Acheron

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2018

Acheron is an interactive puzzle game built within Instagram. As of 2022 the game is fully playable, however the leaderboard is now closed. If you are interested in playing spoiler-free, start here. 

Inspired by narrative puzzle games like Myst, Acheron seeks to take the player on a difficult and surreal journey. Each level is a separate public Instagram account hiding in plain sight, connected to one another through cryptic hashtags, visual clues, ciphers and puzzles. Players must work within the confines of the social platform to progress, using the features they are already accustomed to as game mechanics. During gameplay the edges of the map begin to blur as players must determine which accounts are part of Acheron and which are part of the greater Instagram platform. On the final stage, player’s progress was monitored by checking if a particular “Story” post had been viewed, triggering the introduction of an ominous gatekeeper who taunts and gives vague hints to players.

As a game hiding on a social media platform, Acheron may become more challenging over time as more Instagram accounts are created and hashtags become crowded. Perhaps unsuspecting Instagram users have become players accidentally, embarking on a true descent into Acheron.

Levels:

1. trottingtodinner
   
2. lilmissbaphomet
3. 360noscopesheeple
4. sinister_circle
5. meanderingwhisper
6. 6473k33p3r
7. q2l0ywrlba
   

Final Leaderboard:

1. jshmsh
2. avivarowley
3. wolfchirp
4. lindseyolo
5. jbovshow
6. jjkjr
7. wikihowdy
8. hovering_kite
9. catladyz
10. deepbody
11. alyfisher
    
12. o.smithclark
    
13. alice__ju
14. derekzheng_
15. combatmusic
16. justindaashuurhopkins
17. jamesbochert
18. pizza_bet
19. a.flowers.felicity