Bayou Phantoms swamp shooting game
Fog on black water, fireflies over the reeds and something pale moving where the light does not reach. Baron Croak, the frog who runs this hunt, lifts his lantern, and the phantoms of the bayou come into view.
Updated 13 October 2026
Shooting in the dark
Bayou Phantoms is a Nocturn Play shooter in the fish-game tradition, set in a Louisiana-style swamp at night. You tap the water to throw a shot, or hold to keep firing, and your bolts rebound off the edges of the scene until they connect. A hit may capture the creature, and a capture pays its multiplier times the bet: fireflies and lantern frogs for small change, skeleton gators and the Golden Toad King for much more, up to 2,000× the bet for one hit.
The lantern reveal
The twist here is light. Three creatures, the Ghost Catfish, the Phantom Heron and the Ghost Gar, are invisible outside the beam of Baron Croak's lantern and can only be hit while lit. In the light they pay double. That changes how you aim: you sweep the beam across the swamp, spot a phantom and fire before it slips back into the dark. Nets and mojo bombs also light up the area where they land, so they can reveal phantoms too.
Lantern, net and mojo
Each weapon has its own cost in bets. The lantern bolt costs ×1 and its beam does the revealing. The voodoo net costs ×4 and, thrown where you aim, catches up to six targets. The mojo bomb costs ×10 and blows up as many as ten targets where it lands. Bigger bets power up the lantern across three levels, and shots that hit nothing are refunded.
Firefly Jar and Voodoo Drum
Break the Firefly Jar and its fireflies fly off to up to seven targets for one combined prize. Strike the Voodoo Drum and its shockwave takes every creature nearby.
Bosses and the bounty wheel
Once a minute or so, a BOSS INCOMING warning brings out the Phantom Riverboat, the Bog Beast or the Swamp Witch Gator. The first two pay a random multiplier. The Witch summons fog that hides the targets; each fog lights another hex candle and raises her multiplier, and while the fog is down, hidden targets caught in your light pay double. Every boss you capture also spins the bounty wheel, which multiplies the boss's bounty by the segment it stops on. Bosses that cross the screen escape.
Auto and Lock work as you would expect. Bayou Phantoms plays in the browser on phones and computers, free on this page. For more shooters, see Nebula Hunters in deep space, or the ghostly ships of Ghost Fleet; the rest is on the games page.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I see some targets in Bayou Phantoms?
Phantoms are invisible outside the lantern beam. Light them up with the lantern, a net or a mojo bomb to hit them, and they pay double while lit.
What does the bounty wheel do?
Each captured boss spins it, and the boss's bounty is multiplied by the segment the wheel lands on.
How much can one hit pay?
Up to 2,000× the bet.
What is the cheapest weapon?
The lantern bolt, at one bet per shot. It is also the weapon that reveals phantoms with its beam.
