Nightscribe: a typing survival game

Nightscribe is a free pixel-art survival game you play with your keyboard. The night is full of skeletons, bats and worse, and they come in waves. Your weapons strike on their own, but your spells only fire when you type their words. The faster and cleaner you type, the harder your spells hit and the faster you grow. Survive fifteen minutes until dawn, then carve your name into the global leaderboard.

It plays in any modern browser on a computer with a keyboard. There is nothing to install and no account to make.

▶ PLAY NIGHTSCRIBE

How to play

Pick a hero. Each of the five heroes has its own weapons, spells and level-ups.
Walk with the arrow keys, or hold the mouse button where you want to go. Your weapons attack the nearest foes by themselves.
Type to cast. Every spell you own puts a word in the bar at the bottom of the screen. Type the word to cast the spell. The clock starts on your first letter.
Type fast for boosts. Each word has a par time of about 0.33 seconds per letter after the first. Beat par and you get a boost for your damage and experience:

Speed	Time	Boost
PERFECT	30% of par or faster	+50% damage, ×2 XP for 8s
GREAT	50% of par or faster	+30% damage, ×1.6 XP for 6s
GOOD	par or faster	+15% damage, ×1.3 XP for 4s
LATE	slower than par	the spell still casts, with no boost

Faster words also make the spell itself stronger. A typo costs you the PERFECT tier and breaks your streak. Chain GREAT and PERFECT words to build a streak, which adds damage on top of your boost.

Level up by picking up the experience gems that defeated foes drop. Each level offers a choice of new attacks, upgrades to the ones you own, and relics that change how typing works. Treasure chests from elites and bosses upgrade several things at once. If you last until 15:00 the sun rises and the night is won.

The five heroes

ARCHER — THE RED HOOD

Walks 10% faster. 100 health.

Starts with: BOW — Shoots arrows at the nearest foe.
First spell: ARROW RAIN — Arrows rain on 6 foes.
Found on level-ups: SCATTER, FALCON, SNARE, BALLISTA, QUICKDRAW.
Unlockable weapon: FIRE ARROWS — Shoots a burning arrow that explodes. Unlocked by the feat SHARPSHOOTER: Survive 5:00 as the Archer.
Unlockable spell: HUNTER'S MARK — Mark 2 foes for double damage. Unlocked by the feat EAGLE EYE: Type 25 PERFECT words in one night as the Archer.

MAGE — THE STARGAZER

Spells recharge 20% faster. 85 health.

Starts with: MISSILE — Fires a seeking arcane bolt.
First spell: FIREBALL — Hurl an exploding fireball.
Found on level-ups: FIRE ORBS, SPARK, BLAZE, STORM, FROST.
Unlockable weapon: ICE SHARDS — Fires 3 ice shards that slow foes. Unlocked by the feat SPELLBOUND: Survive 5:00 as the Mage.
Unlockable spell: METEOR — A meteor smashes the crowd. Unlocked by the feat STARFALL: Defeat 3 bosses as the Mage.

WARRIOR — THE IRON OATH

+30 health. Takes 1 less damage. 130 health.

Starts with: SWORD — Swings a sword at your side.
First spell: SLAM — Slam the ground, stunning foes.
Found on level-ups: AXE, WHIRLWIND, SPEAR, CHARGE, BERSERK.
Unlockable weapon: FLAIL — A spiked flail sweeps around you. Unlocked by the feat IRON WILL: Survive 5:00 as the Warrior.
Unlockable spell: WAR CRY — Foes flee. +25% damage for 4s. Unlocked by the feat BLOODED: Defeat 1,000 foes as the Warrior.

PRIEST — THE LAST LANTERN

Heals 1 health every second. 110 health.

Starts with: HOLY CROSS — A holy cross flies out and returns.
First spell: SMITE — A holy shockwave bursts out.
Found on level-ups: CENSER, PSALTER, HOLY WATER, MERCY, JUDGMENT.
Unlockable weapon: SACRED BELL — A holy bell tolls and stuns foes near you. Unlocked by the feat VIGIL KEEPER: Survive 5:00 as the Priest.
Unlockable spell: SANCTUARY — Holy ground heals, burns foes. Unlocked by the feat MERCIFUL: Heal 500 health as the Priest.

UNDEAD — THE RISEN

Every 8 kills heals 1 health. 115 health.

Starts with: SCYTHE — A scythe flies out and comes back.
First spell: DRAIN — Drain life from 4 foes.
Found on level-ups: BONES, PLAGUE, RAISE DEAD, CURSE, BONE NOVA.
Unlockable weapon: GRAVE SPIKES — Bone spikes burst up under 2 foes. Unlocked by the feat RESTLESS: Survive 5:00 as the Undead.
Unlockable spell: ARMY OF THE DEAD — Raise 3 skeletons for 8s. Unlocked by the feat GRAVE LORD: Defeat 2,000 foes as the Undead.

Relics

Relics can be picked by any hero on level-up. Some of them are unlocked by feats:

PALIMPSEST — Each word cuts 0.25s off your other spells. (feat: WORDSMITH)
INKWELL — +15% ink tonight. (feat: INK HOARD)
STAR CHART — +8% XP. (feat: SCHOLAR)
SHORTHAND — Words come 1 letter shorter.
HOURGLASS — +12% time to rate each word.
GILT NIB — Speed boosts last 25% longer.
ERASER — Typos no longer break your streak.
BLOOD VIAL — +20 max health.
WAX SEAL — Take 1 less damage per hit.
LODESTONE — Pick up gems from 35% farther.
WORMWOOD — +10% damage.
SANDALS — Walk 8% faster.
METRONOME — Weapons and spells 7% faster.
CANDLE — +10% area.

Ink and the Scriptorium

Every night pays ink, the currency you keep between nights. You collect it from drops, chests and PERFECT words, and get a bonus at the end of each night that grows with how long you lasted and the level you reached. Reaching dawn pays a large extra bonus.

Spend ink in the Scriptorium on permanent upgrades. Each rank costs more than the last, and you can refund everything at any time to try a different build. Buying every rank costs 20,130 ink, so the Scriptorium keeps rewarding you for many nights.

Upgrade	Each rank	Ranks	First rank
MIGHT	+5% damage.	5	100
VIGOR	+10 max health.	5	80
WARD	Take 1 less damage per hit.	3	200
MENDING	Heal 0.2 health every second.	5	120
HASTE	Weapons and spells 3% faster.	5	120
REACH	+5% area.	5	100
STRIDE	Walk 4% faster.	3	100
LODESTONE	+15% pickup range.	3	80
GROWTH	+5% XP.	5	120
GREED	+10% ink.	5	150
TEMPO	+8% time to rate each word.	3	150
AFTERGLOW	Speed boosts last 10% longer.	5	100
MOMENTUM	Your streak bonus grows 5 words longer.	2	300
REROLL	+1 reroll for level-up choices (R).	3	200
	Unlocked by the feat REGULAR.
REVIVAL	Once a night, rise again at half health.	1	1500
	Unlocked by the feat WARDEN'S END.

The Book of Feats

The Book of Feats lists 25 goals. Every feat pays ink, and most unlock something new: a sigil, a relic, a Scriptorium upgrade, or a new power for one of the heroes. A message appears the moment you complete one, and the end of the night shows everything you unlocked.

Feat	Goal	Reward
FIRST NIGHT	Finish your first night.	New Sigil: Hare · 25 ink
APPRENTICE	Cast 100 words in total.	New Sigil: Patience · 50 ink
THE THIRD HOUR	Survive 3:00 in one night.	New Sigil: Leech · 50 ink
UNBROKEN	Reach a 15-word streak.	New Sigil: Echo · 75 ink
QUICKSILVER	Type 50 PERFECT words in total.	New Sigil: Thunder · 75 ink
MAGPIE'S NEST	Collect 500 ink in total.	New Sigil: Magpie · 50 ink
BLOAT BUSTER	Defeat the Bloated One.	New Sigil: Frost · 100 ink
MASSACRE	Defeat 1,000 foes in one night.	New Sigil: Fury · 150 ink
TEN TOLLS	Survive 10:00 in one night.	New Sigil: Golden · 250 ink
REGULAR	Play 5 nights.	New Upgrade: Reroll · 75 ink
WARDEN'S END	Defeat the Warden.	New Upgrade: Revival · 200 ink
WORDSMITH	Cast 500 words in total.	New Relic: Palimpsest · 100 ink
INK HOARD	Collect 2,000 ink in total.	New Relic: Inkwell · 100 ink
SCHOLAR	Reach level 30 in one night.	New Relic: Star Chart · 100 ink
DAWNBREAKER	Survive until dawn.	New: Second Sigil Slot · 500 ink
SHARPSHOOTER	Survive 5:00 as the Archer.	New Power: Fire Arrows · 100 ink
EAGLE EYE	Type 25 PERFECT words in one night as the Archer.	New Power: Hunter'S Mark · 100 ink
SPELLBOUND	Survive 5:00 as the Mage.	New Power: Ice Shards · 100 ink
STARFALL	Defeat 3 bosses as the Mage.	New Power: Meteor · 100 ink
IRON WILL	Survive 5:00 as the Warrior.	New Power: Flail · 100 ink
BLOODED	Defeat 1,000 foes as the Warrior.	New Power: War Cry · 100 ink
VIGIL KEEPER	Survive 5:00 as the Priest.	New Power: Sacred Bell · 100 ink
MERCIFUL	Heal 500 health as the Priest.	New Power: Sanctuary · 100 ink
RESTLESS	Survive 5:00 as the Undead.	New Power: Grave Spikes · 100 ink
GRAVE LORD	Defeat 2,000 foes as the Undead.	New Power: Army Of The Dead · 100 ink

Sigils

Sigils change how your typing boosts work for a whole night. Choose one on the hero screen (press S). Reaching dawn for the first time opens a second slot, so you can wear two at once.

HARE — PERFECT and GREAT boosts make you walk 25% faster. (feat: FIRST NIGHT)

PATIENCE — LATE words still give you the GOOD boost. (feat: APPRENTICE)

LEECH — PERFECT words heal 3 health. (feat: THE THIRD HOUR)

ECHO — Every 5th word of a streak casts its spell twice. (feat: UNBROKEN)

THUNDER — PERFECT words call lightning down on 3 foes. (feat: QUICKSILVER)

MAGPIE — PERFECT words give 2 extra ink, GREAT words 1. (feat: MAGPIE'S NEST)

FROST — PERFECT words freeze the foes around you. (feat: BLOAT BUSTER)

FURY — Streaks grow 10 words longer. Each typo costs 5 health. (feat: MASSACRE)

GOLDEN — PERFECT boosts are 50% stronger and last 25% longer. (feat: TEN TOLLS)

Tips for faster typing

Keep your fingers on the home row and look at the word, not at your hands.
Accuracy beats speed: a clean GREAT keeps your streak alive, while a rushed typo breaks it.
You can walk and type at the same time. Keep moving away from the crowd while you finish a word.
Short words are easiest to PERFECT. Long words give you time to line up your next move.
Spend your first nights' ink on health and damage, then look at the feats for your favourite hero.

The global leaderboard

When a night ends you can carve a name of up to ten letters into the leaderboard. It keeps each player's best night and shows the hero, time survived, level, kills, typing speed and accuracy. The server checks every score against the time that really passed, so the board stays fair.