C.L.I. Tortoises

A free creature-taming adventure

Tame a tortoise. Ride the islands. Wake the sea.

Battle and tame wild tortoises on a sea where every island is a turtle. Yours remembers every choice you make together, and grows into the tortoise you raised.

Play free Start with the story
  • Phone or computer
  • No download
  • No wallet needed
  • Saves as you play
Riding a tortoise across Shellhaven, two tamed tortoises following
A wild tortoise battle, move cards in hand

01Battle and tame

Wear them down. Win them over.

Every move is a card, and you draw a fresh hand each turn. Wear a wild tortoise down, win it over, and it joins your stable.

  • A new hand of moves every turn
  • Tamed tortoises follow you about
  • Ride whichever one you like
Old Deepbreath asleep at sea: forest, terraces and a waterfall on her shell, her great head resting on the sand

02Explore

Every island is a turtle.

Ride out from Shellhaven across a sea of living islands. Out past them all, the oldest turtle in the sea is asleep, and she is big enough to carry a forest.

  • Sail, dive for wrecks, or go on foot
  • Trade with the chicken merchants
  • Slide downhill on your shell

Journal · Scroll

This one is a Seeker

bold
120 wary
89 curious
176 kind
142
ChampionGuardianSeekerHermitRenegadeWanderer

An example. In the game, the Journal shows your own tortoise's Scroll.

03Raise

Your tortoise remembers.

Spare a foe or press the attack. Help a stranger or walk on by. Every choice goes into your tortoise's Scroll, and the Scroll shapes who it becomes.

  • It starts out bold, wary or curious
  • Your choices change its mind
  • It grows into one of six kinds

04The cast

Everyone here talks back.

The people of the islands speak their lines out loud. Tap to hear them.

Elder Mossback by the campfire, in a bowler hat and scarf

Shellhaven's Elder

Elder Mossback

Ah… you're awake. Good. Most of Shellhaven isn't.
Dr. Bubba Gump Shrimp, a pistol shrimp, at his cleaning station on the shore

The cleaning station

Dr. Bubba Gump Shrimp

Next! Oh, nobody's next. Welcome to the cleaning station. Doctor Bubba Gump Shrimp, at your service.
Old Pagurus, a hermit crab, in the ruins of a drowned harbour

Keeper of the bells

Old Pagurus

Oh! A walker. On my harbour! Well, it's not much of a harbour now, with the sea gone off and left it.
Old Deepbreath's eye, closed, in a head the size of a hill

The oldest turtle

Old Deepbreath

Ahh. Small ones, on my back again. It has been a long time.

05The story

Two chapters. One very old turtle.

Old Deepbreath's eye, closed, in a head the size of a hill
Chapter I

Shellhaven and the sea

Wake the sleeping stable, learn the rhythm of the Echo Stones, and sail out to Old Deepbreath. Play her stones back to her, and she opens her eyes.

The drowned harbour of Ebbmouth on the sand, Old Pagurus the hermit crab among its ruins
Chapter II

The Ebblands

She carries you across on her back. When she breathes out, the sea draws back and a new land rises: a blank map, a drowned harbour, a wreck on a hill.

06More to play

Deal a hand. Or go to war.

The Shell Duel card table, tortoises facing off
Cards

The Shell Duel

Your stable is your deck. Play tortoises, snacks and Echo Scrolls, and knock out your rival's side before they knock out yours.

The Wartles war table, an army of turtles by its camp
Strategy

Wartles & Wartioses

Lead a people of turtles. Dig shards, raise an army and hold off the Clatter's crab raids, across fifteen missions or a quick skirmish.

And in between

Shell SlideDownhill RunShell BowlingShell PinballDiving for wrecksCraftingOn foot with a bow

07The herd

10,000 tortoises. No two alike.

Each has its own shell, print, skin, hat, neckwear and shoes. Meet them roaming the islands, battle them, and ride the ones you tame.

The game on a phone, in portrait, with its touch controls

08How to play

Made for one thumb. Fine with a keyboard.

1

Drag anywhere to steer. Tap something to walk over and do the obvious thing: talk, chop, look.

2

Hold on something to see every option. Double-tap to hop out of a Shell Slide.

W A S DRide (double-tap W to sprint) Mouse dragTurn the camera; the wheel zooms ClickWalk there and do the obvious thing Space twiceShell Slide (double-click to hop out) FGet down and go on foot B · J · NStable · Journal · Map

Questions

Before you set off

Is it really free?

Yes. Both chapters and every way to play, right here in your browser.

Do I need a crypto wallet?

No. The tortoises are a collection on the Chia blockchain, but you don't need a wallet or a token to play. Linking a wallet is optional, and only for collectors.

Where does my progress go?

It saves in this browser as you play, and picks up where you left off. Make a free account to keep it safe on another device and to show up on the leaderboards.

Will it run on my phone?

Yes. It's built to play with one thumb, and it picks its graphics to suit your device. A computer with a keyboard works just as well.

Your tortoise is waiting on the beach.

The whole game, free, in your browser. It saves as you play.

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