---
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-13
type: mechanic
id: point-and-click--family-13
lang: en
title: 'Ciphers, languages and sign systems'
summary: The player infers symbol meanings and rules for transforming messages.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-13/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-13.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-13.md
aliases:
  - 'Ciphers, languages and symbols'
tags:
  - Point-and-click adventures
  - 'Information, reasoning and social interaction'
sourceIds:
  - source-c762da447187414c
  - source-f2edfe86ae520f9a
sources:
  - id: source-c762da447187414c
    title: 'Heaven’s Vault: inkle overview'
    url: 'https://www.inklestudios.com/heavensvault/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f2edfe86ae520f9a
    title: Chants of Sennaar
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: point-and-click
    id: family-13
    title: Point-and-click adventures
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/point-and-click/#family-13'
    categoryIds:
      - section-2
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Ciphers, languages and symbols'
    description: The player infers symbol meanings and rules for transforming messages.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-chants-sennaar-03.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Chants of Sennaar
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1931770/ss_d194cfba045634d86c99aec5ed7ecbf7270cb8a2.1920x1080.jpg?t=1774006124
      credit: Rundisc / Focus Entertainment
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Symbols are matched with sketches in a notebook
      alt: Symbols are matched with sketches in a notebook
      markers:
        - x: 83
          'y': 47
          label: Collected symbols to match
        - x: 28
          'y': 36
          label: A sketch helps infer the meaning
    tips:
      - Provide consistent mappings and let players test meanings in context.
    examples:
      - title: Chants of Sennaar
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked
  sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/point-and-click
---
# Ciphers, languages and sign systems

id: point-and-click--family-13
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-13
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-13/

The player infers symbol meanings and rules for transforming messages.

## At a glance

![Symbols are matched with sketches in a notebook](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-chants-sennaar-03.webp)

[Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Collected symbols to match
2. A sketch helps infer the meaning

- Provide consistent mappings and let players test meanings in context.

- [Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/)

## How it works

The player infers symbol meanings and rules for transforming messages.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-13-branch-1"></a>

- Substitution and permutation: infer symbol mappings, letter order or transformations. <a id="family-13-variant-1"></a>
- External key: use a book, table, picture, object or earlier fragment. <a id="family-13-variant-2"></a>
- Hidden messages: find acrostics, hidden layers, reverse-side text or sign arrangement. <a id="family-13-variant-3"></a>
- Symbol meanings: infer pictograms and words through context and repeated situations. <a id="family-13-variant-4"></a>
- Grammar: understand word order, negation, number and participant roles. <a id="family-13-variant-5"></a>
- Translation: compare languages and enable characters to understand each other. <a id="family-13-variant-6"></a>
- Word puzzles: solve rebuses, anagrams, puns, riddles and ambiguity. <a id="family-13-variant-7"></a>
- Cultural systems: interpret gestures, etiquette, symbolism and rituals. <a id="family-13-variant-8"></a>

## Context and limits

A working classification with 44 families and 355 variants. Families overlap: one puzzle can combine items, dialogue, deduction and a character schedule. Core actions, progression architecture and assistance are separate layers. Sources identify examples from neighboring adventure genres.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.

- [Heaven’s Vault: inkle overview](https://www.inklestudios.com/heavensvault/) (id: source-c762da447187414c)
- [Chants of Sennaar](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/) (id: source-f2edfe86ae520f9a)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors