A field game lives inside the Grzybiarz app. In promo materials we call it Podgrzybek GO, and in the app itself you will find it as Forest Hunt. The rule is simple: the forest is real, the mushrooms are virtual, and you can only catch what you can recognise. Along the way the game teaches species, lookalikes and patience, which is everything that comes in handy with a basket.
What the game is about
Virtual specimens stand only in real woodland, true to season and habitat: in winter you will not run into summer porcini, and meadow species do not turn up deep in a spruce stand. The layout changes every Monday, so the same spots are worth walking again each week. The map shows what grows nearby but keeps the species name secret until the catch.
Once you walk within 60 metres, your phone buzzes and the specimen can be engaged. There is no rush, because nobody will take it from you. You can browse its features in the atlas first and only then answer.
Catching is a quiz
Instead of throwing anything, there is a question. You name the species from its features, from its habitat and time of year, or you pick which of the mushrooms shown must not be collected. One slip is forgiven, because under the trees it is easy to tap the wrong answer. A second one and the specimen escapes, and that spot rests until the next day.
An escape is not punishment without a lesson. The game then shows the correct answer and the diagnostic feature that will let you recognise the species next time.
The Grzybdex, levels and badges
Every species lands in the Grzybdex, a collection of over one hundred and twenty species from the atlas. Each has three tiers: known from the quiz, caught virtually, and confirmed in a real forest. A real find always ranks above a virtual one.
Experience points flow from outings, confirmed finds and catches. There are fifty levels, and with them titles, from Greenhorn through Bay Bolete and Porcini Master to Legend of the Wildwood. On top of that, badges in three groups: field, collection and knowledge. There is also a weekly leaderboard, opt-in and off by default.
The mycelium grows from walking
Every caught specimen yields spores. You sow them in one of three mycelium slots, and the mycelium grows from kilometres walked, not from waiting. Sometimes it fruits a species related to the one you sowed, with priority for whatever is missing from your Grzybdex.
The rhythm of day, week and month
Daily task: one challenge derived from your catches, worth 40 XP.
Weekly streak: an outing or a hunt keeps the streak alive, and the game forgives one missed week.
Monthly collection: five species from the seasonal pool, a medal and 150 XP for the full set.
Flush windows: after rain there are more specimens, and a local notification tells you when a window opens near you.
Offline and privacy
The game is fully offline: maps, the forest mask and the spawn rolls live on the phone, so deep in the woods without signal everything runs the same. Exact coordinates never leave the device. The server sees at most an approximate area of a catch, while distance, steps and your level stay local.
The game works best alongside real foraging trips, because the same kilometres feed the mycelium, the statistics and the weekly streak. Walking your porcini spots, you pick up virtual specimens on the way.
The game draws nothing on the forest floor and never points to real mushrooms to pick. The quiz teaches features, but never decide about collecting or eating a real mushroom based on the game. That is what the atlas, the lookalike comparison and your own calm verification are for.