About the Game
In support of Project Gutenberg, a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute works of literature
- Decode a vast and varied collection of curated poetry, where each poem is encrypted using one of the world's oldest codes: the substitution cipher
- Decrypt over 400 excerpts as you explore classic poetic themes ranging from the bliss of love to the depths of despair
- Like what you decoded? Read the entire poem in-game or download each poet's anthology online for free, direct links included!
- Share the joy of poetry--10% of every sale is donated to Project Gutenberg, an online library of over 60,000 free ebooks
- Play at your own pace with four difficulty settings to choose from
- Relax with a soothing, contemplative soundtrack
- Choose between night or sunlight mode with optional enlarged cipher text
"Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary." - Khalil Gibran
Content note: This game features classic works of poetry and brief biographies of poets. Certain biographies and poems contain non-graphic references to violence, drugs, sex, and suicide.
Screenshots
7 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
On the site: Build 19916927
Up to date
We've updated the Mac and Windows versions of the game to v1.9:
* Updated the cipher screen alpha determination to hopefully fix a bug where the cipher would turn invisible (while the background and 'Reset' button were still visible). Please let us know if you still experience this!
* The game will crash (blue screen) if there are corrupted/missing/empty images in the images/ directory. But at least now it should report which filename it was trying to load whilst doing so.
Thank you so much to the community for all your wonderful feedback! We hope you continue to enjoy Poems & Codes.
(Also stay tuned for the upcoming release of our new game, The Case of the Worst Day Ever!)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3279410/The_Case_of_the_Worst_Day_Ever/
To report a bug please click "Report a Bug" on our contact page:
https://www.herogameco.com/contact
OR post in the Steam Discussion forums
OR send us an email at [email protected]
View on Steam
* Updated the cipher screen alpha determination to hopefully fix a bug where the cipher would turn invisible (while the background and 'Reset' button were still visible). Please let us know if you still experience this!
* The game will crash (blue screen) if there are corrupted/missing/empty images in the images/ directory. But at least now it should report which filename it was trying to load whilst doing so.
Thank you so much to the community for all your wonderful feedback! We hope you continue to enjoy Poems & Codes.
(Also stay tuned for the upcoming release of our new game, The Case of the Worst Day Ever!)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3279410/The_Case_of_the_Worst_Day_Ever/
To report a bug please click "Report a Bug" on our contact page:
https://www.herogameco.com/contact
OR post in the Steam Discussion forums
OR send us an email at [email protected]
Hello code-breakers!
Also as part of patch v1.7, we've updated the game engine from LOVE2D 11.4 to 11.5. Hopefully this will resolve some of the long-standing driver/OS level issues some of our players have experienced due to bugs in LOVE2D 11.4.
View on Steam
Also as part of patch v1.7, we've updated the game engine from LOVE2D 11.4 to 11.5. Hopefully this will resolve some of the long-standing driver/OS level issues some of our players have experienced due to bugs in LOVE2D 11.4.
Rolling back previous patch to add fixes.
View on Steam
Hello code-breakers!
We've replaced the audio library (OpenAL) with an updated version to hopefully solve some of the sound/audio issues reported by our Windows players.
The game should also now report any errors when failing to create the device_settings.txt file. This happens when the game is started and no device_settings.txt file is detected.
View on Steam
We've replaced the audio library (OpenAL) with an updated version to hopefully solve some of the sound/audio issues reported by our Windows players.
The game should also now report any errors when failing to create the device_settings.txt file. This happens when the game is started and no device_settings.txt file is detected.
Hello!
This patch contains:
View on Steam
This patch contains:
- fixes duplicate lines in Goethe's biography
- adds brightness slider to graphics settings
Hello! This patch is for Linux users only. It should fix the no sound issue, but If you continue to have issues with your setup, try the following:
Right click on Poems & Codes in your library and select Properties. Click Compatibility and check the box that says "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool". Use the dropdown that appears to select "Steam Linux Runtime 1.0".
If that doesn't do the trick for you, let us know!
View on Steam
Right click on Poems & Codes in your library and select Properties. Click Compatibility and check the box that says "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool". Use the dropdown that appears to select "Steam Linux Runtime 1.0".
If that doesn't do the trick for you, let us know!
Current Release
Build 19916927
Uploaded Sep 22, 2026
System Requirements
OS
N/A
CPU
Intel Celeron
RAM
2 GB RAM
GPU
Intel HD Graphics
How to Install
1
Download all files
2
Extract the .ZIP file to a folder (use WinRAR or 7-Zip)
3
Run Poems_and_codes.exe to play
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
Archive password
Needed when extracting (WinRAR / 7-Zip) — not a site login.
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Download Poems & Codes for PC with a direct link or via torrent. Get the full version of Poems & Codes for free. Poems & Codes is a Casual released by Hero Game Co LLC.