3 has one stick, level 11 has five.
It is never in the way, though. The claw travels in a straight line and grabs the first thing it touches, so a stick lying on the line to a nugget wouldn't make that nugget risky — it would make it unreachable. Sticks are laid last, into the gaps between the lines to everything worth having. A clean shot at a find stays a clean shot. Junk gets no such protection.
The winch
Winch speed multiplies how fast everything comes up, and it is shown in the top bar. It starts at ×1.00 and rises two ways: a Strength Tonic from the shop (+0.30, three at most), or a lucky Grab Bag (+0.40 — worth more, because you cannot shop for one). It caps at ×2.50, which roughly halves the time on a big rock.
A grab bag is an even three-way toss between cash, a stick of dynamite and winch speed. If it rolls speed when you are already flat out, it pays cash instead, so a bag is never a dud.
The shop
| Item | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamite | $180 | One stick |
| Strength Tonic | $520 | Winch +0.30, permanent. Three maximum |
| Pocket Watch | $280 | Ten more seconds, next level only. Stacks |
| Diamond Polish | $400 | Diamonds pay double for the rest of the run |
Only the watch is a one-level purchase — it is spent the moment the next shift starts. The tonic and the polish are permanent, so they are worth buying early. Your bank is also your score.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Drop the claw | ↓ Space | Tap the mine, or DROP |
| Dynamite | ↑ Shift | DYNAMITE |
| Pause | Esc P | the pause button |
| Restart run | R | — |
Dynamite blows up whatever you have already hooked, so a rock you regret costs you a stick instead of half your clock.
Strategy
- Take every diamond you can line up. $600 at almost no weight is the best rate in the mine, and Diamond Polish doubles it for the rest of the run.
- Buy the Strength Tonic early. It is permanent, and it takes seconds off every heavy haul from then on.
- Never grab a stick of TNT sitting near your gold. The chain is what ruins levels.
- From level six, watch for a mole carrying a diamond — $625, and the only find that has to be led rather than aimed at. The diamond rides visibly on its back.
- Leave big rocks alone unless the quota is already safe. Ten seconds for $12 is the losing trade.
- Level 8 is the first diamond vein — nothing but diamonds and a great deal of TNT. Weight stops mattering entirely; the whole level is picking a line between the sticks.
Questions
What happens if I miss the quota?
Your bank covers the shortfall and you continue. You only fail when the bank cannot cover it at all, so a bad level costs progress rather than the run.
Can I avoid the TNT?
Yes — sticks are never laid across the line to anything valuable. If a find looks reachable, it is.
What should I buy first?
Strength Tonic. It is permanent and it compounds over every haul that follows.
Does the mine end at level ten?
No. Ten levels are hand-tuned, then it keeps going: the quota creeps up, the clock tightens, the swing quickens and more junk gets buried alongside the gold.
Other guides
- Fruit Cascade — cascade multipliers and special fruit
- Merge Numbers — the merge-once rule and corner strategy
- Pixel Invaders — auto-fire, tiny hitboxes and flagships
- All guides