How to Use Zuno
Step-by-step instructions for exploring the Tideglass Observatory.
Start a New Journey
Open Zuno and tap New journey. If you already have a saved game, Continue journey picks up exactly where you left off.
New to text adventures? Tap How to play on the welcome screen for a short example of the basics.
Read the Room
Every scene starts with a description of where you are and what you can see. Read it closely — every clue you need is in the text. The illustrations set the mood but never hide anything essential.
There’s no timer and no way to die, so take your time.
Type a Command
Type in the command field — the placeholder reads What will you do? — and tap Send or press Return.
| To do this | Type |
|---|---|
| Look around again | look or l |
| Inspect something | examine lantern or x lantern |
| Read something | read letter |
| Pick something up | take gear or get gear |
| Put something down | drop cloth |
| See what you carry | inventory or i |
| Use an item on something | use gear on pump |
| Work a mechanism | turn wheel, pull lever |
| Get help | help |
Capitalization and words like the and a don’t matter. Enter one command at a time, and name one item at a time — take all isn’t supported.
Or Tap an Action
Prefer not to type? Below the latest passage you’ll find up to four context actions — things like Read letter or Examine gate — and a Go button for each exit. Tapping one does exactly what typing it would, and the equivalent command appears in the story so you learn as you go.
Move Between Rooms
Type a direction: north, south, east, west, up, or down — or just n, s, e, w. You can also type go north.
The Map reveals rooms only after you visit them, marks your current room You are here, and shows known exits — including what’s blocking them, like Too dark or Flooded. Unexplored exits are labeled Unexplored. Tap List for a text version of the map.
Collect and Use Items
Type take and an item’s name to pick it up. Open Inventory to see what you’re carrying, with a description of each item and three controls:
- Examine — look at it closely
- Use — try it on something you’ve already discovered nearby
- Drop — leave it in the current room
You can also type combinations directly, like use gear on pump or put lens in socket.
Work the Mechanisms
The observatory is full of machinery. Try commands like turn wheel, rotate mirror east, or pull lever.
Experiment freely. Failed, blocked, or unrecognized commands never count as a turn, and Zuno will suggest commands it does understand.
Check the Journal
Open Journal to review every clue you’ve discovered, grouped by location. New entries are marked Unread until you’ve seen them.
Ask for a Hint
Tap Hint or type hint. Zuno works on the first puzzle you haven’t solved yet, and offers three hints:
- A gentle nudge
- A stronger clue
- The exact action
Tap Reveal hint to see each one, only when you want it. Hints are tracked separately from turns.
Undo a Mistake
Tap Undo or type undo to reverse your last action — up to 50 steps back within a play session. Undone entries stay visible in the story, marked Undone, so you can always see what happened.
Save and Move Your Journey
Zuno saves automatically after every command and whenever you leave the app. You can also tap Save now any time.
To move a game to another device:
- Open Settings and choose Export save…
- Save the file to Files, or send it with AirDrop
- On the other device, open Settings and choose Import save…
Zuno checks the file and asks before replacing your current journey.
Adjust Reading Settings
Open Settings to change:
- Text size — make text larger or smaller on top of your iOS text size
- High contrast — stronger contrast for text and borders
- Reduce motion — fewer animations
- Announce new responses — whether VoiceOver reads each new response automatically
With a hardware keyboard: ⌘S saves, ⌘Z undoes (when the command field is empty), ⌘/ opens help, ⌘⇧H shows a hint, and ⌘L jumps back to the command field.
Restore the Beacon
Solve the observatory’s linked puzzles to bring its beacon back to life. When you do, Zuno shows your turns, the optional discoveries you found, and the hints you used. Then choose Keep exploring to wander the observatory, or start a new journey from the welcome screen.