Grow an ant nest in a world without end

ANTS is an ant-colony observation simulation that runs in your browser. Starting from a single queen, the ants dig curving tunnels into the real geology of an endlessly connected world, react to day, night and weather, and grow into one small society. It isn't a fast-input game — it's an experience of watching a slowly growing ecosystem.

Cross-section of an ant nest, tunnels and chambers reaching from the surface into the deep — A cross-section of the nest — curving tunnels and chambers reaching beneath the surface grass, flowers and trees, growing along and away from veins (gold) and groundwater.

🌍 An endless connected world

Drag the screen and the world scrolls on forever. Hills, forests, rocky mountains and streams pass by — and somewhere out there a neighbor's nest is hidden.

🪨 Real geology

Veins are hard and fossils can't be dug through. Ants read the ground and dig around it. Beside groundwater it's damp; beside lava it's hot.

🌦️ Day, night & weather

At sundown the stars come out and foragers thin out. When the sky clouds over, the ants sense it first and seal the entrance.

🧭 Discovery by exploration

Neighboring nests aren't on any map. Send a scout and it walks off on its own, climbs a neighbor's mailbox to learn its name, and reports back to the queen — discovery confirmed!

In short: connect with no login and your own nest starts right away with a single queen. The world keeps flowing while you're away (offline progress), and reopening it to see how much it has grown becomes its own reward.

Start with One Queen

On your first visit, a queen ant is settled in a small royal chamber below the surface. She lays eggs, and each egg grows larva → pupa → worker (as the colony grows, some become soldiers). Once the first worker is born, it starts widening tunnels and carrying food, and the nest begins to grow in earnest.

Workers plan and dig curving tunnels on their own — a structure built up from behavior, not from a blueprint.
Chambers are dug in spots with good temperature and humidity. Damp rooms beside groundwater are especially popular.
Once the colony stabilizes, the queen moves to a deep royal chamber — a 👑 crown marker floats above your queen so you can see the royal chamber at a glance.
If food runs out, the colony withers, and prolonged starvation brings collapse. A collapsed nest remains as ruins.

A crowned queen laying eggs in the royal chamber — 👑 The crowned queen — the mother who bears every ant in the colony as she lays her eggs.

Controls

Action	How
Pan the view	Drag (the world scrolls on endlessly)
Zoom in/out	Mouse wheel
Go to my nest	🏠 My Nest button
Select an ant	Click one of your workers
Send a scout	Entrance 📫 Mailbox → 🎒 Use Item → 🌿 Surface expedition — the ant sets off to find a neighbor and brings back an item
Overlay	🌡️ Overlay button — cycles temperature → humidity → pheromones
Quick travel	Click a marker on the bottom minimap
Find the royal chamber	The 👑 crown marker above your queen
Name an ant	Select, then 🏷️ Give a Name — leave blank to remove
Named-ant list	🏷️ Named Ants button → click an entry to fly there and watch
Send a letter	💌 Letter button — an emoji to a discovered neighbor