Lucid Prism: Quiet Machines

About Lucid Prism: Quiet Machines

Lucid Prism: Quiet Machines is a calm sound puzzle set deep in a cave of resonant crystals, where glowworms prick the dark and water drips into still pools. Each hollow is a floor of worn flagstones with boulders and pools on it, crystals growing from the stone, and a tuning fork standing in one place: small citrines, twin aquamarines, tall amethysts and smoky cracked crystals that buzz.

Strike the fork and its note spreads across the floor one step a beat, as far as its range. Boulders stop it and pools carry it. Every crystal the note reaches rings once and scores its value, and a cracked crystal takes some away. The note on its own seldom reaches far enough, so you build the machine: lay echo stones on bare floor, and every stone the note reaches sings it again at full strength from where it lies, carrying it round corners and across the hollow. You can lift a stone again whenever you like.

Strikes cost nothing. Build, strike, listen to where the note died, move a stone and strike again. Many layouts reach the target, each with a different song and score, and the craft is the fewest stones: each hollow has a par proved by the game trying every layout up to it. Twelve hand-ordered hollows run from the first hum to the heart of the vein, then endless deep veins and a daily hollow that is the same for everyone. When a strike reaches the target, every crystal it rang sends a ray of its own light up into the dark, rings spread from the fork through the whole cave and the glowworms brighten. Your progress stays in this browser.

How to play

Strike the tuning fork: its note spreads a step a beat as far as its range. Boulders stop it; pools carry it.
Every crystal it reaches rings and scores its value; a cracked crystal takes some away.
Tap bare floor to lay an echo stone. A stone the note reaches sings it on at full range.
Strikes are free: build, strike, listen and move a stone.
Par stones earn three stars. There is no clock; undo is free.

Controls

Tap or click bare floor to lay an echo stone; tap a stone to lift it; tap the fork or the strike button to strike
Arrow keys or WASD — move the cursor; Space — lay or lift a stone; Enter or X — strike the fork
Z or U or Undo — undo; Y — redo; R or Reset — lift every stone; H — a hint
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How does the note travel?

From the tuning fork it spreads one step a beat to the neighbouring flagstones, up, down, left and right, as far as the fork's range. Boulders stop it; still pools carry it. The range is shown on the hollow's card.

What do echo stones do?

A stone the note reaches sings it again at full range from where it lies, so a chain of stones carries the note round boulders and across the hollow. Stones go on bare floor only, never in a pool.

Do strikes count against me?

No. Strikes are free and as many as you like. Only the stones count: par is the fewest stones that make one strike ring the target.

Why can there be more than one answer?

Different layouts carry the note to different crystals. Any layout that reaches the target solves the hollow; par is the cheapest, and ringing more than the target earns a few extra points.

Is anything timed?

Nothing is timed and undo is free. Stars compare your stones with par, and a solve after a hint earns at most two.

Can I tell the crystals apart without colour?

Yes. Each kind has its own outline: a single short citrine, a twin aquamarine, a tall triple amethyst, and a smoky crystal with a crack. Every crystal, stone and beat of the note is described for a screen reader.

Does the game save?

Yes, in this browser: solved hollows, stars, and the stones you had laid in the hollow you were working on. Nothing is uploaded.