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Riven: The Sequel to Myst Hints

How do I read Riven numbers?

  • 1 of 18: You will find a guide to the Riven numbering system in one of the locations along the lake on the Village Island.
  • 2 of 18: It's in the building that looks like a school.
  • 3 of 18: Look for a game with two hanging men and a shark.  It's on one of the tables.
  • 4 of 18: Pull the lever at the bottom of the game, and a random number will appear.
  • 5 of 18: One of the men will drop a number of steps corresponding to the number you're shown.
  • 6 of 18: There are really only five symbols in the Riven system.  Other numbers can all be derived from those five.
  • 7 of 18: To start with, every number appears inside a box.  The box itself is meaningless, except to tell you that you're looking at a number.
  • 8 of 18: "1" is indicated by a vertical bar in the middle of the box.
  • 9 of 18: "2" is a half-circle on the left side of the box.  (The number 2 looks kind of like "DI" with bars above and below it.)
  • 10 of 18: "3" is two diagonal lines on the left side of the box.  (3 looks like "KI" in between two lines.)
  • 11 of 18: "4" is a horizontal and vertical line on the right side of the box.
  • 12 of 18: Larger numbers can be made with these symbols in different locations.
  • 13 of 18: Take a look at the number 5.  It has a bar in the middle of the box, but the bar is horizontal, not vertical.
  • 14 of 18: In other words, it's rotated 90 degrees.
  • 15 of 18: And 6 (which is a cross in the middle of the box) looks like the symbol for 5 and 1 put together.
  • 16 of 18: You can make even larger numbers by rotating the symbols for 1-4 by 90 degrees.  Rotating them multiplies their value by 5.
  • 17 of 18: For example, the symbol for 17 (3 * 5 + 2) is an upside-down V at the bottom of the box, with a half circle on the left.
  • 18 of 18: If you still need help, take a look at this drawing of the different numbers you might encounter.