Ink Cipher

I don't think I've seen a more hidden gem in my years on Steam than this one. The puzzles are top notch for anyone who loves language-based brain twisters. They are fairly challenging, and the game has 100 boards for $1. Keep in mind that, while this game has "cipher" in the title, there's no straightforward math/logic component to unraveling a given puzzle as far as I can tell. A fair bit of it utilizes intuition and some trial and error, but it never really feels too scattershot. Some words are pretty advanced, but that's really the kind of niche challenge I was looking for. Easy buy... just go ahead and pick it up, there's no trick or gimmick here.

[b]march 2024 edit:[/b] flipped it to a non-recommendation, as there's still no mid-level saving despite the dev's promise back in 2021. I love codeword puzzles, so finding [b]ink cipher[/b] back in the summer of 2020 was a really pleasant surprise, right until I actually started the game. loads of issues, it was barely recommendable, but fortunately, years after release the developer decided to patch things up it's in a much better shape now, though still not without issues. there are [b]214 levels[/b] now, all unlocked from the start (dozens of them were added after release), with the goal of figuring out which letter corresponds to which number in 15x15 grids. there's a short help section with instructions and [b]level names are subtle (or not so subtle) hints[/b] for getting started. [b]the puzzles are fun and can be quite challenging[/b], and that's what initially saved the game from a definite thumbs down. [b]the timer was finally made optional[/b] and hiding it removes completion times both from the level complete screen and level selection. it only starts when you make the first move, and there's a pause button, though it doesn't cover much of the screen, so can be exploited if that's your thing (remaining numbers are removed though). [b]hints[/b] are also available now, they can be used as many times as you want, but each adds a minute to your time. [b]controls are mostly fine after the 1.3 update[/b], mouse, keyboard and controller are all supported. simply click and hold the left button to move a letter over a number either on the grid or the number section of the screen. doing so will finally highlight affected tiles and right click in either place removes that particular letter. still can't swap a placed letter for another one by dragging, but [b]left-clicking can be set to bring up a radial placement menu[/b] (otherwise it just picks up the letter as normal). it's fine for replacing stuff once you get used to it (pressing letters on the keyboard while the menu is up also works), and it might even be somebody's preferred choice, but I prefer it turned off and just move letters around. [b]esc quits a level without hesitation or confirmation and progress isn't saved[/b], so be careful. haven't tried it with a controller, but the keyboard kind of acts like one too. wasd and arrows bring up and move a cursor, holding space or enter picks up a tile and it can be moved where you want. ideally, holding wouldn't be necessary, only one keypress to pick up, another to place, or maybe a toggle to please fans of both methods. the keyboard can also be used in an even more cumbersome way: typing '23a' assigns that letter to that number, pressing a placed letter again removes it. too finicky for my taste, but the more options the better. the 1.3 update finally improved the formerly crap audio and added an options menu, also accessible while playing (it pauses the game). separate volume settings are in, a bunch of themes are also available for a more varied presentation, plus the timer and radial menu toggles mentioned above, and a windowed mode setting. it creates a slightly smaller, non-resizable window, so not that useful. it's [b]a much better game than it originally was, but even with a ton of content and more quality of life, without mid-level saving it's not recommendable[/b]. they said they were going to add saving and fix other stuff back in 2021, but as of 2024 it still hasn't happened. [b]fun fact:[/b] levels are stored in simple .txt files, so it's easy to make your own. I wrote a quick [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2153524557]how to make levels guide[/url] to kick things off, but of course nobody knows about the game and there's not much point in playing your own levels, unless you wait a few years to forget what's what.

Mir gefällt's. Man sollte aber schon ziemlich gut Englisch können, damit es Spaß macht. Schade, dass es keine Achievments gibt.

Really rather good crossword puzzler. 104 crosswords taking an average of 5 minutes to solve = 9+ hours of fun for a dollar. Totally worth it!

Highly engaging. Excellent level of challenge-- enough to be interesting, but not too much as to be discouraging. Interface is intuitive and encouraging. I really love playing this game!

It's a lot of fun, if you've ever played this kind of game. The interface is OK though it has some quirks. Best part about it is the words selections are actually fun - it's hard to describe how that is so. Let me try ... sometime some of the words on a particular puzzle are related, and sometimes if you're really lucky you can figure out the common theme from that particular puzzles title. I bought this game for 49 cents on sale and have spent many hours on it. It must be one of the best gaming values I've bought on Steam. It's a great game to fire up if you just want to kill a few minutes. I've completed most of the puzzles in under 5 minutes each. Occasionally I come across a puzzle that takes up to 20 minutes because it's hard to start it when the board is mostly blanks.

A puzzle with simple rules but very challenging. Excellent value for the price, it's sure to please lovers of the genre but especially niche ones. The game might not please people who like other types of puzzles. So, know what you're buying, although for the price it's really worth a try.