If you want a capybara you look after every day, Tamagotchi-style, the game to try is Chill Capy. It’s a free virtual pet for iPhone and Android about a capybara who lives in a hot spring and wears a yuzu on his head. You feed him, bathe him, soak with him and dress him up. Unlike a Tamagotchi, he can never die. Other capybara games exist, like the roguelike Capybara Go!, but most are adventures or arcade games rather than pets you care for.
What is Chill Capy? #
Chill Capy is a modern virtual pet built around one rule: retention through rewards, never guilt. Your capybara has needs that change in real time, a home that changes with the time of day, and a stack of small daily rewards. What he doesn’t have is a way to be lost. Miss a week and he’s hungrier and a little scruffy, and delighted you’re back.
It’s made for people who liked the idea of a Tamagotchi but not the stress of one. You can play in two-minute check-ins, and nothing bad builds up while you’re busy.
When you start, you meet him, learn the care basics and give him a name up to 14 characters long. The game suggests a few, like Mochi, Pudding, Tofu and Melon.
How do you take care of your capybara? #
He has four meters, each from 0 to 100, and a care action for each:
| Meter | What drains it | How you refill it |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Time, fastest along with fun | Snacks from your pantry |
| Energy | Time awake and playing mini-games | Sleep, or an optional rewarded “sun nap” |
| Clean | Time, slowly | A bath fills it completely, and soaks help a little |
| Fun | Time | Mini-games, soaks, playdates and petting |
The meters drift even while the app is closed. His mood comes from all four together, and it drives his expression and the things he says. It runs from blissed to chill to meh to droopy.
Snacks #
There are eight snacks, each with trade-offs. Fresh Grass is the cheap everyday meal. Watermelon Wedge and Mixed Berries add a bit of fun. Melon Ice is mostly a treat. Grass Roll is the big, expensive meal that fills him up the most. You buy snacks with coins in the shop, and you start with a few in your pantry.
Baths, soaks and sleep #
A bath makes him fully clean, and he enjoys it enormously. A soak slides him into the onsen for ten minutes, raising his mood and topping up fun. Any floatie you own shows while he’s in the water. Tapping sleep turns off the lights, the scene switches to night, and his energy comes back while you get on with your day.
Petting #
You can poke and pet him whenever you like. He squeaks, wiggles and sometimes comments. It gives a small amount of XP each day, and the rest is just for fun.
What happens if you don’t open the app? #
Nothing dramatic. Stat loss while you’re away is capped at 18 hours’ worth, so a week off costs about the same as a long day. When you come back, a short “while you were away” note shows what changed, written as “he missed you” rather than “you failed him.”
Notifications are opt-in and off by default. If you turn them on, you get at most one care nudge, a streak reminder when you have a streak of three days or more, and a single comeback note after three days away. They’re local to your phone, so there’s no server involved.
We compare this design with other games in virtual pet games where your pet doesn’t die.
The hot spring follows your clock #
The home screen is a living scene rather than a menu. The sky follows your real time of day: dawn from 5 to 8, day until 5 p.m., dusk until 8, then stars and steam at night. Yuzu bob in the water and ripples spread.
As you level up, other animals move in. A bird arrives at level 3, a turtle at level 6, a duck at level 9 and a frog at level 13. You can’t buy them. You can decorate with ten items, including a stone lantern, a bamboo fountain, a bonsai tree, a tea set and fairy lights, and they show up in the scene.
Mini-games #
Each game costs a little energy, so playing ties back into care. Each pays coins, XP and fun:
- Yuzu Drop: Catch falling citrus across three lanes. Golden yuzu are worth three, and it speeds up over 45 seconds.
- Bubble Pop: Pop the fizz before it floats away. It lasts 30 seconds, and you get a zen streak for keeping your cool.
- Steam Says: The onsen stones hum a growing pattern of four soft tones, and you repeat it until you slip.
Dressing him up #
There are 26 cosmetics across four slots: hat, face, neck and float. He starts with his signature yuzu. Others include a Straw Hat, Cozy Beanie, Flower Crown, Round Glasses, Heart Shades, an Onsen Towel, a Knit Scarf and a Duck Floatie. Shop previews show the actual capybara wearing the actual item.
Four seasonal events run on your phone’s date: Sakura Soak in spring, Summer Splash in July and August, Spooky Springs in October and the Yuzu Festival from December into early January. Each one adds limited items and a small coin bonus. The Yuzu Festival nods to the real Japanese custom of floating yuzu in winter baths.
Playing with friends #
Your capybara can be turned into a QR code. Scan a friend’s, and your two capybaras soak together. Friendship grows up to five hearts and pays coins every day. The same code works as plain text, called a Capy Code, so you can send it through any messaging app to friends far away. There’s no account and no server, and the camera is only used when you tap the scan button.
What’s free and what costs money #
The pet, the games and the care loop are free and never paywalled. The app makes money in three ways:
- Rewarded ads you choose to watch, for things like doubling a reward, topping up coins or refilling energy.
- A brief interstitial ad after every third mini-game at most. It never appears during care or on your first day. There are no banner ads.
- Chill Club, an optional subscription with monthly and annual plans (the annual one has a 7-day free trial) or a one-time lifetime purchase. It removes interstitials and gives you 3 gems a day, 1.5x coins, streak protection, reward-calendar protection and two members-only items, the Captain’s Hat and Gold Chain. Gem packs are separate one-time purchases. Prices appear in your local currency in the app store.
Is the capybara realistic? #
He’s cartoonish, but the premise is real. Capybaras are the largest living rodents, and in Japan, the Izu Shaboten Zoo has given its capybaras hot spring baths since 1982, according to Wikipedia. The zoo started after a keeper noticed them huddling in a warm puddle while he cleaned the enclosure with hot water. The app also shows one real capybara fact a day, called Capy Wisdom.
Other capybara games #
- Capybara Go! by HABBY is a text-based roguelike RPG with random events and gear. It’s rated 13+ and has in-app purchases.
- Capybara Crossing is an endless road-crossing arcade game from the same developer as Chill Capy, with 19 capybaras to collect.
Neither is a pet you care for. For the wider genre, see what is a virtual pet. For the official Tamagotchi options on phones, see Tamagotchi app for iPhone and Android.
Who Chill Capy isn’t for #
If you want real stakes, you’ll find it too gentle. It also has no cloud save, since everything lives on your phone, so moving to a new phone depends on your device backup. And if you want online multiplayer, the friend features are limited to playdates by code.
Frequently asked questions #
Is Chill Capy free? #
Yes. The pet, the mini-games and the care loop are free. Chill Club is an optional subscription, gem packs are one-time purchases, and most ads are rewarded videos you choose to watch.
Can the capybara die? #
No. Neglect makes him scruffy and a bit dramatic about snacks, and that’s the worst that happens.
Does Chill Capy work offline? #
Yes. Care, games, streaks and the wardrobe all run on your device. Only ads and purchases need a connection.
Do I need an account? #
No. There’s no sign-up or login. Your capybara lives on your phone, and even playdates work phone to phone by QR code or a pasted Capy Code.
Can I rename my capybara? #
You name him during setup, with room for up to 14 characters. Names are stored on your device along with the rest of his data.