Cinco
Paus

Cinco Paus (2017) is a puzzle game where you try and get through 5 rooms picking up treasure as you go. What makes it unusual are the magic wands that help you do this. What appears to be a maze game turns out to be a challenge to discover the effects of each wand by experimenting with them in different situations. It's a clever twist that turns the game on its head. Oh, and it uses Portuguese as its language, if you can't understand this don't worry it will still make sense.

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At the start of the game, you are assigned a set of random wands. Each wand can only be used once per room. To use a wand you drag it onto your character so it points in the direction you want to use it in. Seeing how the beam interacts with the maze, monsters and other objects tells you what its uses are.

Just using each wand in turn won't necessarily reveal what they do, as effects are often dependant on applying a wand to its intended target. If a wand blows up walls, using it on an enemy won't reveal this useful power. This means you need to use wands to stay alive, but ideally, use them in a way that may reveal more of their powers. As you do this, these symbols appear next to each wand to remind you what they do.

When you start playing you will die a lot as you learn what the game's symbols mean and how they apply to what you learn about the wands on that go. It's also worth knowing that when you start each run you have no knowledge of your wands so, in fact, the first level is often the hardest.

The result is a game that is unique and intriguing to play. It also offers an experience about language, how we learn what phrases mean by trying them out, and how we have to do that while we try and communicate with what we know so far.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Cinco Paus 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 21 months ago.