A game for two phones. One of you carries the lantern and can see one step. The other has the whole map, but never sees where Ponoki is.
Get on a call, then talk each other home.
Free, no account, nothing to install. Works best with a phone call open so you can hear each other.
They open play.ponoki.app on their own phone, tap Join, and type this word.
Waiting for them
No rush. Ponoki will wait as long as it takes.
Find 3 keys
Find where they are
On the map, anything lighter than the path can be walked on. Anything darker is solid.
key — pick all 3 up firefly — you spend these to find them lantern — lit ones show you where they are door — only you can open it, 2 at a time gate — opens once they have 3 keys home Ponoki, when you can see them the path reeds — walkable, hides them ferns — walkable moss — solid, cannot pass deep water — solid, cannot passThat is the path you walked.
The Long Way Home is a free co-op game for exactly two people, played on two phones at the same time while you talk. It is not a race and there is no way to lose. One of you holds the lantern and can see one step in every direction and nothing at all beyond that. The other holds the map of the whole valley, every wall and every door, and can never see where Ponoki is standing. Neither of you can finish alone, so the game is really the conversation.
The walker says what is around them, out loud: a wall on the left, moss underfoot, a shut door ahead. The mapper listens, works out where on the map that could possibly be, and talks them onward. Five doors in the valley only the mapper can open, and only two can be open at a time, so they are opening and closing the way ahead while the walker moves. Three keys are hidden across the valley and the gate home stays shut until all three are found.
Lit lanterns are how the mapper keeps track of you: stand near one you have lit and you appear on their map. Fireflies you pick up become theirs to spend, one at a time, to find you when you are lost. Loose stones and shallow water give your position away, which is sometimes exactly what you want. Tall reeds hide you completely, even from a lantern you already lit.
There is no clock, no score and no failure state. A wrong turn is just a longer walk. If your friend's phone dies mid valley, nothing is lost and they drop straight back in beside you when they open the link again. Free to play in your browser on any phone, with no account and nothing to install. There are more calm games for busy minds on the home screen.
Ponoki is a calm game, not medical advice, diagnosis, or therapy. For adults 18+. If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services. See our Terms and Privacy Policy.