Articles
Writing from the makers of Koi Drift: the real koi behind the sprites, the pond tradition, strategy for every tier, and how the water is drawn. New pieces are added with each update.
The six koi in the pond
Kohaku, Yamabuki, Platinum, Benigoi, Karasu and Showa — the real varieties behind the sprites in Koi Drift, and how each one reads on the water.
Why a koi pond?
Where nishikigoi come from, why the garden pond is a place of calm, and how Koi Drift borrows the tradition for a puzzle.
Reading the lane
How predators, the orange and red cycle, and hearts work in Koi Drift — and the habit that stops you losing hearts.
Bends, mirrors and the pause mark
The three things a koi can do besides swim straight: bend right, bend left, and pause at the corner. How to read each mark and plan around it.
The Daily: one pond for the whole world
How the Daily in Koi Drift is made from the date, how the ranking works, what the share card shows, and why it stays the same for everyone.
How the water is drawn
A making-of: the WebGL pond in Koi Drift, its caustic light, why the water is computed at reduced density while the floor and koi stay sharp, and how the game keeps a phone from stuttering.
The journey, tier by tier
What Stillwater, Currents, Watchers, Hunters, Crosscurrents, Riptide, Tides and Master each ask of you — and the one thing to practise in each.
A hundred and one koi
The collection in Koi Drift: how cards are earned, what a Guardian does, what is free, and exactly what the Drifter’s Pass changes.
Par: why every tap counts
Every pond in Koi Drift has a par — the taps it needs. Blocked taps count. What par is for, how it is set, and how it turns looking into planning.