Usagi Puzzle

		This article contains spoilers! Please be advised that the following article contains spoilers for the screamer mentioned in the title or description. If you have not yet experienced the material and wish to avoid spoilers, we recommend that you proceed with caution or refrain from reading until you have done so.

		Content Warning! The following work contains content and material that some may find shocking. Reader discretion is advised.

Usagi Puzzle (うさぎパズル, Usagi pazuru) is a Japanese ActionScript game made by Hothukurou. The game is considered to be "a non-scary horror game" by the creator himself. The game, like Lomando.com, has, in fact, a story and somewhat similar gameplay.

	Hothukurou
	Flash game
	2017
	Flash (2017-2021) ActionScript (2021-present)
	Online

The actual game is just a simple drag-and-shoot game. Their objective is to control a rabbit with the mouse to bounce the balls into the holes. However, the upper section of the second page of the tutorial warns the user not to click on a button that appears randomly and to continue the game normally. On the bottom section of the same page is a description of MDMA, a psychoactive drug, and the case that it was used to cure PTSD in America, which sets the foreshadow of the underlying story.

The game has 15 stages that increase difficulty each time they clear. Strangely, it has several endings and 4 routes, which will be listed below.

All Endings

Ending 1 — Game Clear

"Congratulations for clearing! Rest your body and your mind and let's have a healthy life!"

You have beaten all 15 levels, and that means that you also didn't click on the button mentioned. After completing all the levels, the game congratulates and asks the user to relax after having fun, besides wishing them a positive life. However, the text "身体も心もすっくりやすめて" (Rest your body and mind...) can be misread as "くすりやめて" (Stop taking drugs.), giving the first point to the story of the game.

Ending 2 — Welcoming

The park.

This ending is called "お迎え" (omukae), a short version for "お迎え現象" (omukae genshou) which means "Psychopomp". Other meanings are: "welcoming" and also "approach of death".

By clicking on the "Don't click here!" button, the game gets distorted and the background is changed to a static screen, a disturbing noise also starts playing. However, if the player stands still for a few minutes, something changes. The user is redirected to the start menu of the game and suddenly the rabbit gets a realistic mouth and eye, plus a few black dots around.

The game resumes very differently than it was before, and now an image of a park appears. It knows that the user chooses two options: "右を向く" (Turn Right) and "左を向く" (Turn Left). When turning right, a rabbit appears and runs toward the screen with a loud sound.

The game-over screen is "夢の中でお迎えがきた。よかった。"(Death has come in my dreams. I'm so glad.).

Ending 3 — Cursed

The easter egg.

In stage 10, there's an easter egg. When the user tries to take the block to the right, it slowly goes out of the way until it finally opens. When the user moves the rabbit to the lower left, it will get stuck, and the only thing they can do is click the "Don't click here!" button. After clicking, a sentence reading "呪われたすぐに閉じろ" (Close immediately after being cursed.) appears. After a few seconds, the screen will be filled with a flood of "すぐにけせ" (Disappear) and loud noise. There is nothing more than this and it will be redirected to Hothukurou's website.

True End — Akazu no Hako

"The Bizzare Urban Legend, Akazu no Hako"

This ending is unlocked when the player clicks the "Don't click here!" button and throws the ball inside the hole after it. The screen will get static for a moment until it reveals an image of an air vent and then the real storyline begins.

The narrator wakes up from the dream he had and notices he is trapped in a one-man cell after he had gone crazy by a certain urban legend. The truth is, the dream he had was the entire Usagi Puzzle game all along. Of the fear of being found by a certain something, he screams out loud and it makes the nurses at the nurse station worried. They start discussing the urban legend that the narrator so believes until he screams again. After that, a box comes out from the air vent in his cell, and the whole webpage background begins to flash red. The user has to click on the box to be redirected to the main story, which reveals to be Akazu no Hako.

• Script:

I woke up from the sweet dream I had. Now, I can't move my body to escape from this painful reality. And it's all because I'm tied up to a bed. I'm scared. I have to get out of here as soon as possible. The echoing sound of the ropes squeaking is scary. I'm scared. At this rate, that thing will come. I screamed out of fear. My voice echoes in the corridor illuminated by the moon. The scream reached the end of the hallway to the locked nurse station. "...That patient, isn't he noisy again?" "Just when he got unconscious by the drug..." "Hasn't he been getting better nowadays? He just had taken a dose, right?" "His screams are getting louder by the day though." "Every time he says "Don't come here! Don't come here!" he makes other patients scared too..." "Perhaps that urban legend is really true." "Everyone who goes to that place dies though..." "People who go to places like that from the urban legend were always crazy. Also, that urban legend is obviously a lie." "Is that so?" "Ugh, I can hear his voice again." "Don't come here!" "Don't come here!" DON'T COME HEREEEEEEE!

甘い幻覚から覚めてしまった。この辛い現実から逃げようにも身体を動かせない。 ベットに全身拘拘束されているためである。怖い、早くここから逃げたい。 無人部屋に拘束具の擦れる音が反響する怖い。怖い、このままだとアレが来る。 恐怖のあまり叫び声を上げた。月日を照らす、がらんとした廊下に響き渡る。 廊下の端、鍵の付いたナースステーションにまでこの声は届いた。 ・・・あの患者、また騒いでますね せっかくお薬で安静になっていたのに。 最近どんどん効き目なくなってませんか？さっき投薬したばかりですよ？ 叫び声も日に日に大きくなってきてますし 「来るなぁ！来るなぁ！」って、周りの患者さんも怖がっちゃって・・・。 やっぱあの噂、本当になんですかね。 あそこに行ったほかの方、みんなお亡くなりになっていますし・・・。 あんな所にいく人なんて元から気が狂ってるのよ。都市伝説なんて嘘に決まってる。 そうなんですかね? うわあ、また声が聞こえてきますね。 「・・・来るなぁ!」 「・・・来るなぁ!」 来るなぁあああああああ！

Instructions

How to play "Daughter in a box" (Klotski/箱入り娘)

Sliding the wooden pieces, the purpose is to put the "Daughter" (娘) out of the bottom of the crate frame. The box opens when the "Daughter" is removed.

A woman in black clothes will come to kill you.
You can escape by running away (逃げる).

The story progresses after playing a few times.

Those who can't clear the game ⇒ Please check out the Q&A below.

箱入り娘の遊び方
木製のピースをスライドさせて、「娘」を木枠下の出口から外に出すことが目的です「娘」が取れると箱が開くようです。 黒い服の女が殺しに来ます。
逃げることで離れることができます。 何度か遊ぶとストーリーが開放されます クリアできない方⇒ページ下Ｑ＆Ａを参考ください。

Q&A

Q.What's the storyline? Why I'm chased by a woman? A.Please refer to the "The day before the nightmare" section. They will be unlocked sequentially. Q.I am not able to solve the puzzle! A.You can destory a block if you clicks continuously on it... (as a last resort) Q. Is everyone dead in the end? A.There is a living ending. The hint is placed after you cleared the fourth day. What was the woman wanting? Q.I'm unable to proceed to the first day! A.Do not play under browser's incognito mode. Please switch to normal mode. (For Safari under iOS, press "Task Manage" button on the bottom right corner, then press "Private Mode" button on the bottom left corner to quit.) Q.I'm too scared to play it! I want to play non-scary one! A.I've created a "a non-scary horror game". [Link to Usagi Puzzle] Q.I just want to play "Daughter in a box", without monsters! A.I've made it. [Link to a game called "Puzzle of prayer" (Oinori Pazuru/お祈りパズル), which is similar to Akazu no Hako, but with a different storyline and without a screamer.]

Q.ストーリーは？なんで女に追われてるの？ A.悪夢の前日譚をご覧ください。順次解放されます。 Q.パズルが解けない！ A.壊したいピースを連打すると・・・。（最終手段） Q.結局みんな死んで終わり？ A.生還エンディングあります。ヒントは四日目クリア後。女の子はどうしてほしかったのでしょうか。 Q.１日目から進まない！ A.プライベートモードで遊んでいませんか。通常のモードに変更してください。 (iOS Safariなら、右下のタスク変更ボタン→左下のプライベートボタンを押して解除してください。) Q.怖くてプレイできない！怖くないのがやりたい！ A.怖くないホラーゲームも作ってきました。 [怖くないホラーゲーム] Q.お化け無しで箱入り娘だけ遊びたい。 A.制作いたしました。 [お祈りパズル]

Nomura Arc

Nomura is in the Nighmare Forest (悪夢の森) being chased by a woman and to leave the place he needs to open the box by completing the puzzle "Daughter in a Box". If the player can't put the "Daughter" piece out of the box in time, a screamer of a bluish woman smiling with distorted eyes pops up with a loud sound. As soon as the player manages to remove the "Daughter" piece, Nomura opens the box and is saved from death.

Nomura wakes up desperately, realizing that everything that happened at the Nightmare Forest was just a dream. He begins to question everything that happened, to the point of throwing up as he remembers what was inside that box. Nomura reveals that he only woke up in the Nightmare Forest after returning home and having looked at a lost box in the middle of his path, and just by looking at it he lost consciousness.

Nomura tries to forget what happened and also tries to continue normally his day. However, he realizes that in his bedroom there was, surprisingly, that woman who was chasing him in the Nightmare Forest. The same screamer of the bluish woman pops up, and Nomura is killed.

The game over message is "1日目:野村は謎を解いたが、殺された。（クリア！）" (First day: Nomura solved the mystery but was killed. (Stage Clear!)).

• Script:

Haah... Haah... Haah... It was all a dream... My entire body is sweating. I really thought I was gonna die. What was that? What the fuck was that woman? That dream was so real that I'm still out of breath. Barf. Just by remembering what was inside that box, I threw up. What the fuck was that? When I was going home and stared to that box, suddenly my conscious started to fail... That woman was always chasing me. It was really messed up, really. Uuf, seems like I've got unconsciously nervous about what happened today. That's unexpected, but I might actually have a "delicate" side. Huh? Why is that woman... ...in my bedroom? [SCREAMER]

はぁっ、はぁっ、はぁっ。 夢、か。 全身が汗まみれだ。 マジで死ぬかと思った。 なんだよアレ。 なんなんだよあの女。 リアルな夢すぎて、まだ息切れしてやがる。 うげ。 箱の中身を思い出して、ゲロが出てきた。 なんだったんだ一体。 帰ってあの箱を見つめていたら、急に意識が遠のいてきてーー。 女がすっと追いかけてきた。 マジでやばかった。マジで。 はぁ、やっぱ無意識に今日のことでビビってたんだろうな。 意外とオレ、繊細なのかも。 あれ。 あの女がなんで。 オレの部屋に。

Kobayashi Arc

Same as Nomura Arc and so on, the player needs to take the "Daughter" piece out of the box. If the player can't remove the piece in time, the same bluish woman screamer appears. But if the player succeeds, Kobayashi opens the box and escapes death.

Kobayashi wakes up, realizing that the dream he had was similar to a certain urban legend. Looking at his desk, he notices that the box was no longer in his room, making him sigh in relief. Kobayashi begins to wonder about what happened at the Nightmare Forest, but went into denial after overthinking. He began to believe that everything that happened was just a dream, and even though Nomura wasn't murdered by the woman, but by a serial killer. When he left his house, it was already morning. He walked to college and found Ikeda on the way. As Kobayashi approached her, he noticed that it wasn't Ikeda, but the woman in black clothes. Kobayashi becomes self-aware that he still didn't wake up from the dream and is killed by the woman.

The game over message is "2日目:小林は謎を解いたが、殺された。（クリア！）" (Second day: Kobayashi solved the mystery but was killed. (Stage Clear!)).

• Script:

I had a terrible dream. I was being chased by a woman with a kitchen knife. It was exactly like that urban legend. I quickly checked my desk, just to see that the box disappeared. I sighed in relief. Still, my head just won't stop thinking about what happened. The hell was that dream anyways? Inside that box was.... No, I don't want to remember it. What if... That woman was actually chasing for... .....Ugh, I shouldn't take conclusions like that. It was just a dream. A dream that showed all my fears. That's right. Nomura got stabbed by a weirdo and died. Urban legends... Curses... The hell to those ideas. I've had enough of that damn dream. When I left the entrance, the sun was rising. Before I knew it, it was already morning. I always forgot about important things, and as you can see, I'm kind of an airhead. Anyways, I adjusted my clothes and then I walked on my way to college. In a short while, I noticed that Ikeda was walking in front of me. "Hey, Ikeda!" I called her out. As I approached, Ikeda turned around. That was not Ikeda. I see. I still didn't... ...wake up from that dream. [SCREAMER]

ひどい夢を見た。 包丁を持った女にずっと追われる、都市伝説通りの夢。 はっとして机の上を見ると、箱は消えていた。 ふぅ、と呼吸を整える。 頭の中は、まだまとまらない。 なんだったんだ、あの夢は。 箱の中身は、・・・・・・いや、思い出したくもない。 もしかして、あの女が追ってきたのは。 ・・・・・・だめだ、考えるのはよそう。 あれは、ただの夢だ。 自分の恐怖心が見せた、夢。 野村は頭のおかしい奴刺されて死んだのだ。 都市伝説とか呪いとか、もうそういう考えは捨てよう。もうあんな夢を見るのはこりごりだ。 玄関を出ると、太陽が昇っていた。 知らぬ間にすっかり朝になっていたようだ。 ずっと頭の中は霞がかかったようで、ぼんやりとしていたが、習慣とは恐ろしいもので、いつの間にか身支度を整えて大学への道のりを歩いていた。 しばらくすると、目の前に池田が歩いていることに気づいた。 おい、池田。 そう声を掛けて近寄ると、池田が振り返る。 それは池田ではなくて。 そうか。 俺はまだ。 夢から覚めていなかったのだ。

Ikeda Arc

After the player takes the "Daughter" piece out of the box, Ikeda escapes the Nightmare Forest. She wakes up in her bedroom, noticing that the box is nowhere to be seen, just like in Kobayashi's case. Ikeda starts crying for feeling guilty after opening the box, begging for mercy. Suddenly, the sound of her door opening is heard, making Ikeda confuse. When she turns around, Ikeda finally realizes that no matter what she does, that woman will never forgive her and her friends. She is then killed by the woman.

The game over message is "3日目:池田は謎を解いたが、殺された。（クリア！）" (Third day: Ikeda solved the mystery but was killed. (Stage Clear!)).

"I'm alive..." I woke up from the nightmare. The box I left in my bedroom isn't here anymore. "*Sob* What...What have I done..." While I was escaping, I saw what was inside the box. Somewhat I can understand the reason why that woman was chasing me. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry......" Tears are falling from my eyes and my body doesn't stop shaking. At that time, a noise came behind me. "Huh?" I understand now. That woman will never forgive us no matter what. "Nooooo!!"

「私、生きてる・・・・・・」 悪夢から目が覚めた。 部屋に置いてあった箱は、もうない。 「ぐすっ、わ、私なんてことを・・・・・・」 逃げながら見た、箱の中身。 あの人が追いかけてくる理由が、何故か分かった気がする。 「ごめんなさいごめんなさいごめんなさい・・・・・・」 涙が溢れ、体の震えが止まらない。 そのとき、背後で物音がした。 「えっ」 私がわかっていた。 あの人が、私たちを消して許さないことを。 「いやああああ！！」

Watanabe Arc

Watanabe wakes up in the Nightmare Forest and he needs to escape as soon as possible. However, there are two endings for his arc, which both will depend on the player's choices.

When the player opens the box, Watanabe wakes up in his room. He notices that the woman in black clothes is in his room, approaching slowly. Watanabe is then killed by the woman. After this, when the user tries to play the game again after seeing the "game over" screen, a message saying "The truth is under the page" (真実はページ下) appears. Scrolling the page down, there will be a message saying "Don't escape" (逃ゲルナ) and "Don't open it" (開ケルナ). However, if the player scrolls the page too much, the bluish woman screamer appears with a loud noise. The page then reloads.

The good ending: If the player must return the box to the woman, Watanabe woke up from the nightmare which is a real life. The creepy atmosphere has already gone. His family came to his room cause he had a nightmare. He burst out crying while he sees them. A few months later, the news has stopped reporting about the incident. Nobody cares about it recently, Watanabe been exploring places he had been before. The mysterious box that appears in his dream inside his room. He think There is a hidden truth for her in the box, and all he need to never reveal the truth. They apologized of stealing the box and returning it. Solved the mystery means not to solve the box. Everyone had a secret to hide and had a past that they didn't want to remember and would always be leave it alone.

The day before the nightmare

Akumu No Zenjitsu, with all the stories unlocked.

The day before the nightmare (悪夢の前日謹, Akumu no Zenjitsu) is a part of the storyline from Akazu no Hako. As the title itself says, it's a series of events that happens before the 4 protagonists enter their nightmares, so it's recommended to read them before playing their arcs.

Each of the stories can be unlocked after clearing the Days (Except in Nomura Arc which is automatically unlocked). Bellow, there is a list of every story before the nightmares.

Ghost Story (Nomura Arc)

Ghost Story is an explanation of the Urban Legend that is spreading around Japan, the Akazu no Hako. The legend says that someone found a strange wooden box with a letter in unreadable scattered Japanese characters in an abandoned small city, specifically, in an abandoned apartment in Room 103. And the tansu (old Japanese drawer) was tied tightly with a rope so the drawer couldn't be opened. But when the rope is cut and the drawer is opened, a sheet of paper written "Do not open" (開ケルナ) is included.

When the person destroyed the paper and closed the drawer because he was feeling a strange sense of danger, he could hear noises inside the object and reopened it again in a naive curiosity, and a box suddenly appeared. After touching it, his destiny was sealed, and from now on, a woman would come in his dreams to kill him.

Even when the truth lies inside this box, as long as the user doesn't solve the mystery from the box, they won't wake up from their dreams. And, they absolutely must not open the box.

Curiosity (Kobayashi Arc)

When the person opens the door, he actually found these pages inside and he seemed to be noticed there was a box in there that causing him goosebumps. He don't usually believe in ghost stories, but his body was shivering because of the aura of the box, the atmosphere of the apartment and the darkness. He thinks that the urban legend is right that the Woman in the black dress will kill them. They look around a while, but nothing happens. They understood the silence and left the apartment quietly. He talks about that Nomura was playing with the box and then he got scared and took the box from him. There are wooden pieces on the lid of the box, and they are lined up neatly. Each piece has words such as "Daughter", " Father", "Mother" and so on. Some of these parts are faded that looks like "Hakonezaiku" (Box puzzle/Moving block puzzle). If they move the pieces correctly, they'll solved it. If the rumor is right, they can survive if they solve this puzzle. A black dressed woman never followed them. He thinks that the box might be broken. So he gave the box back to Nomura. Their second time exploring an urban legend has ended. He then saw the box like Nomura had. He had lost consciousness when he saw the box.

Really Upset (Ikeda Arc)

The two remaining victims think there are lots of coincidence. They talikng about how they were chased by the women while playing the box if the rumor is true. Ikeda got home after explained qbout the incident, she noticed that the box was also in her room.

Dead End (Watanabe Arc)

Watanabe is left, thinking that everyone is dead. The police think that Watanabe is a person of interest. But everything bad happends, there is even no proof. The police stated that there may have been another person watching them and their friends entered the apartment who is also targeting them all. According to the police, they couldn't find the apartment that they went to. According to the news, each of the three of them were dead while they're sleeping. Watanabe then explains about the box, it was made in meiji era, the woman kept killing everyone to hide her secret and maybe there also a secret truth about the box. After watanabe explaining about the box, the box will appears in the corner of his room.

Links

NOTE: The following game contains a screamer!

• hothukurou.com/game/Truth/index.html
• Akazu no Hako: hothukurou.com/game/PuzzleGirl/index.html
• Gameplay/Preview: youtube.com/watch?v=B5eQf6AFksE

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