ORRERY

HOW THE INSTRUMENT WORKS

1. Each chart hides a set of kindred words — same theme, same length. Their letters are strewn across the rings among decoys: first letters on the inner ring, last letters at the rim. Only the theme and the count are given. The atlas sets the night’s difficulty: a clear sky holds no decoys; crowded skies hide more — and pay a higher score.
2. Drag any ring to turn it, or select one below the instrument and use ← →. Each ring you settle costs one turn.
3. Spell a hidden word along any meridian, reading center outward, and it is captured: the word flares gold and its letters burn out of the rings, leaving empty sockets behind.
4. Capture every word to clear the sky. Finish at or under par for a flawless ✦✦✦. Your score is 1000 × par ÷ turns, docked for revealed words — par play scores 1000, sharper play scores higher. Bests are kept per chart, and an unfinished game waits for you in Through the Eyepiece. Charts gather into constellations in the Firmament: kindle every star of a figure to unlock its Crown — a final chart under a Starless Dark sky (five decoys, ×3 score) — and give the figure its name. Flawless ✦✦✦ stars each reveal one Crown word.
5. The Chart of the Day is the same puzzle for every player, always at Working Sky so scores compare. Solve it to keep your streak, and share the result — the strip of stars gives away no letters.

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