Hose Hero

Hose Hero is a firefighting game from Ouaz Games. You get a water tank on your back, a hose in your hands and a forest that’s burning faster than you’d like. Every level is a small maze of grass blocks, wooden bridges and canals, with fires in the corners and a well somewhere in the middle. Put out every flame and Hose Hero sends you on to the next patch of forest.

The catch is the tank. It only holds so much water, so you walk to a fire, spray until it runs dry, then head back to the well to fill up while the flames keep spreading behind you. A real fire hose is hooked to a hydrant. Yours isn’t, and that’s the whole game: every trip to the well is time the fire gets to grow.

Spraying without aiming

You only steer the hero. As soon as you stand still, he points the hose at the nearest fire in range and sprays it on his own. So the skill is in where you stop. Get close enough first, stop, and let the water do the work. Don’t wait until the tank is completely empty to go back, because a fire you leave alone gets bigger.

What to buy with your coins

Coins come from the levels, and Hose Hero has three upgrades to spend them on. A bigger tank means fewer runs to the well. A stronger jet puts fires out faster. The third one keeps earning coins while you’re away from the game. Put your first coins into the tank. It makes every level after it easier.

Lava and the boss stages

Later levels bring lava and tougher fires, and some levels are boss stages that come at you in waves. Clear one wave, refill, and be back in position before the next one lands.

20 heroes in the skins shop

The first hero is free. The other 19 cost between 300 and 2,100 coins, and each one gets more expensive than the last. They only change how you look, so the upgrades are still the better buy early on.

Playing Hose Hero on a keyboard

Drag on the screen to move, with the mouse on a computer or one finger on a phone. On a keyboard, WASD or the arrow keys move you, Space or Enter starts the level, C opens the skins, 1, 2 and 3 buy the upgrades, M mutes the sound and Esc closes the shop.

More like this: the build-and-break loop of Prison Escape, the army running of Ant Kingdom Rush and the island building of Build My House, all made by Ouaz Games. Or browse all action games.