In this game, the player would move their cursor up and down to go fast and do tricks to get coins. In order to perform tricks, the player would press the Arrow or WASD keys, individually or simultaneously.
This game contained a Game Upgrades catalog, and the Flame Surfboard, Daisy Surfboard, and Silver Surfboard could be brought and used in here. If a Red Puffle was brought, it could surf alongside the player and earn extra coins.
Catchin' Waves featured four different game modes.
Surf Lesson: The player would learn how to surf. This serves the purpose of being a tutorial in case you don't know how to play, and it awards the Graduate Stamp upon completing all of the instructions and finishing the wave alive.
Freestyle: The player could surf freely and do whatever they want.
Competition: Follow the judges instructions to make them happy. You would get three tasks (do a certain trick, do lots of flips, have perfect balance, etc.) that would appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen. This lasted for three rounds, with different objectives each time.
Survival: The hardest mode. The player would have to survive a very long time on a dangerously fast wave. This mode featured exclusive obstacles, like icebergs and a shark. 500 coins were awarded to the player who could complete it.
Tricks and Moves[]
Tricks could be done with the keyboard; WASD or Arrow Keys. If one key was pressed, it would award the player 10 points. If two keys were pressed, it awarded 20 points. Different types of tricks, such as grinds, flips, spins, and shooting the tube could be performed with varying amounts of points.
Action
Alternative action
Action performed
↑
W
Wave
↓
S
Lie Down
←
A
Handstand
→
D
Dance
↓ and →
S and D
The Blender
→ and ↑
D and W
Surf Fever
↑ and ←
W and A
Ice Breaker
← and →
A and D
Coastal Kick
↓ and ↑
S and W
Lazy Wave
↓ and ←
S and A
Backstand
Holding the mouse button after jumping into the air
N/A
Grinds
Circle the mouse cursor clockwise while in mid-air
Forward Flips
Circle the mouse cursor anti-clockwise while in mid-air
Backward Flips
Perform any trick mid-air
Spins
Going close to the curl of the wave without falling in
