Yes — CIPHER-8 is free to play, so you can install and play it without buying anything.

Is CIPHER-8 Steam Deck compatible?

Mostly. Valve rates CIPHER-8 Playable on Steam Deck: it runs, but may need some manual tweaking — a community controller layout, or zooming in on small text.

Can I play CIPHER-8 on Mac?

Yes. CIPHER-8 has a native macOS version on Steam.

Is CIPHER-8 multiplayer?

No — Steam lists CIPHER-8 as single-player only.

Is CIPHER-8 on PC Game Pass?

No — CIPHER-8 is not on PC Game Pass right now.

CIPHER-8

Name: CIPHER-8
Brand: Ludokultur
Availability: InStock

Ludokultur · September 12, 2023 · Puzzle, Solitaire, Turn-Based Tactics, Education, Roguelite

CIPHER-8 is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.

Puzzle deals

Positive100% · 29

Best price

Free

Get it free on Steam

This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

Screenshots

CIPHER-8 price

CIPHER-8 is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.

About CIPHER-8

✦ AI summary

CIPHER-8 is a brain-twisting puzzle game where you manipulate numbers and special abilities in a grid to match column goals while managing cascading effects across the board. Race against the clock in Blitz mode or strategically plan your moves in Puzzle mode, with difficulty scaling as you master each challenge.

🎊 CELEBRATING 8 YEARS SINCE THE RELEASE OF THE VIRTUAL FANTASY CONSOLE PICO-8, THIS TITLE IS RELEASED AS A FREE GAME! 🎊

You just couldn't let go of your dream to become some sort of cyberpunk Robin Hood, so you invented a device that connects your brain to the inner world of a high-security safe’s digital lock. Somewhat irritated, the safe suggests you play a game to make up for your intrusion. Lose and be locked in forever, or win to attain unimaginable wealth (to redistribute among those in need of course). Can you crack the cipher?

https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/2552900/extras/CIPHER8.gif

CIPHER-8 is a brain-twisting game where you push numbers into a grid. Well, numbers or all kinds of manipulatory tricks (also known as "special abilities"). Or bombs apparently. Anyways, after all it’s about making the total value of each column match its goal value. However, changing one column affects the others as well. Oh and by the way, bonus points if you manage to plan ahead a few turns to keep your cipher streak going in the process!

There are two game modes:

⚡️ BLITZ asks you to reach a target score in just 90 seconds, so you better get that brain juice flowing fast!
🧩 PUZZLE mode on the other hand is all about planning since there’s no timer, but you lose energy if you go without scoring for too many turns.

Both modes track your skill and become more challenging every time you beat them.

Note: This game is made using the virtual fantasy console PICO-8 (digipad + 2 buttons), but controls just fine via keyboard (arrows + X and C) or pretty much any controller.
https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/2552900/extras/Cipher8KeysSteam.png

💻 Design & Code: Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur)
🎶 Dynamic music: @muse_energy

CIPHER-8 — game info

Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux / SteamOS
Steam Deck: Playable
Player modes: Single-player
Controller: Full controller support
PC Game Pass: Not included

More games like this:Mac games Linux games Games with full controller support

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

Recommended Feb 22, 2024

⠀

8 found this helpful

Recommended Aug 5, 2026

Good randomized puzzle game, the idea is simple but it's used quite competently. You can play it infinitely and it's a good challenge for your gray cells.

1 found this helpful

Recommended Apr 13, 2026

This game has a very simple gameplay loop, but it's great! Very addictive/fun. I'll play some more for sure.

Recommended Apr 4, 2026

Great Game but look at that kitty, whoever pass by can pet it and give it a thumbs up. Have a nice day :3 　　　　　／＞　　フ　　　　　| 　_　 _ l 　　　　／` ミ＿xノ　　　 /　　　　 | 　　　 /　ヽ　　ﾉ　　 │　　|　|　| 　／￣|　　 |　|　| 　| (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__)

Recommended Jul 28, 2025

This is a fun simple puzzle game. Easy to get into and the progressive difficulty is pretty reasonable. Solid music too!

Recommended Oct 29, 2024

the stuff people can do with pico is so impressive

Community reviews

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