CIPHER-8

🎊 CELEBRATING 8 YEARS SINCE THE RELEASE OF THE VIRTUAL FANTASY CONSOLE PICO-8, THIS TITLE IS RELEASED AS A FREE GAME! 🎊

You just couldn't let go of your dream to become some sort of cyberpunk Robin Hood, so you invented a device that connects your brain to the inner world of a high-security safe’s digital lock. Somewhat irritated, the safe suggests you play a game to make up for your intrusion. Lose and be locked in forever, or win to attain unimaginable wealth (to redistribute among those in need of course). Can you crack the cipher?

CIPHER-8 is a brain-twisting game where you push numbers into a grid. Well, numbers or all kinds of manipulatory tricks (also known as "special abilities"). Or bombs apparently. Anyways, after all it’s about making the total value of each column match its goal value. However, changing one column affects the others as well. Oh and by the way, bonus points if you manage to plan ahead a few turns to keep your cipher streak going in the process!

There are two game modes:
⚡️ BLITZ asks you to reach a target score in just 90 seconds, so you better get that brain juice flowing fast!

🧩 PUZZLE mode on the other hand is all about planning since there’s no timer, but you lose energy if you go without scoring for too many turns.
Both modes track your skill and become more challenging every time you beat them.

Note: This game is made using the virtual fantasy console PICO-8 (digipad + 2 buttons), but controls just fine via keyboard (arrows + X and C) or pretty much any controller.

💻 Design & Code: Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur)
🎶 Dynamic music: @muse_energy