Capybaropolis

About Capybaropolis

Capybaropolis is set in a small pixel-art television studio. Kapi-sensei, a capybara in a red jacket, reads a hint about today's animal while a projector shows a heavily pixelated photo of it. The game is made by Michael Boujikian, and the animals, names and family tree come from iNaturalist and Wikidata.

You have six guesses and five hints. Each miss gives a plainer hint and a sharper mosaic. Every guess is also placed on the tree of life where it meets the answer's family line, and the host reacts according to how close it is: same phylum, same class, same order, same family or same genus. You can guess whole groups too, such as bear, shark or beetle, to narrow things down.

There is one animal a day, the same for everyone, and each one is numbered. You can finish yesterday's animal if you missed it, play an endless mode, and keep a Zukan, a collection book of the animals you have met. The share result shows one square per guess in the order you made them.

It suits players who like Metazooa's tree-of-life feedback but want pictures and a bit of theatre with it.

How to play Capybaropolis

1. Press Play on the start screen to open today's numbered animal.
2. Read Kapi-sensei's hint and study the pixelated photo.
3. Type an animal or a group such as shark or beetle as your guess.
4. Check the reaction: it tells you whether your guess shares the answer's phylum, class, order, family or genus.
5. Use the easier hint and clearer picture after each miss to find the animal within six guesses, then share your squares.

Screenshots

Tips

• Open with a broad group like bird or insect to place the answer on the tree of life quickly.
• The colour of each reaction shows how deep the shared family goes, so step down one level at a time.
• Look at the mosaic's colours and shape early; the outline is often clear before the details.

Questions