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In the game: Charminar and the Old City around it at golden hour, seen from a kite's height.

Nostalgia Side A · Hyderabad 2003

Immu is flying home to Hyderabad after 23 years, bringing his father to see Charminar one last time. The cassette the two boys recorded in 2003 has gone silent. Remember each day of your last year together to bring its twelve sounds back before Saturday.

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Free · in your browser · laptop or phone · progress saves on your device

TAPE 083 · THE STORY

One cassette. Two years. Twelve days.

You play K. Srikanth: Chinnu to everyone in Lakshmi Nagar Colony. Eleven in 2003, thirty-four in 2026. Immu was his best friend: round specs taped at the bridge, a CID notebook in his pocket, every message signed off Over.

Chinnu.

Abba is coming home on Saturday. He wants to sit at Charminar once more and hear our tape, the whole year we made for him.

The basement flooded. Side A went quiet: twelve tracks, mostly hiss. You were there for every one. Play it. Remember each day properly and it comes back.

Café Noor-e-Iran, Saturday, 4 o'clock. Bring it. Over.

— I.

The note in the courier from New Jersey, in grown-up handwriting.

  1. PLAY · WED 14 JAN 2026 · 18:05

    2026. The tape arrives.

    Sankranti, and a courier from America with your name on it in pencil. Inside: a cassette marked SIDE A — HYDERABAD 2003, a sketch-pen map with twelve circles, and Immu's note. He last wrote in 2008. You never wrote back.

  2. REWIND · TUE 14 JAN 2003 · 07:10

    2003. Twelve days, one city.

    Press play and you are eleven, on the terrace, under a sky full of kites. Immu's family flies to America after Eid. Every track on Side A is one day of that year: play the day and its sound comes back on the tape, and the counter climbs towards 999.

  3. STOP · SAT 17 JAN 2026 · 16:00

    Saturday. Charminar.

    Abba wants to sit at Charminar once more and hear the tape the boys made for him: the whole city on one side. Four o'clock at the Irani café facing the minars. Bring it whole.

How to start

  1. ▶ Press Play
  2. ✉ Read Immu's note
  3. ★ Follow the pink route on your minimap to the star

TAPE 166 · SIDE A

Twelve tracks, one year of festivals

From Sankranti kites in January to Chand Raat in November. Each track is a day of 2003, with its own place, its own people and one sound for the tape.

  1. Bo Kaata!Terrace, Sankranti
  2. Lost and FoundNumaish
  3. First Day, First ShowSandhya theatre
  4. Last Man BattingPublic Gardens
  5. Right, Right!Imlibun bus station
  6. Ammamma's ThursdayThe flour mill
  7. The ClapGolconda
  8. Drums for AmmaLashkar Bonalu
  9. Opening DayPrasads
  10. Agle Baras Jaldi AanaTank Bund, Ganesh immersion
  11. Last BellNaubat Pahad
  12. Chand RaatCharminar

TAPE 249 · WHAT'S IN IT

A whole city between the tracks

Between missions Hyderabad is yours to wander, on the date the story has reached.

  • A year of festivals

    Twelve story days across 2003: Sankranti kites, Numaish, the World Cup final, Ugadi, Bonalu, Ganesh immersion on Tank Bund and the Ramzan nights before Chand Raat. The city dresses for each one.

  • Hyderabad, 2003

    An open, compressed city laid out from real map data: Charminar and Laad Bazaar, Golconda, Hussain Sagar and the Buddha, Tank Bund, Abids, Koti, Numaish at Nampally, Secunderabad. The hills are where the real ones are.

  • Cycle, Scooty, auto, bus

    Borrow a cycle, earn Akka's Scooty, drive an auto (you are eleven; the autowalas will shout), or climb to the top deck of a double-decker. Ride along on the rest.

  • Top-down or 3D

    Play it from above, like the old top-down city games, or press V for a 3D view over your shoulder or through your own eyes. Golden hour, monsoon rain, sodium lamps at night.

  • Irani chai, and 93 things to find

    Do chai, ek plate Osmania. Then go looking: 12 rooftop kites, 30 golis, 16 cassettes, 12 punched bus tickets and a 24-frame roll for Nanna's camera. Kite fights, gully cricket and marbles on the side.

  • Bring two friends

    Go online, share a room code and meet in the same city, three of you at most: cycle races, a chai run, a pani puri contest. Alone, the gang plays along. The story stays yours.

TAPE 332 · STILLS

Straight from the game

Every picture here is the game itself, in 3D or top-down. No paintings, no mock-ups.

TAPE 415 · BEFORE YOU PRESS PLAY

Good to know

Best on a laptop

A laptop or desktop with a keyboard gives you the most city on screen. Phones work too, held either way, with on-screen controls. A gamepad works as well.

The top-down view runs on almost anything. The 3D view downloads its models the first time you switch to it and is happiest on a recent machine.

Controls

WASD or arrows
move
Shift
run
E
talk, ride, pick up
Space
horn
M / J
map / journal
V
top-down, 3D, first person
Esc
pause

On a phone: drag on the left to move; ACTION, RUN and HORN sit on the right.

Your progress stays with you

The game saves after every mission, and whenever you save from the pause menu or an STD booth, in this browser on this device. Continue picks up from there. Clearing site data, or a private window, starts over.

Going online gives you a player code that carries your journey to another phone.

TAPE 498 · FAQ

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes. No download, no sign-up, no ads. Open the page and press Play.

What kind of game is it?

An open-city story adventure. Twelve story missions take you across Hyderabad through 2003; between them you roam, ride, run errands, play street games and hunt for hidden things. You can play it entirely from above, or in 3D.

Is it all right for children?

Yes. There are no weapons, no gore and no killing. The worst that happens is a bump, a slip or a scolding, and if you push your luck, Mummy's chappal comes after you (the Chappal Meter is the game's wanted level).

Does it collect any data?

The web version sends anonymous play stats while you play (no names and nothing you type) so we can see what works and fix what doesn't. Turn them off any time in Settings → Privacy. Browsers that send Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control start with them off. Online play talks to our server only after you choose to go online.

Where is my save kept?

In your browser's storage on this device, on this site. Nothing is uploaded unless you go online, which keeps a copy of your save with your player code.

Is any of it real?

The landmarks are real public places, roughly where they stand. All characters, shops, films and songs are fictional. The city is compressed so you can cycle across it.

What language is it in?

English, sprinkled with Telugu, Dakhni and Hindi the way Hyderabad talks. Words you might not know are explained in the game.

Side A is waiting.

Play free

Free · in your browser · laptop or phone · progress saves on your device