Curious Cabinet: Word Trails, a Canal Code Hunt

About Curious Cabinet: Word Trails

Every morning the Curious Cabinet, a little shop of oddities by the Old Lock, sends a scavenger hunt out across its city of canals. The clues are postcards, hidden at bridges, market stalls, boathouses and towers, and every one is written in a letter rule of its own. A postal pigeon carries each card ahead of you; your job is to follow it and read them all.

A hunt has four legs. At each, the canal map offers two stops, each marked with its rule, so you choose an easier or a harder way across town. Turn the postcard over to read its rule, from one step on to the mirror, a vowel ring or a key word, then decode the front: tap a written letter and set its true letter with the stamp keys, or simply type it. Each true letter is used once, and nothing says right or wrong until the card reads true, or until you Check, which drops the wrong letters as slips.

Every stop you read earns stamps on your hunt card: two for a clean read with no hint and no slip, one with help. At the end waits the Cabinet Card, written in a key nobody teaches, and every stamp you earned sets one of its letters for you. Read it and lanterns float out across the water. Twelve stops wait around the city, so every hunt can take a new route. There is no clock. A hunt takes about five to ten minutes, and your progress stays on this device.

How to play

On the canal map, pick one of the two stops offered at this leg. Each shows its letter rule.
Read the back of the postcard: it explains the rule, often with an example. Then decode the front.
Tap a written letter (or move with the arrow keys) and set its true letter with a stamp key, or type it. Each true letter is used once.
Check drops any wrong letters and counts each as a slip. A hint sets one letter for good.
A clean read (no hint, no slip) earns two stamps; a read with help earns one. Every stamp sets a letter of the Cabinet Card at the end.
Press Escape or Start to pause. There is no clock.

Controls

Tap a stop on the map — ride there (or arrows and Enter)
Tap a written letter, then a stamp key — set its true letter (or type it)
Arrow keys or D-pad — move; Space or Ⓐ — next empty letter; Backspace or Ⓑ — clear
Enter, 2 or Ⓡ — check; 1 or Ⓧ — hint (one stamp)
Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What are the stamps for?

Each stop you read earns stamps: two for a clean read with no hint and no slip, one otherwise. Every stamp sets one letter of the Cabinet Card, the last postcard, for you.

Do I need to know the rules already?

No. The back of every postcard explains its rule, and most show a short example. The Clock Tower sets one letter for you to count from, and the Tile Maker’s scrambled card starts with its commonest letters set.

Why can I use each true letter only once?

Each written letter stands for exactly one true letter and the other way round, so setting a true letter again moves it to the new place.

Is there a clock?

No. Take your time; pausing, switching tabs or opening Settings never costs anything. Today’s hunt, the daily challenge, offers the same stops to every hunter.