The Pond
A fish game hidden inside a forum.
Start as a sardine in a koi pond, the night the Gloam carries off your fry. Follow the trail of bubbles, collect red pearls, unlock bigger creatures and find the way into hidden worlds: a kelp forest, a sunken galleon, Atlantis, the Underworld and the Sea of Stars. Every hidden world has a boss, and you can bring friends.
No account needed to try it. Guests may see other swimmers when there's room; members also chat, duel and keep their pearls.
Start small, get big
Everyone starts as a sardine. Red pearls turn up around the water, quests pay more, and the shop turns them into 16 creatures to swim as, each with its own speed, strength and toughness.
16 places, most of them hidden
The open pond is behind mist until you open it. The hidden parts each have a way in that you have to find: a current, an old door, a cold spring, a geyser, a waterfall.
The open pond
- Koi Cove, where everyone starts
- Lantern Waters, with the Moon Bridge
- Sunken Shrine and its old bell
- Misty Marsh, home of Hazel the witch
- Starlight Lagoon, which glitters after dark
The hidden parts
- Hidden Grotto, behind a waterfall
- The Glowing Deep and Kelp Forest
- The Sunken Galleon and its treasure
- Frostmere, Ember Rift and Cloudreach
- Atlantis and The Underworld
- The Sacred Cenote and The Sea of Stars
A boss in every hidden part
Eleven bosses, each in three phases with moves that come in the same order and show where they are going first: a red lane for a lunge, a ring where something will land. Watch, dodge, bite back. Beat one and it leaves a stone statue in its lair: swim onto it to wake the boss for another fight.
The Kraken
Waits in the Kelp Forest. Watch for the red lines: an arm comes down there.
Cerberus
Guards the Underworld. Three heads, and the only way to earn a hydra is to help beat it.
Bakunawa
A sea serpent in the Sea of Stars that swallows the moons. Ring the gongs to stun it.
And eight more
Stonejaw, the Lantern Queen, the Ghost Shark, the Ice Wyrm, Caldera, the Thunderbird, Talos and Camazotz. Plus a sea dragon that rises if you tap the water too often.
A look inside
Real screens from the game, on a phone.
Better with other swimmers
Members share one pond. Everyone sees the same red pearls, the same bosses and the same sea dragon.
A story to follow
A shadow called the Gloam has taken Pip, your fry. Each part of the pond holds a chapter: a character who saw something, a boss to beat, and a note from Pip in a bubble pointing the way on.
Duels and games
Challenge anyone to a duel in the Sunken Coliseum, with pearls on it if you like, or start a Puffer Brawl or a round of Shark Tag for everyone in the pond to join.
Pond chat and rooms
Talk to everyone in the pond, tap a swimmer to message them privately (the chat is in your Messages too), or make a room for you and your friends. Swipe the chat to switch between them.
Emotes and sprays
Send an emoji over your fish, laugh or nap, do the floss or the moonwalk, power up, call your shadow clones, and paint sprays on the water. More open as you level up, and two sprays come from beating bosses.
Levels and leaderboards
Everything you earn counts toward your level, and each new level pays pearls. Climb the boards for level, bosses beaten and PvP wins.
Quests and characters
Three new quests a day and three a week, plus characters with their own quests, from Kip the kappa to Captain Brine. Once you've met one, they're on your map.
A garden of your own
Plant sea grapes, kelp, glowcaps and more on your own patch of seabed. Feed them, sell what grows for pearls, decorate it, and let friends look round.
An aquarium on your profile
Pick up to four of your creatures, dress them up, and they swim in a tank on your profile for other members to see.
Potions and relics
Buy potions from Hazel the witch before a boss fight, and hunt for secret relics that change how you swim. Wear up to three at once.
How to play
It runs in any modern browser, on a phone or a computer. Sound and music are on a toggle.
On a phone
Press anywhere on the water and drag to steer. Hold Boost to swim faster, give it a quick tap to dash, and tap the red Bite button to attack, or drag it to aim.
On a computer
Steer with the arrow keys or W A S D. Space boosts, F bites, M opens the map and Enter opens the chat.
With a controller
The left stick swims, A bites and the right stick aims. RT boosts, Menu opens the shop, and View brings up a cursor for every button. Xbox, PlayStation and most other controllers work.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. Red pearls are earned in the game, and there is nothing to buy with real money.
Do I need an account?
Not to try it: tap Swim now and you are in. Without an account you may see the other swimmers when there's room, and wave, but chat, games and duels are for members, and when the pond is busy guests may swim on their own. Members swim with each other, chat, duel and keep their pearls and creatures on their account. Making an account is free. While the first 1,000 founder Red Pearls last, no invite is needed: the sign-up fills in a code for you, and what you did as a guest on that device comes with you. After that, members invite new members.
What is Turing's Gate?
A forum with communities, chat and voice rooms, open to its first 1,000 founders and by invite after that. The koi pond swims behind its pages, and the Pond button at the top takes you into it. Read more about Turing's Gate.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes, in any modern browser. You can also add Turing's Gate to your home screen so it opens like an app.
Jump in
Start as a sardine and see how far you get. The pond is open right now.
Swim nowWant to chat and duel? Make a free account while founder pearls last.