In the odd stages (1, 3, 5, ...) the wolves start at the top of the screen, and attempt to reach the ground.
You must attempt to pop their balloons before their feet touch the ground. If the wolves reach the ground, the first four wolves will occupy the spaces behind the elevator.
Those wolves will occasionally lean forward and attempt to bite and kill Mama Pig if she happens to be near them.
As the wolves drop, they carry shields with them. They will raise their shields a number of times to prevent Mama's arrows from popping their ballons.
As the levels increase, the frequency with which the wolves raise their shields also increases, requiring more arrows to successfully pop a wolf's balloon.
Meat is usually available at the top of the elevator rope, which can be lobbed at wolves to defeat multiple wolves in succession.
For every wolf that lands on the ground, a extra Pooyan beyond the first two is stolen. While that makes the first stage more difficult, it makes the bonus in the second stage higher.
Starting from stage 3, a boss wolf will walk along the tree top dropping fruit to the ground. While shooting the fruit is worth a 200 point bonus, they can interfere with your shots at the more important balloons.
In the even stages (2, 4, 6, ...) the wolves start at the bottom of the screen, and attempt to reach the cliff ledge above.
You must attempt to pop their balloons before they make it all the way to the top. If a wolf reaches the top cliff ledge, he joins the effort to push the boulder on to Mama Pig.
Once seven wolves reach the top, they will have enough wolves to push the boulder down on Mama Pig, causing her to lose one life. When you return on your next life, four wolves will already be pushing the boulder.
Some of the balloons that the wolves use to rise need to be popped twice or even three times in order to fully destroy them.
As the levels increase, the frequency of the use of these multi-balloons increases, requiring more arrows to successfully pop a wolf's balloon.
Just as in the first stage, meat is usually available at the top of the elevator rope, which can be lobbed at wolves to defeat multiple wolves in succession.
One of the last wolves to appear will be the Boss Wolf. The Boss Wolf will rise off the ground using a flashing red balloon. He is the only wolf that will use a shield on this stage, and he will block five arrows before letting an arrow get by.
When the Boss Wolf is about to appear, the meat will no longer appear once it's used. Try to save the meat for the Boss Wolf since it can not be blocked and will automatically defeat him if it hits.
Regardless of how many remaining wolves are indicated in the upper left corner of the screen, defeating the Boss Wolf will automatically end the stage. You will receive a point bonus for every Pooyan that is rescued.