The rules
How to play Koketsu
Koketsu (虎穴, “the tiger’s den”) is tag for grown-ups, played for real in a park. Some of you are big-cat hunters, the rest are prey, and your phones keep score. It runs in the browser: no install, no account needed, free.
1. Set up the grounds
One player hosts. They open koketsu.xyz, start a hunt and draw the grounds on the map: the edges of the play area, plus a few things inside it.
- Camps: places where players trade points for hints and abilities, mid-game only.
- Caches: hidden spots. The first player to reach one gets a free ability.
- Start points for each side.
- No-go zones: fence off roads, gardens or water so nobody runs into them.
Everyone else joins with the hunt’s four-letter code. The host picks the length (10, 15 or 20 minutes), how often the prey are broadcast (every 30, 60 or 90 seconds) and when the camps open (after 2, 4 or 6 minutes). Each side needs at least one player.
2. Hunters and prey
If you’re a hunter
You can’t see the prey. Not until the broadcast: every 30 to 90 seconds, every prey’s location flashes on your map. Read where they were, guess where they’re going, and close in.
To catch someone, get within about 10 metres and hold Pounce for two seconds while you stay in range. A held pounce means a catch needs a real chase, not a lucky tap.
If you’re prey
Stay uncaught. Your location lands on every hunter’s map at each broadcast, so be somewhere else by then. Two short buzzes warn you a broadcast is about ten seconds away. Your phone also buzzes when a hunter is close.
Keep your phone in your pocket and play with your eyes up: it buzzes when something matters, including when you step outside the grounds.
3. Points
- Everyone starts with 30 points.
- Prey earn 2 points every 5 seconds they stay free. Hunters earn 1.
- A catch is worth 50 points to the hunter.
- Spend points at camps on hints and abilities. Every spend comes off your final score, so pick your moments.
- Camps close for the last 30 seconds of the hunt.
4. Hints and abilities
Trade at a camp (stand within about 12 metres of it) or grab a free ability from a cache.
Hunters
| Name | What it does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Bearing Hint | A line to the nearest prey for 10 seconds. | 25 |
| Head Count Hint | How many prey are within 60 metres of you. | 15 |
| Scent Ability | Broadcast every prey, right now. | 60 |
| Roar Ability | Every prey phone sounds for 3 seconds. | 40 |
| Ambush Ability | A 20-metre trap. Prey who cross it are broadcast. | 50 |
Prey
| Name | What it does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Ping Hint | See where every hunter is, once. | 30 |
| Range Hint | Distance to the nearest hunter for 30 seconds. | 15 |
| Still Water Ability | The next broadcast skips you. | 45 |
| False Trail Ability | Hunters chase a fake trail for 10 seconds. | 35 |
| Tall Grass Ability | Hunter maps go dark for 8 seconds. | 60 |
5. Play it safe
- Pick a park or open ground, and fence off roads and water as no-go zones.
- Look up, not at your phone. It buzzes when something matters.
- Phone GPS is often 5–10 metres off, so a pounce allows for it. Don’t dive.
- Agree the edges out loud before you start, and stop if anyone’s hurt.
Ready?
Get two or more friends to the same park, open Koketsu on every phone, and start a hunt.
Start a hunt →Questions? Read the FAQ.