Cave Lantern
AdventureFree to playExplore a cave, collect crystals, find the exit.
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How to Play
Cave Lantern drops you into a maze with a lantern that dims as you walk. Collect every crystal, then find the exit in the far corner — but the light shrinks three pixels for every step you take, from a 200-pixel glow down to a 60-pixel stub, so wandering is what kills you. Nine columns by eleven rows, twelve crystals, 150 seconds.
Controls
- Step — Arrow keys or WASD
- Tap a direction — Tap away from the lantern to step that way
- Pause — P
Tips & Tricks
- 1The lantern radius is 200 pixels minus three per step, floored at 60. That is roughly 46 steps of comfortable light before you are down to the stub, and the cave is 99 cells — the floor is the part you have to memorise rather than see.
- 2The maze is generated by a recursive backtracker, which means it is a perfect maze: every cell reachable, exactly one route between any two, and no loops. There are no shortcuts to find, so a wrong turn is walked twice.
- 3The exit is always the corner diagonally opposite your start, and the crystals are scattered anywhere but the start and the exit. Clearing them all and only then heading for the corner is the shorter order, because the exit is on the way to nothing.
- 4150 seconds is generous for 99 cells; the clock is not the pressure. The dimming lantern is, and it does not reset between crystals — collecting one buys points, not light.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the cave?
Nine by eleven cells on the first run, twelve crystals and 150 seconds. Every restart after that adds a column, a row and a crystal while taking ten seconds off, up to thirteen by fifteen with eighteen crystals and 90 seconds.
Why does the screen get darker?
The lantern radius is 200 pixels minus three for every step taken, with a floor of 60. It does not reset on collecting a crystal, so the only way to keep light is to take fewer steps — which is why the maze being perfect matters.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. A tap in a direction relative to the lantern steps that way, and the four arrow keys do the same thing, so touch and keyboard are equivalent.
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