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Archaid

Archaid is a collection of cognitive arcade games of numeral alphabetics and hexagonal grids with puzzles of memorization, pattern recognition, heuristics, hypercube navigation, complexity and strategy inspired by various ancient and modern concepts of gematria and mathematics.

Steam Page
Developer
Joel Kivelä
Publisher
Joel Kivelä
Release
March 27, 2020
6 years and 129 days ago
Steam Reviews
1 user reviews1 reviews100.0%

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Updated: Jul 11, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer.
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Updated: Jul 11, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released.

Media

8 items

About the Game

What on earth did I just watch?


Are you bored of video games full of mindless violence, repetitive grind of trivial tasks and overly guided, pay-to-win "achievements" without real challenge and accumulation of earned skill?

Are you interested in ancient and medieval alphanumeric systems, mathematics and divination?

Do you like challenging abstract puzzles that force you to think differently and exercise your mind, gradually rewarding with zen-like flow of (potentially) endless immersive gameplay?

By answering yes to any of the above, Archaid likely is a thing for you.

So what is it?


Archaid [Aar-Kaid] is a collection of esoteric cognitive arcade games that utilize alphanumerics and hexagonal grid for puzzles of memorization, pattern recognition, heuristics, hypercube navigation, complexity and strategy inspired by various ancient and modern concepts of gematria and divine mathematics.

The games have player-selectable sets for historical old English, Hebrew, ancient Greek, Nubian Coptic, Arabic, medieval Nordic runic, Georgian, Armenian, old Cyrillic, Glagolitic, and fictional Klingon and Zentradi alphabetic and numeral systems. Eastern game types have various presentations of the 64 I Ching hexagrams.

Most Archaid games are difficult, they require full concentration and have medium to high learning curve.
Full online guide to all the game types is found on the game homepage.

Features listed:


  • Six unique puzzle games based on various ancient alphanumeric systems.
  • Ten selectable alphanumeric systems from archaic, ancient and medieval history.
  • Two extra fictional alphanumeric systems from science fiction.
  • Smooth Ultra HD graphics at 60 FPS.
  • Intuitive controls for moving and operating in hexagonal planes.
  • Generative living ambient drone soundscape.
  • Two game types with a musical instrument mode.
  • Three difficulty levels.
  • Relaxed "Free Mode" for practice.
  • Online high scores and leaderboards.
  • Customizable player interface.
  • Partly secret and expanding content.


The trailer does not contain music from the game.
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