Lucid Labyrinth: Rules in Motion

About Lucid Labyrinth: Rules in Motion

Lucid Labyrinth: Rules in Motion is a puzzle of weights, switches and one rule that changes in the middle of every level. You are the engineer on a gravity research station that hangs beside a black hole. In its hold stand a few glass drop tubes, each holding a stack of steel masses weighing one, two or three, and under every tube is a pressure pad wired to a coloured channel. The pad holds its channel on while the load on it reaches the number printed beside the tube.

A move is simple: the crane lifts the top mass of one tube and sets it down on another (a tube holds four), or you throw a switch that flips a channel for the whole ring. The core lights when its wire is on, so the job is to arrange the load until the right channels are up. But the station will shift. After a count of moves shown in the middle of the panel, one rule changes: the plates turn inside out and hold while light instead of heavy, every mass weighs double, the masses of one weigh nothing, every shaft counts half, or the wiring of the pads rotates round the ring. A latch lamp, which catches its wire only while the first rule still holds, must be lit before the shift, and the core must light after it. So you plan for two stations at once.

There is no clock and undo is free. Every station has a par, the fewest moves the game's own search proved over all of its states. There are twelve hand-ordered stations, then endless deep rings and a daily station that is the same for everyone. When the plates are re-read, an orange scan runs across the station and the gauges roll to their new readings; when the core lights, the black hole outside answers with a ring of light. Your progress stays in this browser.

How to play

Light the reactor core: its wire has to be on after the shift, with every latch lamp caught before it.
Tap a drop tube to lift its top mass, then tap another tube to set it down. A tube holds four masses.
A pad holds its channel on while its load reaches the number beside the tube. Tap a switch to flip its channel.
After a set number of moves the station shifts and one rule changes. Latch lamps only catch before the shift.
Par moves earn three stars. There is no clock; undo is free.

Controls

Tap or click a tube to lift its top mass, tap another tube to set it down, tap a switch to throw it
Left and right arrows or A and D — walk the tubes and switches; Space or Enter — lift, set down or throw; 1 to 5 — jump to a tube; F and G — switches; Backspace — cancel a lift
Z or Undo — undo; R or Reset — start the station again; H — a hint
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What does a pad do?

Each tube stands on a pressure pad wired to one channel, shown as a coloured shape. The pad holds its channel on while the load on it, the sum of its masses, reaches the number beside the tube. After the shift the load may be read differently.

When does the rule change, and to what?

The middle of the panel counts the moves left before the shift and names the new rule: plates that hold while light, masses that weigh double, masses of one that weigh nothing, loads that count half, or wiring that rotates round the ring to the next tube.

What is a latch?

A latch lamp catches its wire the moment it is on and keeps it, but only while the first rule still holds. Once the shift has happened it can no longer catch anything, so it has to be lit before then.

Do switches count as moves?

Yes. Throwing a switch is one move, like setting down a mass, and it flips the switch's channel on or off for the whole station.

Is anything timed or scored against me?

Nothing is timed and undo is free. Stars compare your moves with par, the fewest the search found, and a solve after a hint earns at most two.

Can I tell the channels apart without colour?

Yes. Every channel has its own shape as well as its colour: a circle, triangle, square, diamond or hexagon. A channel that must be off carries a red slash through its shape, and every part is described for a screen reader.

Does the game save?

Yes, in this browser: solved stations, stars, and the moves you had made in the station you were working on. Nothing is uploaded.