Wiki · Updates
Cobb Can Move Update History
Cobb Can Move has been patched steadily since it won Major Jam 7 in June 2025. This is the full version history — what changed in each release, and what it changed about the way the game plays.
Last updated July 27, 2026
Current version: v1.7
v1.7, released 19 May 2026, is the build documented across this site and the one embedded on our play page. Its headline change is a nerf to the SMELL rule: Cobb sniffs less often, and it is less persistent once it has smelled you at close range.
That single change altered the difficulty curve more than the version number suggests. SMELL was widely considered the run-ender, because the coal-gathering loop forces you to retrace your steps — exactly the behaviour it punishes. It still demands the biggest change to how you route a level, but it is no longer close to a death sentence.
How to route around the current SMELL behaviour is covered in rules explained.
Every version at a glance
| Version | Date | Headline change |
|---|---|---|
| v1.7 | 19 May 2026 | SMELL nerfed — fewer sniffs, less close-range persistence |
| v1.6 | 16 May 2026 | Rocks stun Cobb on a direct hit; rocks now audibly loud |
| v1.5 | 10 May 2026 | Balance adjustments from player feedback |
| v1.4 | 9 May 2026 | First patch of the 2026 update run |
| v1.3 | 15 June 2025 | Carrots respawn; Endless starts at level 3 |
| v1.2 | 5 June 2025 | Text rendering fixes, performance, fullscreen for the download |
| v1.1 | 5 June 2025 | Rocks throwable as distractions; level 7 blackout fixed |
| Jam build | June 2025 | Major Jam 7: Wild submission — placed first overall |
Version by version
v1.7 — 19 May 2026
- Nerfed "Cobb can smell": less frequent sniffs, and less persistence when it smells you at close range.
- What it changed for players: SMELL levels went from the hardest roll in the game to merely the most demanding. Circuit routing still beats back-and-forth shuttling, but one mistake is no longer fatal.
v1.6 — 16 May 2026
- Rocks can now stun Cobb with a direct hit for a short period.
- Rocks are audibly loud, making it obvious that throwing one makes noise.
- Coal is less likely to spawn immediately next to the player.
- What it changed for players: the most significant balance patch in the game's history. Rocks stopped being a one-note distraction and became a genuine defensive option, which is why holding one in reserve is now the correct play under FASTER and REACH. Making the throw loud was the honest counterpart — the stun is powerful, so its cost under HEAR had to be visible. The coal change removed the free opening some levels used to hand out.
v1.5 — 10 May 2026
- Minor balance adjustments made in response to player feedback.
- What it changed for players: a tuning pass rather than a mechanical change. Community reports at the time pointed to level 7 receiving additional rocks, which fits the finale's extra-rule difficulty.
v1.4 — 9 May 2026
- The first patch of the May 2026 update run, following renewed attention on the game.
- What it changed for players: little on its own, but it marks the point where an eight-month-old jam game re-entered active development.
v1.3 — 15 June 2025
- Carrots now respawn when eaten.
- Endless mode starts at level 3.
- The breaker sprite was made more noticeable.
- What it changed for players: all three shaped how the game is played today. Respawning carrots made STARVE survivable instead of a resource race. Starting Endless at level 3 removed two tutorial levels players were replaying every attempt. And the breaker sprite fixed a real readability problem — players were dying while hunting for a switch they had already walked past.
v1.2 — 5 June 2025
- Fixed irregular text rendering.
- Performance improvements.
- Added fullscreen support to the downloadable version.
- What it changed for players: presentation and stability. The browser build already had fullscreen; this brought the Windows download in line.
v1.1 — 5 June 2025
- Rocks can now be thrown as distractions.
- Fixed a screen blackout bug on story level 7.
- Added decorations to some areas.
- What it changed for players: this patch created the rock mechanic as players know it. The jam build shipped without throwable distractions — everything the later stun change built on starts here.
Major Jam 7: Wild — June 2025
- The original build, made in roughly a week for Major Jam 7: Wild.
- Placed first overall in the jam.
- What it changed for players: the jam version already contained the core idea — a procedurally generated dungeon with a rule that rerolls every level. Everything since has been tuning, not redesign.
What the patch history tells you about the game
Read end to end, the changelog shows a developer tuning one specific thing: the gap between what a rule threatens and what the player can actually do about it.
Every meaningful patch either handed the player a new answer — throwable rocks in v1.1, the stun in v1.6, respawning carrots in v1.3 — or reduced a rule's ability to punish without warning, like the SMELL nerf in v1.7, the louder rocks in v1.6, and the more visible breaker in v1.3. None of them made Cobb weaker in a straightforward sense. They made its behaviour more legible.
That is worth knowing as a player, because it tells you what kind of game you are being asked to play. Cobb Can Move is not testing your reaction time. It is testing whether you read the rule and changed your plan.
Who makes the updates
Cobb Can Move is credited to abho for art, programming and game design, with programming support from Vystel and Federico, audio by frost and Jimmy, and playtesting by Imslandar and giohappy.
It was built in Construct, with pixel art in Aseprite and audio produced in Audacity and FL Studio — a stack worth noting if you are curious how a browser-playable horror game of this size gets made in about a week.
Updates are announced on itch.io
The developer posts every release as a devlog on the official itch.io page. If you want to know the moment a version ships, follow abho there rather than waiting on this page.
Frequently asked questions
v1.7, released on 19 May 2026. It nerfed the SMELL rule — Cobb sniffs less often and is less persistent when it smells you at close range. That is the version embedded on this site.
They track the same version number and the same content. The main historical difference was fullscreen support, which the downloadable Windows build gained in v1.2. The browser build needs no install and saves your Story progress locally.
In v1.6, on 16 May 2026. Before that, rocks — added in v1.1 — worked only as a noise distraction. The same patch made rock throws audibly loud, so their cost under the HEAR rule is obvious.
It has since v1.3, in June 2025. Levels 1 and 2 are tutorial levels that teach the coal loop and introduce sensory rules; replaying them on every Endless attempt was busywork, so the mode now skips straight to the point.
It received four updates in May 2026 — v1.4 through v1.7 — after a quiet stretch following its June 2025 jam release, so it is actively maintained rather than abandoned. Check the developer's itch.io devlog for anything newer than v1.7.
Play the current version
Play Cobb Can Move v1.7 free in your browser — no download, no account, no install.