Start with a tired little skiff and €2,500. Take every job the harbour has: water taxis, deliveries, rescues, tows and races. Earn enough for bigger boats, buy the businesses along the waterfront, and work your way up to a 70-metre superyacht. Big Wake is a boat driving game, a boat simulator and a tycoon game in one, set on Kalyra, a sunny island where everything happens by boat.
Jobs all over the island
- Water taxis and ferries: pick people up at the quays and get them there smoothly.
- Deliveries: bread for the village by seven, fragile cargo that mustn't slam into waves.
- Rescues: a mayday on the radio, a swimmer in the water, a broken-down boat to tow home.
- Races and records: race the locals for prize money, beat time trials and speed traps.
- Fishing, anchoring, docking: real seamanship, with a crew that helps in Easy mode.
Jobs are short and clear: the arrow shows the way, the big prompts say what to press, and a long drive can be skipped.
Eight boats, each with its own special move
From a 5.5-metre skiff to a superyacht, and you choose the engines: one outboard or four, 60 horsepower or thousands.
Lido 5.5 skiff
where everyone starts: a tired little open boat with a 60–150 hp outboard. She fishes (and one fish in a thousand is a golden tuna).
Petrel 9 RIB
a rigid inflatable with up to three outboards: rescues, dives and tows. Blue lights and a siren.
Halcyon 33 Express
a cabin cruiser for six guests and day charters, with a bow thruster for tight berths.
Livas 38 Offshore
an offshore racer with two to four outboards: race purses, VIPs, and nitro.
Wasp water scooter
small, fast and silly: jumps, spins and backflips off the swell.
Aurora 62 Flybridge
a motor yacht for ten guests: yacht charters, and a party mode with music and deck lights.
Meltemi 400
a jet hydroplane built for one thing, the speed record: past 500 knots with its biggest turbine.
Leviathan 70
a 70-metre superyacht with gas turbines, and a fireworks show off the stern.
Go fast. Really fast.
Open the throttle on a four-engine offshore racer, catch air on a water scooter, or take a jet hydroplane past 500 knots across open water. The sea is a real sea: waves, wind, wakes, storms and calm golden evenings, with day turning into night.
Build a business
Money buys more than boats. Take over the water-taxi kiosk, the taverna, the dive centre and the fuel dock, charter your boats out, use the bank and the classifieds for a bargain, and one day buy the marina itself and become harbourmaster.
Easy or Expert, career or free roam
Easy is for everyone: throttle and steering, and the crew does the rest. Expert is a proper boat simulator: start the engines yourself, work the ropes and fenders, use twin engines to turn on the spot. Free roam puts every boat and every job at your fingertips with nothing to pay.
Controls
Keyboard: W and S for the throttle, A and D to steer, Shift for your boat's special, U to tie up, Enter for whatever is on offer, J for the job board, M for the chart. Every key is listed in the game.
Tablet: a throttle lever under your left thumb, a steering knob under your right, and buttons for the rest. Drag to look around, pinch to zoom, twist to turn the view.
Questions
Is Big Wake free?
Yes. It is free to play, with nothing to buy and no adverts of its own.
Do I need to download anything?
No. Big Wake runs in your web browser: open the page and play. There is no account to make either.
What do I need to play?
A computer with a keyboard, or a tablet, and a recent browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) that can show 3D graphics (WebGL 2). The game picks its own graphics settings to suit your computer.
Does it work on an iPad or a tablet?
Yes: held sideways, tablets get touch controls, with a throttle lever under your left thumb, a steering knob under your right, and buttons for everything else. Phones are not supported yet.
Does it save my progress?
Yes, automatically, in your browser on this device. Nothing is saved until you press Play.
Is it suitable for children?
It is made for all ages: no violence, no chat, no strangers, no purchases. A health and safety page in the game covers flashing lights, taking breaks, and how real boats differ from the game.
Is it hard to drive the boats?
Not in Easy mode: the throttle and the wheel are all you need, the crew starts the engines, handles the ropes and ties up for you, and a short first job teaches the basics. Expert mode hands you the ignition, the starter, the fenders and twin engines.