Every confirmed Cobb ability and player condition in one place, with the exact gameplay pressure it creates and the decision you should change next.
The rules stack, so read each card as a change to your route rather than as isolated trivia.
This rule is cosmetic. The developer explicitly describes it as an aesthetic rule that does nothing mechanically.
Do not waste a route change on this line alone. Treat it as a warning that later rules are the ones that alter detection or pressure.
Cobb can notice the player when their light level is high. Higher visibility increases the distance from which the player can be noticed.
Reduce exposure before crossing open routes. Darkness can lower visual pressure, but do not forget that Freeze can make staying dark too long dangerous.
Cobb receives the position of sounds. Footsteps are quiet and only matter nearby, while a loud action such as a breaker can be heard across the map.
Plan an exit before a loud interaction. Move with purpose near Cobb instead of treating every step as free information.
Cobb occasionally sniffs and gets the player's general direction. At closer range the sniff interval decreases, and close enough contact can trigger a rampage toward the scent.
Create distance early. Wide loops are stronger than hiding nearby because proximity makes the sense more persistent and more dangerous.
Cobb's arms become longer, giving slightly more speed and range while he is attempting to grab the player.
Increase your safety buffer. Tight corners and last-second passes become worse bets when the grab zone is larger than before.
Another Cobb spawns. Each Cobb is slightly slower, but the rule can stack beyond level 5, so the room can become a multi-threat routing problem.
Track threats separately. A route being clear of one Cobb does not mean it is clear of the others, especially around objectives and narrow connectors.
These warnings affect the player rather than adding another sense or ability to Cobb.
The player slows and eventually dies after staying at low light levels for too long.
Use darkness to break visual pressure, then leave it. This condition turns permanent hiding into a losing strategy.The player slowly starves, while carrots begin spawning around the map.
Build food into your route instead of making panic detours. The condition adds urgency without making every nearby carrot automatically safe.These are practical player decisions inferred from how the confirmed mechanics interact, not extra hidden rules.
Darkness reduces visual exposure, but staying in low light too long can slow and kill you.
A breaker or other loud action can give Cobb a strong positional cue from much farther away than footsteps.
Close distance makes smell more dangerous while Reach increases the punishment for letting Cobb get near.
Multiple Cobbs can convert a simple detection rule into pressure from more than one direction.
Version 1.7 made sniffs less frequent and reduced persistence after a close-range smell. The same update slightly reduced Cobb’s acceleration during long pursuits and fixed rocks sometimes failing to stun him while he was pursuing the player.
These names appear in developer notes, but they are not confirmed active rules in a normal run.
A proposed four-arm version of Cobb for greater dexterity.
A proposed ability to pick up items such as candles, rocks, or coal.
A proposed camouflage or ambush-style rule.
A chase leap that was implemented, felt unbalanced, and was removed.
A proposed environment rule with loose tiles that could break away.
The confirmed Cobb rules described by the developer are Move, See, Hear, Smell, Reach, and Duplicate. The player conditions are Freeze and Starve.
No. The developer describes Move as an aesthetic rule that does nothing mechanically. It should not be treated like See, Hear, Smell, Reach, or Duplicate.
Smell gives Cobb the player's general direction through occasional sniffs. Sniffs become more frequent at closer range, and very close scent pressure can trigger a rampage. Version 1.7 reduced sniff frequency and close-range persistence.
Yes. The developer notes that Duplicate can stack beyond level 5. Each Cobb is slightly slower, but you still need to route around multiple threats.
No. The developer listed them as unused ideas, and Dash was specifically described as removed after it felt unbalanced. They should not be mixed into a list of confirmed active rules.