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Mottle Game: Play Hide and Seek Online

Run for the fireflies, then freeze and melt into the garden before the Seekers' lights find you.

Free. No download. Works on phone and desktop.

Game by Star Lord, hosted on 8x.gg Open original ↗
Drag to moveYou glow bright while you run.
Release to hideFully blended after ~0.75s.
Dodge the lightStay lit too long and you lose a life.

Mottle guides

What is Mottle? Who made it, what kind of game it is, what the word means, and the NYT Connections mix-up. How to play Mottle Controls and a walk through your first round, from the Hide! countdown to Round Clear. Rules & numbers Alert meter, Seeker behaviour, a round-by-round table and exact scoring. Tips for a high score Ten tactics based on how the game actually works, plus a quick checklist. Play online & on mobile Desktop, phone, fullscreen, fixing a blank game, and the APK question. Mottle FAQ Quick answers: is it free, is it a board game, is this the official site?

Is Mottle a game?

Yes. Mottle: Hide & Seek is a free camouflage game by Star Lord, published on 8x.gg in September 2026. The word mottle means a blotchy, spotted pattern of colour, which is exactly where you hide.

More about the game

From NYT Connections?

MOTTLE (Nov 14, 2026) is not a strategy board game. It's baby gear with the first letter changed: bottle → mottle.

Mottle by the numbers

3lives per run
0.75sto blend in fully
1.7sin a cone to get caught
1 to 4Seekers as rounds rise
500bonus for round 5

From the current version of the game. The full rules and round table has every number.

Three things most players miss

  1. Fully blended means invisible. A light cone can sweep right over you and the Alert meter won't move.
  2. Tile colour doesn't matter. You copy whatever tile you're on, so sand hides you as well as moss.
  3. Rounds beat fireflies. Clearing round 5 pays 500 points. A firefly pays 10. Stay alive first.

All 10 Mottle tips

Mottle FAQ

Is Mottle a game?

Yes. Mottle: Hide & Seek is a free browser camouflage game by Star Lord, published on 8x.gg in September 2026. "Mottle" is also an everyday English word for a blotchy, spotted pattern of colours, which fits a game about blending into the ground.

Is Mottle a board game?

No. Mottle is a real-time digital game played in a web browser. There is no board, cards or turns. If you saw MOTTLE in a word puzzle and wondered whether it was a strategy board game, it isn't one (see the next question).

Was MOTTLE in NYT Connections?

Yes. MOTTLE was in the New York Times Connections puzzle on November 14, 2026. It belonged to "Baby gear with first letter changed" (bottle → mottle), not to the strategy board games group.

Is Mottle free to play?

Yes. You can play Mottle for free in your browser, right on this page, with no download or sign-up.

Can I play Mottle on my phone?

Yes. Mottle is built for touch: drag with one finger to move, lift it to hide. It works in portrait or landscape, and on desktop with a mouse.

How do you win a round in Mottle?

Survive until the Seek timer runs out without the Alert meter filling up. Fireflies you collect on the way add points.

Full FAQ

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