Level Editor Guide

Updated March 2026

The PuttDaily Level Editor is a full-featured tool for designing custom mini-golf holes. You can place walls, hazards, enemies, bosses, and special elements to create anything from a quick casual hole to a multi-section obstacle course. Once your design is ready, test it in the game engine and publish it to the community gallery for other players to try.

Getting Started

Access the Level Editor from the main menu by tapping the "Level Editor" card. The editor opens in a new browser tab with a blank canvas and a toolbar along the top. The canvas represents the playing field where you will place all your elements. The right sidebar shows a list of everything you have placed so far, and clicking any item in the list selects it for editing or deletion.

A mobile-optimized version of the editor is also available for phones and tablets. The mobile editor has the same features as the desktop version but uses a touch-friendly interface with larger buttons and gesture-based controls. Both versions save to the same format, so you can start a design on your phone and finish it on your desktop, or vice versa.

Every hole needs at minimum two things: a ball start position and a hole position. Without these, the level cannot be played. The ball start is where the player begins each attempt, and the hole is the target. Everything else you add between them is what makes your level interesting.

The Toolbar

The toolbar across the top of the editor provides access to every element type you can place. On desktop, each tool has a keyboard shortcut for fast switching. Here is what each tool does:

Select (1) is the default tool. Click any placed element to select it, then drag to move it or use the handles to resize it. Selected elements show their properties in the panel below, where you can fine-tune position, size, and type-specific settings. Press Delete or Backspace to remove a selected element.

Wall (2) places rectangular wooden boundaries. Click and drag on the canvas to draw a wall. Walls are the primary structural element of any hole, defining corridors, barriers, and the overall shape of the playing field. The ball bounces off walls with reduced velocity, so wall placement determines the flow of every shot.

Obstacle (3) places rectangular obstacles that look different from walls but function similarly. Obstacles have a reddish appearance and can be used to create visual variety or mark specific barriers that players should pay attention to.

Sand (4) places circular sand traps. Click to set the center, then adjust the radius. Sand traps slow the ball significantly when it rolls through them without adding penalty strokes. Use sand traps to create risk-reward decisions: a path through sand is safe but slow, while the path around it is faster but may have other hazards.

Water (5) places rectangular water hazards. Water is the most punishing hazard in the game. When the ball enters water, the player receives a one-stroke penalty and respawns at the start or their last checkpoint. Place water strategically to punish risky shortcuts or to create tension around the main path.

Ball (6) sets the ball start position. There is exactly one ball start per hole. Click anywhere on the canvas to place it, and click again to move it. The start position should give the player a clear view of the first section of the hole and a reasonable first shot.

Hole (7) sets the target hole position. Like the ball start, there is exactly one hole per level. The hole is where the player needs to sink the ball to complete the level. Placement is critical, because the hole's position relative to hazards, enemies, and walls determines the difficulty of the final putt.

Enemy (8) places enemies and bosses. After clicking to place an enemy, use the properties panel to set its type (Wanderer, Grabber, Blocker, Guardian, Charger, or Tank), health points, speed, and whether it blocks the hole. Enemy placement is where your level's personality comes through. A well-placed Grabber on a narrow corridor creates a timing puzzle, while a Guardian orbiting the hole creates a combat challenge.

Corner (9) places triangular corner bumpers. Each corner has an orientation (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, or bottom-right) that determines which direction it deflects the ball. Corners enable bank-shot puzzles and can be arranged in groups to create pinball-like sections.

Booster (0) places directional speed pads. Each booster has a direction (up, down, left, or right) and continuously accelerates the ball in that direction while the ball is touching the pad. Boosters are great for creating fast sections, chain combos, and creative shortcuts.

Barrel (B) places explosive barrels. When the ball touches a barrel, it explodes, destroying the barrel and launching the ball in a random direction with high force. Barrels add an element of chaos and can be used to create risk-reward scenarios where hitting the barrel might save strokes or might cost them.

Checkpoint (C) places checkpoint trigger zones. When the ball crosses a checkpoint, it activates and becomes the new respawn point for water deaths and out-of-bounds resets. Place checkpoints at transition points between sections of your hole, especially before areas with heavy water coverage.

Designing Good Levels

The best community levels share a few common traits. They have a clear path from start to hole, even if that path is not obvious at first glance. They use hazards to create decisions rather than just punishment. And they are fair, meaning that every death or penalty feels like the player's mistake rather than random bad luck.

Start by sketching the basic shape of your hole with walls. Think about whether you want a straight corridor, an L-shaped dogleg, a multi-room layout, or an open field. The shape of your walls determines everything else, so get this right first. Once the structure feels good, place the ball start and hole at opposite ends of the path you have created.

Add hazards next. Place water along tempting shortcut routes to create risk-reward decisions. Add sand traps near the hole to test players' approach shots. Place boosters to create fast sections that reward good alignment. Use barrels sparingly, because their randomness can frustrate players if overused.

Add enemies last. Enemies should complement the course layout, not overwhelm it. A single well-placed Wanderer on a narrow bridge over water is more interesting than five Wanderers scattered randomly across an open field. Think about what kind of challenge each enemy creates in its specific location, and whether that challenge is fun to solve.

Enemy Placement Tips

Wanderers work best in open areas where their looping movement creates windows the player must time. Placing a Wanderer in a tight corridor can feel unfair because there is nowhere to go when the hyena sweeps through.

Grabbers are most interesting when their patrol path crosses a critical shot line. The player has to time their shot to pass through the patrol zone when the Hawk is at the other end. Place Grabbers along corridors, over bridges, or across approaches to the hole.

Blockers should be placed near the hole, because their blocking behavior only matters when the player is trying to putt. A Blocker far from the hole has minimal impact and feels like a wasted placement.

Guardians need space to orbit. Make sure the area around the hole is open enough for the deer to circle without clipping through walls. The orbit radius is fixed, so if walls are too close to the hole, the Guardian's movement looks unnatural.

Chargers need a clear lane to charge through. They are most effective in open areas where the player can see the wolf coming and has room to dodge. In tight corridors, Chargers can feel unavoidable and frustrating.

Tanks are similar to Guardians but slower and wider. Give them plenty of room to orbit and avoid placing other bosses nearby, because the heavy knockback from a Tank can send the ball into the other boss unpredictably.

For more details on how each enemy behaves during gameplay, see our Enemies & Bosses Guide.

Testing Your Level

The editor includes a "Test in Game" button that loads your current design directly into the PuttDaily game engine. This is essential for checking that your level plays well, because what looks good in the editor does not always translate to fun gameplay. Test your level multiple times, trying different approaches each time, to make sure there are no impossible shots, unfair enemy placements, or unreachable areas.

Pay attention to par when testing. If you, as the designer who knows the optimal route, consistently take more than five or six strokes on a single hole, the level might be too hard for most players. On the other hand, if you can consistently score a two on every attempt, the level might need more challenge. Aim for a par that feels achievable with good play but not trivially easy.

Publishing to the Community

When you are happy with your level, use the Publish button to upload it to the community gallery. You will be asked to provide a display name (your creator name), and the editor automatically records the par you set and a difficulty rating. Published levels appear in the community gallery where other players can discover, play, and rate them.

Published levels are subject to a profanity filter that checks your creator name for inappropriate language. If the filter rejects your name, choose something different. Level data is stored on our servers and is visible to all players, so do not include anything offensive in your design or naming.

You can continue editing and republishing your level after the initial upload. Each publish creates a new version, so your improvements are reflected in the gallery. Players who enjoyed your first version may return to try the updated design.

Import and Export

The editor supports importing and exporting level data in JSON format. This lets you share levels directly with friends by copying and pasting the data, back up your designs locally, or transfer levels between devices. The export function generates a compact text representation of your entire level, including all element positions, types, sizes, and properties.

To import a level, paste the exported data into the import dialog and click Load. The editor will reconstruct the entire level from the data, allowing you to view, modify, and test it as if you had built it yourself. This is also a great way to learn level design, because you can import interesting community levels and study how they were constructed.