The Tulpar and Pony Express
No spoilers — shown by default
The Tulpar is the Pony Express cargo freighter where Mouthwashing takes place. Ship layout comes first; the cargo and later events stay behind the spoiler controls.
The full-spoiler sections reveal the cargo, who ends up in the cryopod, and crew deaths.
Light spoilers — premise and context
The ship on paper
The community wiki gives the Tulpar’s type as “Type-F freighter 0926WO Class C”, built for a crew of four on more than a year of travel. Five people are aboard: Curly, Jimmy, Anya, Swansea and Daisuke. Citing the game’s itch.io page, the wiki lists a planned shipment of 382 days, 147 of them elapsed.
Besides captain and co-pilot, the ship carries an engineer and a medical officer who runs weekly psych evals. Navigation is mostly autopilot, with a manual override in the cockpit. The wiki notes that Tulpar is a winged horse in Turkic mythology, which fits a company called Pony Express; any deeper meaning is a reading.
Room by room
The wiki describes two floors. The cockpit is where Curly and Jimmy steer and receive company messages. The lounge has a kitchen, a long dining table, a couch, a board game and a large screen showing day, sunset and night views. Medbay is Anya’s workplace. The utility room holds the cryogenic pods, the emergency axe and Swansea’s tools.
Only three rooms lock, per the wiki: utility, cockpit and medbay. The sleeping quarters have no locks, and after the crash foam blocks them, so the crew sleeps in the lounge. A broken vent links utility to medbay, its grate marked “DANGER!! HANDS OFF IDIOTS!” The cargo hold stays locked for the flight.
Pony Express and Polle
Pony Express owns the Tulpar and employs the crew; the uniforms and the psych evals are company issue. The wiki’s Anya article adds that she can work as a nurse only for Pony Express, through its own nursing classes. In Chapter Six, per the wiki, Swansea calls it one of the few remaining manned long-haul freighter companies.
Polle is the Pony Express mascot, a cartoon horse in a company shirt and hat. His posters line the corridors, and the wiki says his lounge statue has motion sensors and plays encouraging voice lines. His distorted forms are covered on the Polle page.
Full spoilers — story, solutions, facts and questions
The Tulpar is the Pony Express long-haul freighter where all of Mouthwashing takes place. The community wiki lists it as a Type-F freighter with two floors: cockpit, lounge, medbay, utility room, sleeping quarters and a locked cargo hold. Pony Express is the crew’s employer, Polle is its horse mascot, and the company is going under.
What I saw
I compiled this from the community wiki’s Tulpar, Chapters and Timeline articles plus this site’s existing story pages; I did not replay the game to re-walk the rooms.
The ship on paper
The community wiki gives the Tulpar’s type as “Type-F freighter 0926WO Class C”, built for a crew of four on more than a year of travel. Five people are aboard: Curly, Jimmy, Anya, Swansea and Daisuke. Citing the game’s itch.io page, the wiki lists a planned shipment of 382 days, 147 of them elapsed.
Besides captain and co-pilot, the ship carries an engineer and a medical officer who runs weekly psych evals. Navigation is mostly autopilot, with a manual override in the cockpit. The wiki notes that Tulpar is a winged horse in Turkic mythology, which fits a company called Pony Express; any deeper meaning is a reading.
Room by room
The wiki describes two floors. The cockpit is where Curly and Jimmy steer and receive company messages. The lounge has a kitchen, a long dining table, a couch, a board game and a large screen showing day, sunset and night views. Medbay is Anya’s workplace. The utility room holds the cryogenic pods, the emergency axe and Swansea’s tools.
Only three rooms lock, per the wiki: utility, cockpit and medbay. The sleeping quarters have no locks, and after the crash foam blocks them, so the crew sleeps in the lounge. A broken vent links utility to medbay, its grate marked “DANGER!! HANDS OFF IDIOTS!” The cargo hold stays locked for the flight.
Pony Express and Polle
Pony Express owns the Tulpar and employs the crew; the uniforms and the psych evals are company issue. The wiki’s Anya article adds that she can work as a nurse only for Pony Express, through its own nursing classes. In Chapter Six, per the wiki, Swansea calls it one of the few remaining manned long-haul freighter companies.
Polle is the Pony Express mascot, a cartoon horse in a company shirt and hat. His posters line the corridors, and the wiki says his lounge statue has motion sensors and plays encouraging voice lines. His distorted forms are covered on the Polle page.
News from Corporate
In Chapter Three, Curly’s psych eval with Jimmy is cut off by “MESSAGING INCOMING” and a cockpit printout. In Chapter Six, Curly carries an item called “News from Corporate” with the task “Break the news”. The wiki’s timeline says management told him to wait until the haul ended; he tells the crew at his surprise birthday party instead. Pony Express is shutting down.
The wiki’s Curly article, citing a developer Q&A, adds that Curly was due a commendation and references while the rest of the crew was not. Jimmy’s outburst at the party, accusing Curly of moving on to better things, grows out of that gap.
What the cargo hold holds
Two months after the crash, the crew opens the hold hoping for food or parts. Chapter Four plays a TV ad opening with “Dragonbreath presents”, and Chapter Five shows an open box of Dragonbreath-branded mouthwash. The whole hold is mouthwash.
Per the wiki, Anya finds the sugar too high for medical use, and Swansea notes 14% ethanol, drinks it and breaks 15 years of sobriety. Once food runs out the crew drinks it for sustenance; Anya abstains. The door code is on the cargo-bay walkthrough.
The cryopod
The wiki says the pods allow suspended animation for up to 20 years, but a second person must start one from outside. After the crash the ship drifts, with power expected to run out within six months and food faster. Swansea finds one working pod and guards utility without telling anyone.
Jimmy finds the pod after drugging Swansea and assumes Swansea kept it for himself. In the final chapter Jimmy puts Curly in it. That outside-start rule matters: Curly cannot move.
Checked facts
| Item | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | Type-F freighter 0926WO Class C, built for four, crewed by five | Community wiki: Tulpar · Source links |
| Lockable rooms | Utility, cockpit and medbay only | Community wiki: Tulpar · Source links |
| Cargo | Dragonbreath-branded mouthwash, 14% ethanol | Community wiki: Chapters · Source links |
| Cryopod | Up to 20 years; must be started from outside | Community wiki: Tulpar · Source links |
| Employer | Pony Express, shutting down during the haul | Community wiki: Timeline · Source links |
| Mascot | Polle, a cartoon horse on posters and a talking statue | Community wiki: Polle · Source links |
Questions
What is the Tulpar in Mouthwashing?
The Pony Express long-haul space freighter where the whole game takes place. The community wiki lists it as a Type-F freighter with five crew aboard.
What is Pony Express?
The company that owns the ship and employs the crew. Its mascot is Polle, and during the haul it announces that it is shutting down.
What is the Tulpar carrying?
Mouthwash. The wiki’s Chapter Five summary describes Dragonbreath-branded bottles filling the hold.
What does Tulpar mean?
The wiki notes it is the name of a winged horse in several Turkic mythologies, comparable to Pegasus.
Who goes into the cryopod?
Curly. Jimmy puts him in during the final chapter. The ending page covers that scene.
Keep reading
Sources
- Mouthwashing Wiki: Tulpar — Checked 2026-10-28. Public article API; community source, not an official script.
- Mouthwashing Wiki: Chapters — Checked 2026-10-28. Public article API; community source, not an official script.
- Mouthwashing Wiki: Timeline of Events — Checked 2026-10-28. Public article API; community source, not an official script.
- Mouthwashing Wiki: Polle — Checked 2026-10-28. Public article API; community source, not an official script.
- Mouthwashing Wiki: Curly — Checked 2026-10-28. Public article API; community source, not an official script. Commendation detail cites a developer Q&A.
- Mouthwashing Wiki: Anya — Checked 2026-10-28. Public article API; community source, not an official script.
Last checked . Page updated .