A SMALL OCEAN. AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MOVE.

PearlwakeLittle strokes. Long journeys.

Three beads, two arms, one curious swimmer.
Change shape in the right order to find your way home.

HARBOR 01 / 08

0/1 pearls0/8 strokes

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Collect every pearl Avoid coral◎ Dock with both arms short

YOUR TWO LITTLE OARS

Order makes motion.

Tap an arm to extend or tuck it. Watch the preview: the gold center swims only when the other arm is long.

Compact pose · ready to turn

FIRST SWIM RECIPE

Rear→Front→Rear→Front

A complete loop swims forward two tiles.
Reverse the order to swim backward.

EIGHT QUIET VOYAGES

0 / 8

Built for a little curiosity. No timer. Undo freely.

THE PEARLWAKE FIELD GUIDE

Swim around a shape.

At tiny scales, an out-and-back motion can return a swimmer to where it started. A loop through different shapes can carry it somewhere new.

Press Rear, Front, Rear, Front for a forward loop. The first and last changes reshape; the middle two swim one tile each.
Front, Rear, Front, Rear swims backward. Repeating just one arm returns to the same spot.
Turn left or right only with both arms short. Collect every gold pearl with the center bead, then bring it to the harbor cup compact.
Every successful shape change or turn costs one stroke. Coral and pool edges block the center bead; invalid moves cost nothing. Outer beads are decorative and can skim the pool margin.

Keyboard: Q rear · W front · ←/→ turn · H nudge · U undo · R restart. Buttons also work with touch. Nudges mark a shortest remaining route and warn when a restart is needed.

Original MIT game with fictional discrete rules, inspired by 2026 microswimmer research. It illustrates stroke-order dependence; it is not a fluid or medical simulator. No upstream code, levels or assets copied. Research background · Scientific GitHub reference: PyStokes (MIT, 53 stars observed; pushed June 27, 2026). Original GPT-generated bead and harbor art is bundled locally. Progress stays on this device. Full provenance in CREDITS.txt.