Koketsu FAQ

Koketsu is a small studio with two free games in your browser. Uzushio is a chain puzzle you play on your own, anywhere. Koji is a real-world chase: some players are big-cat hunters, the rest are prey, and you play for real across a park. The name is Japanese for “the tiger’s den” (虎穴).

Yes. Both games are free, with no ads. In Uzushio you earn coins by playing and spend them on boosts and cats; there is nothing to buy with money.

No. Open uzushio.koketsu.xyz or koji.koketsu.xyz in your phone’s browser and play. You can add either to your home screen so it opens like an app. Android apps are on the way.

No. Uzushio needs nothing at all, and Koji asks only for a nickname, an animal and your birthday the first time you hunt. Signing in with your email (a one-time link, no password) saves your Uzushio stars, coins and cats and your Koji grounds to every phone you use.

Ask for them once when you sign in. After that the only choice is to turn them off: in Settings when you’re signed in, or with the one-click unsubscribe link in any of our emails.

A chain puzzle. Animal heads tumble in a round pond: press one and its whole group of touching heads lights up, let go to clear it. Bigger chains score far more and drop bombs, and Fever stops the clock when you clear fast. See How to play.

Everyone, at any age. It needs no sign-up, no birthday and no profile.

Yes. Once Uzushio has loaded on your phone, it plays without a connection, music included. Your progress saves on your phone and syncs to your account the next time you’re online and signed in.

Not if you sign in with your email. Your stars, coins and cats then follow you to any phone; if two phones both have progress, you keep the best of each.

Twelve characters: eleven wild cats, from the Bengal tiger to the Pallas’s cat, and a forest ranger with binoculars. Each has its own special and passive. The tiger is yours from the start; the rest you buy with coins you win, or earn at a level, in a chapter’s chest or with a daily streak.

The heads are drawn to differ in shape as well as colour. If two still look alike to you, turn on head marks in Uzushio’s settings: every head gets a symbol, in the pond and in the goals.

Two or more, with at least one hunter and one prey. It gets better with more: two hunters against four prey is a good start.

Players 13 and older, because hunts share your position with the other players while you play outdoors. Younger players can enjoy Uzushio.

The host picks 10, 15 or 20 minutes. You can play another round straight away from the results screen.

Any open space you can run around in safely: a park, a campus, a playground. The host draws the edges on the map and fences off roads, gardens or water as no-go zones.

As a hunter, get within about 10 metres of a prey and hold the Pounce button for two seconds while you stay in range. Phone GPS is often 5–10 metres off, so the game allows for it.

No. Hunters only see the prey when the broadcast lands, every 30 to 90 seconds depending on the hunt’s settings, or when they spend points on a hint. Prey get two short buzzes about ten seconds before each broadcast.

Your position is only shared with the players in your hunt while it is running, and only as the rules allow (prey at broadcasts, for example). The game doesn’t store where you went: a hunt’s history keeps the scores, catches and distance walked, not your positions.

Yes. Tap Leave at any point. Your team plays on without you and you go back to Home.

It is the same instinct, a chase across real ground, with phones adding hidden positions, broadcasts, points and tricks like False Trail and Tall Grass. Think tag with a map, a timer and a little strategy.