Curious Riddle: Word Trails, a Category Draft Game

About Curious Riddle: Word Trails

Under the glass dome of the Observatory Academy, every cadet is graded on a course: a small constellation of stops joined by faint lines. At each stop a category is hidden behind an etched plaque. Packs of three word capsules slide down the brass tube, and you keep the one that fits. Keep enough fitting words and the star lights, a comet crosses the dome, and the next room opens.

You can unroll a clue, or name the category outright for a bonus that shrinks with every clue you ask for. A speed ring rewards a quick, sure choice, and a Calm pace setting switches it off. At a fork you pick your branch from its room name and a one-line hint, and every course ends in a finale that draws the whole figure across the dome. Three courses, the Lantern Line, the Kite Line and the Harp Line, and a daily course that is the same for everyone.

A course takes about five minutes. Your records and charted courses stay on this device only; nothing is uploaded.

How to play

Each stop hides a category. A pack of three word capsules arrives: tap the one that fits, or press 1, 2 or 3.
The speed ring drains while a pack waits on the desk: keep a fitting word before it empties for a quick bonus. Calm pace in Settings puts the ring away.
Each fitting word fills the ring round the room’s star. Fill it and the star lights and the comet carries your pod on; if the packs run out first, the star stays dim and the line runs on anyway.
Unroll a clue from the plaque with C, or press N and name the category yourself: a right name pays a bonus that shrinks with every clue you unrolled.
Where the line forks, choose a branch by its room’s name, stars and hint: tap it, or the arrows and Enter. The finale joins every star of the course into its figure across the dome.
On a keyboard the arrows move between capsules, Space keeps one and S passes the pack. Press P or Escape to pause.

Controls

Tap a capsule, or press 1, 2 or 3 — keep that word
Arrow keys or D-pad, Space or Ⓐ — move and keep
S or Ⓑ — pass the pack
C or Ⓧ — clue
N or Ⓨ — name the category, Enter to send
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How does a course work?

Each course is a constellation of five rooms on the glass chart above the desk, and you walk four of them: the first room, one branch of the fork, the room where the branches meet and the finale. Keep enough words that fit a room’s hidden category to light its star, and the comet carries your pod down the line. The finale joins the stars into the course’s figure: the Lantern, the Kite or the Harp.

What happens to a star I cannot light?

Every room deals two spare packs beyond the words its star needs. A word that does not fit costs points and breaks your streak; if the packs run out before the ring is full, the star stays dim, the dome says so, and the comet still runs on, so every course reaches its finale.

How does the bonus for naming the category work?

Type what you think the category is. A right name earns a bonus that gets smaller with every clue you asked for. A wrong guess costs nothing.

Can I turn off the speed bonus?

Yes. Switch on Calm pace in Settings and the speed ring and its bonus go away.