Capybara Merge

How to play Capybara Merge

Capybara Merge is a drop-and-merge puzzle, like the watermelon game, with a family of capybaras in place of the fruit. You hold a capybara at the top of the box. Move the dropper left or right, then let go: the capybara falls and settles on the pile, pushed and nudged by the others around it.

When two capybaras of the same kind touch, they merge into one capybara of the next size up, right where they met. That new capybara can touch another of its own kind and merge again, so one good drop can set off a chain. There are 11 kinds in all, from the tiny Pup to the King Capybara, which takes up 40% of the width of the box.

The dropper only hands out the 5 smallest kinds. The Next preview shows what comes after the capybara you hold, so you can plan one move ahead. A red line runs across the top of the box. If a capybara sits above that line for more than 2 seconds, the game is over. Capybaras that are still falling after a drop do not count.

The 11 capybaras

Each kind has its own size and its own colour, so you can tell them apart at a glance. From smallest to biggest:

1. Pup (can come from the dropper)
2. Leaf Capybara (can come from the dropper)
3. Yuzu Capybara (can come from the dropper)
4. Birdie Capybara (can come from the dropper)
5. Towel Capybara (can come from the dropper)
6. Flower Capybara
7. Sleepy Capybara
8. Cool Capybara
9. Floatie Capybara
10. Chef Capybara
11. King Capybara

Scoring

You score only by merging. Making a capybara of tier n gives n × (n + 1) ÷ 2 points, so bigger merges are worth much more than small ones:

• Leaf Capybara: 3 points
• Yuzu Capybara: 6 points
• Birdie Capybara: 10 points
• Towel Capybara: 15 points
• Flower Capybara: 21 points
• Sleepy Capybara: 28 points
• Cool Capybara: 36 points
• Floatie Capybara: 45 points
• Chef Capybara: 55 points
• King Capybara: 66 points

When two King Capybaras touch, there is nothing bigger to make. Both leave the box and you get a bonus of 100 points. Your best score is kept in your browser, so you can try to beat it next time.

Tips and strategy

• Keep the big ones in a corner. Build your largest capybaras along one side or in a bottom corner. Small capybaras then gather on the other side, where they are easy to pair up.
• Grow in steps. Try to keep the sizes in order next to each other: a large capybara, then the next size down, then the next. When the smallest one merges, the chain can roll all the way up.
• Watch the preview. If the next capybara matches something on the pile, keep a clear path to it. If it does not, drop the current one where it will not block that path.
• Do not bury small capybaras. A Pup trapped under a big capybara is hard to reach and wastes space for the rest of the game.
• Keep the pile flat. A capybara that lands on a peak slides off to one side, often into a spot you did not plan. Fill the low places first so that every drop lands where you aimed.
• Act when the line turns solid. The warning line turns solid while a capybara is above it. You have 2 seconds to merge something lower down and let the pile sink.

Frequently asked questions

Is Capybara Merge free to play?

Yes. The game runs in your browser with no download, no account and no sign-up.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. Drag your finger across the box to aim, then lift it to drop the capybara. The box resizes to fit your screen.

Can I play with a keyboard?

Yes. Press Tab to move focus to the box. The Left and Right arrow keys move the dropper, and Space or Enter drops the capybara. When the game ends, focus moves to the Play again button.

Which capybaras can the dropper give me?

Only the 5 smallest kinds, from the Pup to the Towel Capybara, picked at random. The Next preview above the box shows the one that comes after the capybara you hold. Every bigger capybara must be made by merging.

What happens when two King Capybaras touch?

The King Capybara is the biggest capybara, so two of them cannot merge into anything larger. Instead, both leave the box and you get a bonus of 100 points, which also frees a lot of space.

When is the game over?

When a capybara stays above the red line at the top of the box for more than 2 seconds. A capybara that is still falling after a drop does not count, and the line turns solid while the time runs, so you have a moment to fix the pile with a merge.

Is there a time limit?

No. There is no clock and no limit on the number of drops. After each drop you wait 0.5 seconds before the dropper is ready again, so you cannot pour capybaras in all at once.

How are points counted?

Each merge scores the triangular number of the new capybara's tier: making tier n gives n × (n + 1) ÷ 2 points. A Leaf Capybara gives 3 points and a King Capybara gives 66. Dropping a capybara scores nothing.

Does the game save my best score?

Yes. Your best score is saved in the local storage of your browser on this device, and nowhere else. The Privacy page has the details.