Mysteries of the Crypt

A baby was kidnapped and taken into the goblins' crypt! The fearless witch Dot Vine will rescue it.

Paper and pencil are strongly recommended

Jam judges: Select "Jam Mode", so the spoilers listed below will work (you can skip most things if they're too difficult)

Written for Inferno Jam 2025, where the idea is to write the most difficult game you can manage.

I was heavily inspired by Buried by Edith Briar, a game built entirely around cracking old-fashioned ciphers.

Source: https://github.com/aksommerville/myscrypt BEWARE! The source code, and its README, contain blatant spoilers. This kind of game is only fun until you've cracked it ;)

Most of the info in the spoilers below is only correct in Jam Mode. (Normal Mode, the names and the alphabet are randomized per session).

SPOILERS! Open to reveal.

All the text in the first two rooms (starting and north) can be deciphered with no further info.

Still need a hint?

Look for apostrophes, for one and two letter words, and you can guess your way thru it.

Still don't have it? OK here's a table of glyphs.

The Maze

Switches

From their initial state, six switches need to be toggled: East room: right+middle, Middle room: left+right, West room: left+right.

Path to the goal

Follow the outside of the maze clockwise.

Dialogue in the maze

2 things in addition to the obvious signpost. A wise man in the West switch room, and a skeleton if you take the north fork from the far southeast corner. Both provide critical information.

The Guard Beasts

How to dispel

Say each beast's name to it.

The vulture's name

VINCENT

The penguin's name

PENELOPE

The eyeball's name

OSCAR FINGER

The vulture's room

Why is the text gibberish?

It's encrypted with a Vigenere cipher (google it). This requires a key, which the wise man in the maze will tell you.

Just tell me the key

OCTOPUS

The penguin's room

Why is the text gibberish?

It's encrypted with a Playfair cipher (google it). This requires a key, which the wise man in the room east of start will tell you.

Just tell me the key

PINEAPPLE

The eyeball's room

Only one baby is real. Touching the others will kill you.

How do I know which?

The real baby will turn away when you look at it.