How to play

The game in short

Play CAPS is about caps (pogs) from the 90s: collect sets, play for them with other players and climb the Hall of fame.

1. Rent — lend your item to a friend, they bring it back with wrappers.
2. Wrappers — the yard currency: trade them for packs at the flea market.
3. Packs — 3 random caps of one collection.
4. PvP — bet caps, the winner takes the rival's caps and their own caps level up.
5. Collections — the fuller and cooler, the more rating points.
6. Trading — swap caps of the same coolness with other players to fill missing numbers.
7. Yards — player teams with a shared rating and chat.

New players get 3 packs. After that wrappers and packs come from rent, the Slammer, the daily reward, the roulette, the gift calendar, daily tasks, PvP wins and invited friends.

Caps and coolness

Every cap has a coolness from +0 to +20. The higher it is, the brighter the cap glows and the harder it hits.

From +15 special caps come alive: Casper and the black-and-white Black Mad caps glow in the dark, Tropical (18+) gets wet and its “invisible ink” clears, and the Black Mad stereo caps flip their frame like a real lenticular print. Below +15 they are ordinary caps.

For example, +0 hits for 1–12, +5 for 16–27, +20 for 61–72. There are no ties: equal hits are rerolled.

Every cap has a serial number (#1, #2…). It is picked at random among the free ones, so you can't snipe a low number by opening packs in a row. Each collection has a limited supply — once it is minted, its packs run out.

Packs and coolness odds

A pack holds 3 caps of its collection, and a Mystery pack holds caps each from its own random collection (no 18+), picked when you open it. Every number of the collection is equally likely, but coolness gets rarer the higher it is: each next level is 1.67× rarer than the previous one (level weight = 0.6^coolness).

Packs won on the roulette, earned for invited friends or gifted by the team are handed over on a celebration screen with confetti and a fan of the packs you got. Packs for quests, achievements, the gift calendar and packs bought at the flea market are simply added, without the screen.

“Or higher” is the chance that a cap has this coolness or more. Odds are rolled for every cap separately; with 3 caps per pack, about 51.8% of packs contain at least one +3 or better.

PvP: playing for caps

• The creator puts up 1 to 5 caps and may say what they want in return: up to 5 collections and up to 5 specific numbers. The “Random missing” button picks 5 random numbers you don't have yet (from the ticked collections, if any). Up to 20 open games at once.
• A bet must match the game coolness for coolness: a “+5, +2, +0” game takes exactly +5, +2 and +0. The 🎲 Bet random caps button instantly bets random caps of yours with the right coolness; it is grey when you don’t have enough of them.
• The creator picks which bet to accept, the others go back to their owners. Caps in a game or bet can't be used elsewhere; a game or bet can be cancelled any time before it starts. If the creator accepts no bet within 3 days, the game closes by itself and all caps go back to their owners.
• Caps fight in pairs, strongest against strongest. Since coolness matches, every pair is the same level.
• The duel winner takes the rival's cap and gets +50 wrappers — even if they lose the game overall. Wrappers are paid only in games between two live players: games with bots (yours or theirs) are played for caps only. PvP pays at most 1500 wrappers a day — after that duels only win caps; the limit resets at midnight.
• ⚡ Quick game — the green button next to “+”: pick a mode and the game is created right away, asking in return for 5 random numbers you don't have yet. Bots bet exactly those numbers — a quick way to grow your collection. If you already have every number, any caps are accepted in return. Modes: random, duplicates (you keep the best copy of each number), most upgraded, least upgraded, one collection, same as last time. Every tap picks anew. The same modes are on the cap picking screen under “⚡ Quick pick”, where you can adjust the choice by hand.
• The “Rematch” button picks free caps of the same coolness as in the previous game and repeats your wishes — except the numbers you already won in it.

Winning odds

Caps in a pair have the same coolness, so every duel is exactly 50/50: coolness gives no edge in PvP, it only decides which games you can join. Against a bot RTP is 95%: every duel you would win, the bot takes with a 5% chance.

Winner cap upgrade

After every duel won your cap either levels up by +1 or stays the same, or tears and is gone for good. Up to +3 the upgrade chance is 70%, then it drops by 4% per level, but not below 10%. +20 is the maximum, such a cap never changes.

“Wins from +0” is how many duel wins one cap needs on average to grow from +0 to that level.

📌 Pinning

Pin your favourite caps so you never lose them by accident: pinned caps can't be put into PvP.

• One cap — the “Pin” button on the cap's page.
• A collection — in your caps, on the “By collections” tab, open a collection and choose what to pin: all caps; the most upgraded or least upgraded — one cap of each number; only +N — one cap of that coolness of each number, duplicates stay free. The choice also applies to caps you get later — from packs or won in PvP.
• Pinned caps don't show up when you choose caps for a game or a bet. If such a cap was already in an open game or bet, that game or bet is cancelled and the caps are returned.
• Pinning doesn't affect your rating. Unpin a cap with the same button, a collection with “Nothing”.

Bots in PvP

Bots are players whose names end with “_bot” (Dendy_bot, Tetris_bot…). They make sure there is always someone to play with.

• 3 seconds after you create a game, 2 bots bet on it — with exactly the same coolness and from the collections you asked for. Bots bet on a game only once.
• You can turn bot bets off with the “Receive bets from bots” switch on the game list — then you wait for real players only.
• Bots create their own games too: usually 1–3 caps, sometimes up to 5. In about 30% of them the bot asks for specific numbers in return.
• A bot answers your bet in its game in about 3 seconds and accepts it with a 100% chance.
• A duel against a bot is 47.5% vs 50% against a real player.

Slammer

A yard game against a bot. Caps are just for show here — you lose nothing. The stack holds 15 of your caps and 15 of the bot's, all face down. Rock-paper-scissors decides who hits first, then you take turns. Whoever flips more caps wins.

• Aim is how close to the center you stopped the slider: 100% in the center, 0% at the edge.
• Accuracy = aim × random 85–100% (“shaky hand”). A perfect hit flips each cap with 54.8–63%, a total miss with just 8%.
• Bot accuracy is random 70–100%: 46.5–63% per cap. Hitting the center, you are on average slightly more accurate than the bot.
• The very first hit of a game (whoever makes it) flips no more than 10 caps. The game ends when the stack is empty, after 30 hits, or as soon as someone flips 16 caps — more than half the stack, so they can no longer be caught and win.
• A draw doesn't use up a game — it's a bonus one, and it gives +50 wrappers. The limit resets at midnight Moscow time.
• A newcomer's first game is a training one: the bot hits with 15–40% accuracy and its first hit flips no more than 3 caps.

Rent and item upgrades

You own one item. Lend it to a friend — they pay wrappers when they bring it back. The exact amount is rolled within the range at the moment you lend it. The item can be upgraded to the next one for Telegram Stars: each next item is rented longer but pays more, even per hour.

Item	Wrappers	≈ per hour	Upgrade
VHS tape30 min	40–100	140	start
Dendy cartridge1 h	150–250	200	50 ⭐
Sega cartridge2 h	400–600	250	100 ⭐
Tamagotchi3 h	700–1 100	300	200 ⭐
Game Boy4 h	1 100–1 700	350	350 ⭐
Sega Mega Drive6 h	1 900–2 900	400	500 ⭐
????8 h	2 900–4 300	450	750 ⭐
Computer12 h	4 800–7 200	500	1000 ⭐

• Upgrades go strictly in order, one level at a time. The whole ladder costs 2 950 ⭐.
• You can upgrade while the item is away: the rent goes on, and its wrappers were already fixed when you lent it. The new terms apply from the next rent.
• Wrappers don't accumulate on their own: until the friend returns the item and you collect, a new rent can't start. Check in more often — earn more.
• The tape and the cartridges hold something different every time: a friend borrows a 90s movie or cartoon, a Dendy or Sega game — you see which one when you lend it. It does not change the wrappers.

Daily tasks

Gift calendar — for new players (the first 7 days after sign-up) and returning ones (away for 7 days or more). It shows up first on the Daily page: 30 gifts, claim the next one once a day. Missed a day? Progress stays, but the calendar closes 45 days after it starts. Big gifts come on days 7, 14, 21 and 30; day 30 gives +10 packs and +3000 wrappers. Packs are Mystery packs: each cap from its own random collection (no 18+).

Roulette on the Daily page — one free spin a day. The wheel has 20 equal sectors: 10 packs — 1 sector (5%), 3 packs — 2 (10%), 1 pack — 3 (15%), the other 14 are zero (70%). Each pack you win is a pack of its own random collection (no 18+), and they go straight to Packs.

Every day you get 5 different tasks from the list below: each player has their own set, at most one task per action (you never get “Open 3 packs” and “Open 10 packs” at once). “Play PvP with a friend” only shows up if you have friends, and it counts for both when one bets on the other's game. “Craft a cap in the Workshop” only shows up if you have at least 5 duplicates. “Add a friend” counts for both once the request is accepted. Your set stays the same until midnight, even if you melt duplicates or make friends. Tasks and progress reset at midnight Moscow time.

Top collections — on the 1st of every month the game names the three most popular collections of the last month (the most caps players received; the starter MK3 and 18+ don't count) and gives every player a pack of each. The packs are handed over with a celebration screen on your next visit.

Packs from the reward and tasks are Mystery packs: each cap from its own random collection (no 18+). The “Lend your item to a friend” task counts the moment you lend, not when it's returned. “Claim all” takes the daily reward and every completed task at once.

🏅 Achievements

Long-term goals for the whole game — on the Daily page, “Achievements” card. Each has up to four levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Reach a level and claim its reward; it is one-time, the same level never pays twice. Reached levels show as badges on your player page.

Achievement	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Platinum
🏆 Collector Complete 1 collection	1 +3 packs	3 +5 packs	10 +10 packs	20 +20 packs
⚡ Level up Level a cap up to +5	5 +300	10 +3 packs	15 +10 packs	20 +20 packs
🥊 Duelist Win 10 caps in PvP	10 +300	50 +2 packs	200 +5 packs	1 000 +15 packs
⚔️ Yard fighter Play 5 PvP games	5 +200	50 +2 packs	300 +5 packs	1 000 +10 packs
🎁 Unpacker Open 10 packs	10 +200	100 +2 packs	500 +5 packs	2 000 +15 packs
🎒 Piggy bank Own 100 caps	100 +200	500 +2 packs	2 000 +5 packs	5 000 +15 packs
Slammer master Win 5 Slammer games	5 +200	30 +2 packs	100 +5 packs	365 +15 packs
📼 Rental shop Lend your item 10 times	10 +200	50 +2 packs	200 +5 packs	1 000 +10 packs
🔄 Trader Make 1 trade	1 +200	10 +2 packs	50 +5 packs	—

“Collector”, “Level up” and “Piggy bank” count the caps you have now: completed collections, your coolest cap, how many caps. The rest add up over the whole game: caps won in PvP, PvP games played, packs opened, Slammer wins, item rentals and trades. Reward packs are Mystery packs (caps from random collections, no 18+). Achievement rewards are added to the number on the Home “Rewards” button.

🎁 Invite a friend

Every player has their own promo code — it's in the Leaderboard, under your player code (open). Unlike the player code, it's safe to show anyone. The “Invite a friend” button sends a game link with the promo code already filled in.

• Your friend enters the promo code when signing up (“I have a promo code”) and gets +10 packs on top of the starter ones, and you become friends right away.
• You get +2 packs right away, and +20 packs more once your friend claims all 30 gifts of their newcomer calendar. The Telegram bot messages you about every reward, and in the game the packs are handed over on a celebration screen — with confetti and a fan of packs.

You're rewarded for at most 10 friends per 3 months. A friend over the limit still gets their packs, but you get nothing for them — neither right away nor for the calendar. A promo code can only be entered when a new player signs up, one per account. All packs are Mystery packs (caps from random collections, no 18+).

👥 Friends

Your friend list is the Friends tab of the leaderboard (open). A green dot on the avatar means the friend is playing right now.

• Add — the “Add friend” button on a player's page. They get a request (and a bot message) and accept or decline it in the Friends tab. If they already asked you, you become friends right away.
• Anyone who joins with your promo code becomes your friend right away, no request needed.
• If a friend has an open PvP game, there's a “Bet” button next to them. A game with a friend counts for the daily quest “Play with a friend” when you have it.
• Star gifts: on a friend's page you can buy them Mystery packs with Telegram Stars — 5 packs for 25 ⭐, 15 packs for 65 ⭐, 50 packs for 200 ⭐. They get them right after payment, with a celebration screen and a bot message. Payment works only in the game inside Telegram.
• Up to 100 friends and outgoing requests. Remove a friend with the cross in the list.

Flea market

Trade wrappers for packs of the collection you choose. Not all collections are on sale at once — only 3, and every midnight they are replaced with others, so check back for the one you need. A new collection is always on sale for its first 3 days. Bulk is cheaper:

The flea market opens with the 🎁 Mystery pack for 700 wrappers — 30% cheaper than a regular pack even when you buy just one. It holds 3 caps, each from its own random collection (no 18+), so all three can be different. You can buy up to 50 at once — pick the amount in the list, each one costs the same. Bought Mystery packs go to Packs with the rest — open them whenever you like, right where collection packs are. Tasks, the calendar, achievements, friends and promo codes give the same Mystery packs; the roulette gives collection packs.

Each collection has exactly as many packs as its unminted caps allow. If a bundle can't be filled, the purchase fails as a whole and no wrappers are spent.

🔨 Workshop

Spare caps can be melted into a number you don't have: 5 duplicates + 1 000 wrappers → a cap from the collection you pick. The workshop is in your caps, “By collections” tab (open).

• A duplicate is any copy of a number except the best one: the coolest copy (the earliest of equals) always stays.
• Your weakest duplicates go into the melt — the workshop shows exactly which ones beforehand. Pinned caps and caps in bets or trades are never touched: pin what you want to keep.
• You get a random number you're missing in that collection, coolness rolled as in a pack. Completed collections aren't listed.
• Melted caps are gone for good and count as burned in their collection.
• There's a daily task “Craft a cap in the Workshop” — it shows up for players with enough duplicates.

Rating

Points are not earned per win — they are recalculated from the caps you own right now, instantly: get, win, upgrade or lose a cap and your score updates. Collections matter most.

• N is the number of caps in the collection, “collected” is how many different numbers you own.
• Min coolness: take your best cap of every number, then the weakest of them. One +0 in a completed set drags the whole bonus down.
• Duplicates only count in the last line — 1 point plus 0.5 per coolness level.
• 18+ collections count even if you hide them.
• On equal points, whoever joined earlier ranks higher.
• The “Hide my profile” switch on the Hall of fame hides your player page: others see only your nickname, score and place (with a 🔒), not your caps, collections or achievements. You stay in the rating.

Example: a collection of 30

Because of the square, the second half of a collection is worth three times the first, and the last number is worth many times the first one. Finishing an almost complete set beats starting a new one. Raising the weakest cap of a completed set by +1 adds another 5 × N points.

👤 Player page

Tap any player in the Hall of fame (or your own card at the top) to open their page:

• place, points and how many caps, numbers and completed collections they have;
• badges — collections completed in full, with their coolness;
• showcase — their coolest caps, one per number;
• album — all their collections: expand one to see the numbers. The green “need” tag marks numbers you don’t have.

The first time you complete a collection, the game celebrates it with a special screen, and the collection gets a badge on your page.

🔄 Trading

Missing a number that another player has a spare of? Propose a trade: there is a “Propose a trade” button on the player’s page.

1. Choose up to 5 of their caps. Only coolness levels you have are shown; numbers you don’t have come first, tagged “need”.
2. Choose your caps in return — as many and of the same coolness, one to one, like a PvP bet: for “+5, +0” you give exactly +5 and +0.
3. The player gets the offer (and a bot message) and decides: “Deal!” or “Decline”.

• While the offer waits for an answer, your caps in it are locked: you can’t bet them in PvP. You can withdraw the offer at any time.
• Pinned caps and caps in games and bets can’t be traded. Pin a cap from your offer and the offer is withdrawn.
• If the player no longer has the requested caps when they agree, the trade doesn’t happen and your caps are freed.
• An offer with no answer closes after 3 days. You can wait for answers to at most 10 offers at once.
• Accounts can trade once they are 7 days old, up to 10 trades a day. Bots don’t trade.
• You can’t propose a direct trade to a player with a hidden profile (🔒) — only bid on their lot.

🏷️ Lots

Don’t know who has the number you need? Put up a lot: in “Trades”, the first tab is “Lots”, “Put up a lot” button.

1. Choose up to 5 of your caps — every player will see the lot.
2. Choose what you want in return, like in PvP: up to 5 collections and up to 5 specific numbers. Leave it empty and any caps will do.
3. Players bid: as many of their caps of the same coolness, like a regular trade, and only from what you want. One bid per player on a lot.
4. You look through the bids and pick the best — “Take it!”. The other bids close and their caps are freed.

• Lot and bid caps are locked while the lot is open. You can take the lot down or withdraw a bid at any time.
• A lot closes by itself after 3 days; up to 3 open lots and 20 bids per lot. Pin a cap from a lot and the lot is taken down.
• Lots with numbers you don’t have come first, tagged “need”. Bids count toward the limit of pending offers and daily trades.

All trades are on the Home screen, “Trades” button: lots, offers to you, your offers and history.

🏠 Yards

A yard is a team of up to 20 players. Yard points are the sum of members’ points; the yard rating is on the “Yards” tab of the Hall of fame.

• Founding your own yard costs 3 000 wrappers: a name, an emblem and whether it is open to everyone.
• Anyone can join an open yard from its page. A closed one — only with an invite link that any member sends with the “Invite friends to the yard” button. Closing the yard changes the link, so old links stop working.
• Every yard has a chat visible only to its members.
• The owner (👑) can kick players. If the owner leaves, the longest-standing member takes over; when the last one leaves, the yard closes.
• After leaving or being kicked you can join a new yard no sooner than in 24 hours.

Hidden details in short

• Coolness doesn't change PvP odds: pairs are always the same level, every duel is 50/50.
• Real players are slightly easier to beat than bots (47.5% → 50%). Bot bets can be switched off.
• Every duel won against a live player gives +50 wrappers, even if you lose the game overall, up to 1500 a day. Bots pay no wrappers — caps only.
• A cap levels up only by winning. Up to +3 it levels up in 70% of wins, then slower and slower.
• Serial numbers are random: low numbers are pure luck.
• Rating is about collections. Duplicates give almost nothing, so they are perfect for PvP — or melt them in the workshop into a missing number.
• A draw in the Slammer doesn't use up a game. Aim for the center — a shaky hand takes no more than 15% accuracy.
• New and returning players get a gift calendar on the Daily page: 30 gifts, one a day, missed days don't reset progress.
• Spin the roulette on the Daily page once a day: 5% — 10 packs, 10% — 3 packs, 15% — 1 pack.
• Everything daily resets at midnight Moscow time.
• Missing a number? Open players’ albums from the Hall of fame: the “need” tag shows who has it, and you can propose a trade right there.
• Invite friends with your promo code from the Leaderboard: your friend gets +10 packs, you get +2 packs right away and +20 packs once they finish the calendar (up to 10 friends per 3 months).