Totally Not Ducks Guide – Stealth Tips, Copying Trends, Quacks and 3-Star Heists
Totally Not Ducks is a free 3D stealth comedy game for your browser and phone. You are three ducks standing on each other’s shoulders inside a trench coat, with a hat and a fake mustache. Your job: waddle into town, steal everything on the shopping list and escape back into the water. Nobody may find out that you are, in fact, ducks. This guide explains how people notice you and how to finish every heist with 3 stars.
The basics
- Waddle with W A S D or the arrow keys (drag anywhere on mobile).
- Snatch food with E or Space when you are close to it. Glowing beams and the arrows at the screen edge show where the loot is.
- Run by holding Shift (the RUN button on mobile). Running is fast, but it is the least human thing you can do.
- When the list is complete, waddle back to the water (the pond, the canal or the sea) to escape.
How suspicion works
Every person has a vision cone drawn on the ground. They only notice what happens inside it, and walls, hedges, stalls and buildings block their view. Walking calmly in front of people is fine. Doing weird things is not:
| What you do in someone’s cone | Suspicion |
|---|---|
| Walk normally | None |
| Run | Rises fast |
| Stand right next to them | Rises slowly |
| Snatch food in front of them | Big jump (“HEY!”) |
| Carry a huge watermelon or cake | Rises slowly |
| Ignore a crowd trend | Rises fast |
| Quack within earshot (no cone needed) | Big jump |
The icon above a head shows how they feel. A small ring is mild interest. ? means curious: they stop and stare at you. A bigger ? means they walk over to inspect you. If the ring fills up, they shout “DUCKS!!” and everyone nearby gets suspicious too. Suspicion slowly fades when you behave.
Walking calmly lets curious people lose interest. Waving at someone (key 1) when no trend is running makes them wave back and like you a bit more.
Copying the crowd
Every few seconds something happens in town and everyone nearby joins in. A ring on the ground shows who is affected.
| Trend | What everyone does | Your key |
|---|---|---|
| Street band | Clap along | 2 |
| A celebrity | Wave | 1 |
| Dance break | Dance | 3 |
| Group photo | Pose (“say cheese”) | 4 |
There is a short countdown, then you have to keep doing the same move. Do it right and you get NAILED IT! +5 crumbs, and the people watching trust you more. Skip it while someone can see you and their suspicion shoots up.
You don’t always have to copy. If you are outside the ring, or behind the crowd (everyone faces the show), nobody is watching you.
Some events are distractions: pigeons, a juggler or fireworks. Everyone stares at the show and barely sees anything else. That is the best moment to snatch food.
The quack meter
The QUACK meter in the bottom left keeps filling up, faster when people are suspicious and fastest during a chase. When it is full, the ducks let out a huge involuntary QUAAACK that everyone around hears.
Let it out yourself with Q at a safe moment:
- When nobody is within earshot.
- Inside a hiding spot: the quack comes out as a muffled “mmph” and the meter drains while you hide.
- During a loud band or dance trend: the music drowns it out.
Hiding and getting caught
Bushes, rose bushes, bins, phone booths, cardboard boxes, beach huts and portable toilets hide you completely. A green ring shows when you are close enough. Press E to dive in and E again (or move) to come out.
There is one catch: if a chaser sees you dive in, they will come and check that exact spot (“I saw that!”). Break line of sight first, then hide.
When someone raises the alarm, police, guards, vendors and other people may chase you. If a chaser catches you, one duck falls out of the coat and runs for the water. Your coat gets shorter and people get suspicious faster. Lose all three ducks and you are busted. Chasers give up after a few seconds without seeing you, search the last place they saw you, then go back to their day.
Who to watch out for
| Person | Sees | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Citizen | Medium | Chases for a short while |
| Kid | Far | Notices everything (1.7× suspicion) and runs fast |
| Granny | Short | Barely notices anything. Might faint instead of chasing |
| Vendor | Medium | Guards the stall but turns around to restock the shelves now and then |
| Police / lifeguard | Far | Chases for a long time, blows the whistle |
| Night guard | Very far, narrow | Long flashlight cone, the hardest to sneak past |
People on their phone barely see anything. Sunbathers lying on towels see very little.
The heists
| Map | Heists | Loot |
|---|---|---|
| Puddle Park | 1 to 3 | Bread, sandwiches, ice cream, pie, watermelon |
| Market Square | 4 to 6 | Baguettes, cheese, croissants, pretzels, pie |
| Sunny Boardwalk | 7 to 9 | Fries, hot dogs, donuts, ice cream, watermelon |
| Moonlight Gala (night) | 10 to 12 | Cupcakes, the Golden Egg and the Royal Cake |
Some loot is in someone’s hand, like a walker’s ice cream. Sneak up from behind and snatch it. They will look at their empty hand in confusion.
How to get 3 stars
Each heist has three stars:
- Escaped: get everything and reach the water.
- Never spotted: nobody shouts “DUCKS!” during the whole heist.
- Under par time: escape faster than the time shown on the mission card (from 2:00 in the first heist to 4:20 in the last).
Tips for clean runs: wait for distractions and vendors’ restocking breaks, quack in bushes before the meter gets high, and save running for when nobody is looking.
Crumbs and disguises
Golden crumbs lie around every map, and you also earn crumbs for loot, nailed trends and stars. Spend them on 11 hats, 7 face disguises and 8 coats, from a top hat and nose-glasses to a viking helmet and a gold tuxedo. There is also a Daily Bread gift that grows over a 7-day streak.