A real-world collecting game
Snap it. Collect it.
Compete in your state.
Stop saving animal photos to your phone. Turn them into cards, dress the cards, and climb the board against other explorers near you.
Built playful enough for kids. Competitive enough for the rest of us.
Also on iPhone and Android
Live right now
Dress the cards. Climb the board.
Score comes from what you have collected: each new species adds more than a repeat catch, and rarer finds are worth more than common ones.
Six reasons to go look again
Rarer finds unlock shinier frames. The hunt is outside, on the walk you were taking anyway.
Sprout frame · Frog · Dust Motes
Pebble Ring · Cardinal · Glow Mist
Bloom frame · Owl · Fireflies
Trailblaze · Lynx · Night Stars
Sun Halo · Axolotl · Sun Rays
Aurora frame · Stag of Dawn · Holographic
Play in public, stay private
Compete without giving anything away.
Boards show an explorer handle and a state. No real name, no face, no address, no map pin. Grown-ups are on the board by default and can switch it off any time. Kid accounts stay private unless a parent turns it on.
Free to view for anyone, signed in or not. Your score is your collection.
Follow friends, open their profiles, and watch each other's Dex fill up.
A small seat limit on purpose. Invite the few people who want to see every bug.
For families and solo explorers. Not a homeschool curriculum pitch. More for parents
No kids required
Grown-ups keep a life list too.
Plenty of HabitatLab explorers are adults out for themselves. Pick “Just me” at sign-up and the whole app is yours: a Living Dex, rarity hunting, and a record of every catch, with none of the “ask a grown-up” copy.
Point at something real on a walk, a trail, the backyard, the porch. Not a screenshot.
Vision AI verifies the catch, then the card lands in a collection you filled yourself.
Close family seats come standard. Pro adds friends, profiles, and state rank.
What you get
Every card is a real species you photographed yourself.
Playful layout, quick games, frames and effects worth chasing.
A small number of seats for the people closest to you.
Friends, friend profiles, and your rank in your state.
The photo has to be a real outdoor catch to count.
Common to Mythical. Rarer finds unlock shinier frames.
Plans
Start free — 3 catches a month. No card, no ads.
Collect and play. Free forever, with 3 new catches a month.
The competitive plan. Friends, friend profiles, and your rank across the country.
Secondary option. A few close seats so family can view and cheer each other's finds.
Questions people ask
HabitatLab is a real-world nature collecting game. You photograph animals, plants, and bugs you notice outside. Vision AI checks the shot is a real outdoor catch, then the card lands in your Living Dex.
No. It is a collecting game first. The layout and games are built so kids want to open it, and plenty of adults play it solo. Families do use their Dex as a nature record, but nothing here is a curriculum.
Your full Living Dex is not a public feed of strangers. Close family seats can view and cheer your cards. Pro adds friends and friend profiles. Public boards are different: if your explorer account is public, other people can see your handle, state, and rank on the leaderboards (and a limited public profile) without signing in. Grown-up or solo accounts start public and can switch off anytime. Kid accounts on family seats stay private unless a parent turns public ranking on. Boards show handle and state, not your real name, face, address, or map pin.
HabitatLab is free forever — your Living Dex, your gallery, sharing and the leaderboards, plus 3 new catches every month. Pro and Family are optional paid plans that open 30 shots of film a day (plus film you earn in play), the games and the learning. Your cards stay yours either way.
Leaf Coins are earned in play and spend only on cosmetics such as frames, effects, skies, and titles. They are not real money. The only real-money purchases are the optional Pro and Family plans.
Purchases, account changes, and account deletion are gated behind a multi-digit math challenge so a child cannot complete them alone. The gate is not used for every outbound link. It is not verified parental consent (VPC).
No. HabitatLab is built for families and does not claim COPPA-complete status. The math gate is not verified parental consent (VPC).
Start with one walk
Go find one wild thing this week. Snap it, collect it, send it to your people. Free forever with 3 catches a month. No card, no ads.
Start free