Rules

Each side places five different creatures from the same ten: two in the front row and three in the back row, in three columns that face each other across the channel.

There are no rarity levels, paid upgrades, item stats or duplicate creatures. Every creature, ability and rule is free to every player, and buying something never changes a battle.

Front left

Column 1 of 3, front row

Front right

Column 3 of 3, front row

Back left

Column 1 of 3, back row

Back middle

Column 2 of 3, back row

Back right

Column 3 of 3, back row

Moving a creature changes which column it attacks and how exposed it is. It never changes the creature’s HP, attack or speed. When two choices are otherwise tied, the order above decides: front left first, back right last.

You see everything before you confirm: the opponent’s line-up, when each of their abilities fires, the objective, the creatures you may choose, any puzzle rules and the ground.

Choosing both creatures of one guild gives each of them 6 more maximum HP, and each starts the battle at that full amount.

The roster has two creatures in each of five guilds. There are no other guild bonuses. The formation screen shows the bonus and who receives it before you battle.

Grove

Mallow and Ori

Spark

Zip and Honey

Ember

Cinder and Comet

Tide

Luna and Pip

Gear

Cog and Frost

Shield abilities act before anyone else (they count as speed 10). Every other action follows in order of speed, fastest first.

A battle lasts up to 12 rounds unless the puzzle says otherwise. Each round runs like this:

1. Every shield from the round before is gone. Then the ground’s start-of-round rule, if any, applies.
2. Every living creature acts exactly once, in the order above. On a round printed in its ability, the ability replaces its normal attack. Otherwise it makes a normal attack.
3. Creatures with the same speed act together. They all choose their targets from the board as it stood before their group acted, so a creature knocked out by a same-speed rival still acts. A creature knocked out by a faster creature does not.
4. At the end of the round, the ground’s end-of-round rule applies to living creatures, and then every shield fades.

There are no random rolls. The same two line-ups on the same ground always produce the same battle.

Attacks the nearest living front-row enemy by column. The back row is only hit once the front row is gone.

Within that row, a normal attack picks the living creature whose column is closest to the attacker’s own column, and when two are equally close, the one earlier in the order front left, front right, back left, back middle, back right.

“Lowest health” means the lowest share of maximum HP, not the lowest number: a creature at 12 of 40 HP is lower than one at 10 of 20. Ties again go by that same order. An ally always includes the creature itself.

Some abilities choose their own targets, as written on the creature. When an ability finds no target, it does nothing that round; it does not turn into a normal attack.

Within each group of actions, shields land first, then damage, then healing. Healing never brings back a creature at 0 HP, and a shield lasts only for the round it was given in.

1. New shields are added. A creature can hold at most 20 shield at a time.
2. Damage is added up, and shield absorbs it before HP does. HP never drops below 0; a creature at 0 sits out the rest of the battle.
3. Healing goes only to creatures still standing, and never above their maximum HP.

Ten creatures in five guilds, two to a guild. Each has its own HP, attack, speed and one ability, listed below.

Every number here is the current roster (roster.v2). HP is before any guild pair bonus. Attack is normal attack damage. Speed sets the order of ordinary actions.

MallowCapybara, Grove

HP 48 · Attack 7 · Speed 4Seed shelter. Gives 6 shield to each living front-row ally, itself included when it stands in front. Rounds 1, 4, 7, 10. Shields act before anyone else and fade when the round ends.

ZipHare, Spark

HP 30 · Attack 8 · Speed 8Spark pounce. Deals 14 damage (attack 8 + 6) to its normal target. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 12, instead of its attack.

CinderDragon, Ember

HP 36 · Attack 9 · Speed 5Tea steam. Deals 7 damage to every living enemy. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 12, instead of its attack.

LunaFrog, Tide

HP 34 · Attack 6 · Speed 6Moon mend. Heals the living ally with the lowest remaining HP percentage (of its maximum HP), itself included, for 12. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 12, instead of its attack.

CogFox, Gear

HP 32 · Attack 9 · Speed 7Gear leap. Deals 16 damage to the back-row enemy with the lowest current HP, or its normal target when no back row is left. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 12, instead of its attack.

PipOtter, Tide

HP 44 · Attack 6 · Speed 5Bubble parcel. Gives itself 18 shield. Rounds 1, 4, 7, 10. Shields act before anyone else and fade when the round ends.

OriRaccoon, Grove

HP 35 · Attack 7 · Speed 8Paper canopy. Gives every living ally, itself included, 5 shield. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 12. Shields act before anyone else and fade when the round ends.

HoneyBee, Spark

HP 26 · Attack 7 · Speed 9Cloud honey. Heals every living ally, itself included, for 5. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 12, instead of its attack.

FrostPenguin, Gear

HP 46 · Attack 7 · Speed 3Ice shelter. Gives 12 shield to the living ally with the lowest remaining HP percentage (of its maximum HP), itself included. Rounds 1, 4, 7, 10. Shields act before anyone else and fade when the round ends.

CometGecko, Ember

HP 31 · Attack 10 · Speed 7Comet dash. Deals 12 damage (attack 10 + 2) to its normal target. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 12, instead of its attack.

A ground is the rule a puzzle’s battle is played under, and it applies to both sides. Every puzzle is played on one ground, shown in its brief before you battle.

Clear ground

12 rounds, no extra rule.

Sheltered opening

Round 1 only: every front-row creature on both sides starts with 6 shield. The battle lasts up to 12 rounds.

Moon dew

At the end of every full round, every living creature on both sides recovers 2 HP. The battle lasts up to 12 rounds.

Short expedition

The battle ends after round 8. Abilities keep their printed rounds.

A side loses when none of its creatures is left standing; if both sides lose their last creature in the same group of actions, the battle is a draw. Either way, the battle stops once that group has finished.

If both sides still stand after the last round, these are compared in turn, and the first difference decides the winner:

1. the number of creatures still standing;
2. the sum of each standing creature’s HP share, in thousandths of its maximum;
3. the total HP left.

If all three are equal, the battle is a draw. A draw never counts as a win.

Every puzzle’s objective is to win the battle. Some also have up to two optional mastery goals, shown before you battle: win by a stated round, keep a named creature of yours alive, or finish with at least a stated number of creatures standing. Mastering a puzzle means winning it with every goal met in the same battle.

Each puzzle may also limit your choice: a smaller pool of creatures, a creature fixed to a position, two creatures that cannot be chosen together, or a cap on guild pairs. These apply to you, not the opponent. Every puzzle has been solved with the free roster before it was published.

Are hints free?

Hints are free. Most puzzles offer three steps: a reminder of the mechanic, then a useful position, then a solved formation, but only when you ask for it. The tutorial transfer puzzle offers the first two steps and no solved-formation reveal. Using a hint never removes access or labels you.

How do the campaign and the daily flight work?

A campaign chapter holds 18 puzzles. Winning any 12 of the 17 that are not the boss opens the boss; winning the boss opens the next chapter. The others stay optional and playable. The daily flight has three puzzles, gentlest first, and keeps your personal best. There are no public rankings and no timers while you form your team.

How are XP and creature mastery earned?

When your progress is saved on the server, each eligible campaign, practice or daily battle gives 20 XP, plus 10 for a win, up to 200 XP per UTC day. Each creature you chose gains 5 mastery, plus 5 for a win, up to 50 per creature per day. Your level is 1 plus every 300 XP. Mastery earns badges at 100 and 300 and illustrations at 600, 1,000 and 1,600. None of this changes a creature’s numbers, replays give nothing, and every mode stays playable after the daily caps.

Ready to try them? The tutorial teaches the front row, target columns, shield timing and guild pairs in four short lessons.