CapybaraBooom: The World's First Playable Capybara Universe

CapybaraBooom is the world’s first playable universe built around the global love for capybaras. Built in-house at Moskvarium in Moscow, one of Europe’s largest aquariums, the 500 m² exhibition turns seven zones and 21 installations into one multiplayer family game.

The challenge

Family entertainment has an age-gap problem. Kids want action, teenagers want video games, parents want their children to learn, and grandparents want to join in. Most family attractions split the family up by age, and someone always ends up waiting on a bench. The brief was bold: one multi-generational experience where nobody sits out.

Why capybaras

Capybaras have stayed incredibly popular for years, with billions of views on TikTok and Instagram. All generations recognise and love the calm, unbothered capybara, and its meme culture shaped the exhibition’s visual code. This global cultural phenomenon brings families through the door; the innovation lives in how they play once inside.

One game for the whole family

The visit starts with Capybarization. Every guest designs their own capybara, saves it to a personal RFID card and receives starting Capycoins, the exhibition’s single currency. The RFID card becomes the backbone of the entire experience: it links all 21 installations into one continuous game, carries every guest’s score from zone to zone and turns each tap into Capycoins. A live leaderboard tracks the race for Capybara Boss.

Children and teenagers want to climb the leaderboard, while parents often join in to help them earn more Capycoins. There are no separate age zones: every part of the experience gives different generations a reason to take part, so the family moves through one route together.

The route

Follow one family through the exhibition. At Capybarius, they take on CapyQuiz, a TV-style edutainment show where capybara facts live inside the game mechanics. In Amazonia, they sit in one vibrating boat surrounded by 360° projection and row with interactive paddles. To earn more Capycoins, they have to work as a team. In Capybara Bro’s sports zone, they compete in speed, jumping, aim and reaction. Halfway through, Capybara San slows them down: they draw a light mandala in the sand, meditate and each receive a personal CapyTarot prediction. A deliberate rest stop like this is rarely found in children’s attractions. Then Capybara Boy pulls everyone into one interactive party with Capybaraoke, eight arcade games and an interactive LED dance floor. The finale and hero moment is the Orange Pool: a giant pool of orange balls inspired by the capybara’s favourite treat and its most viral meme. Kids dive in first. Parents follow. The family plays together.

Rewards to take home

At the end, Capycoins become take-home stickers and digital prizes to enjoy after the visit. Every card tap and earned Capycoin counts towards a real reward, making the game feel fair and complete. The universe is an original IP: four lead capybaras and twenty more characters, each with a personality and backstory. Each lead owns a zone, so storytelling, art direction and mechanics come from one source. Every zone is composed as a ready-made photo, with Instagrammable spots throughout, and an AI-powered photo zone turns family shots into striking images.

Technology

Behind the playful surface sits an integrated system. One game: RFID cards and a central scoring system connect all 21 installations to the live leaderboard. Immersion: 360° projection, an interactive vibrating boat, interactive floor projections, a LiDAR-powered sand table, crank-powered sports games, arcades and an interactive LED dance floor. Memories: personal CapyTarot predictions and AI photo processing. Every element serves one purpose: keeping the family playing together. In less than a year, CapybaraBooom has welcomed more than 120,000 guests, and some families stay over two hours. Kids check their place on the leaderboard, ask for another round and pull their parents back in to earn more Capycoins.

What’s new

CapybaraBooom connects every installation through one story, one IP, one RFID card, one currency and one goal: becoming Capybara Boss. It turns a global cultural phenomenon into one multiplayer game and offers a powerful, transferable model for multi-generational family attractions. From the first tap at Capybarization to the last dive into the Orange Pool, the whole family plays together. Nobody sits out!