WICK: Burning Thread

The last sun has gone out. You are a single burning thread held between two fingers.

Getting help

Questions: richohios@gmail.com

It helps to include your iPhone model, your iOS version, and what you were doing when the problem happened.

Frequently asked

Nothing happens when I tap.

WICK needs two fingers on the screen at once. They are the two ends of the burning thread, and the thread is the thing you control — there is no character and no buttons. One finger alone will not start anything.

How do I pick up an ember?

Bring your fingers together. The thread's total length never changes, so closing the gap makes it sag into a basket that an ember can fall into and rest in.

I am cradling an ember over the brazier and nothing happens.

Hovering above the bowl is not delivery. You have to lower the sag into the brazier so the ember drops in. This is the single most common thing new players get stuck on.

My lanterns will not light.

A slack thread is cold. Spread your fingers apart until the thread pulls taut and begins to glow, then hold it against the lantern for a moment. The same heat is what burns the gloom — a cold thread feeds the gloom instead.

I keep running out of fuel.

That is the game, not a bug. Fuel is at once your health bar and how far you can see, so a bright taut thread costs several times what a dim slack one does. Stay slack when you are only moving, and go taut only when you need heat. Oil pods are the only thing that refills you meaningfully.

Can I anchor one end?

Yes. Lift one finger and that end pins itself where it was, leaving the other free to sweep. The game never tells you this, and it is the most useful tactic in it.

Where is my progress saved? Is there an account?

There is no account and no sign-in. Your best score is kept in the app's own private storage on the device, so deleting the app deletes it. Nothing is uploaded — the app makes no network connections at all.

Does it work offline / in Airplane Mode?

Always. The app has no networking code, no ads and no analytics. Every texture is drawn and every sound is synthesised on your device when the game launches.

The game feels too hard or too easy.

Tell me — how far apart your hands naturally sit changes how quickly the thread reads as "taut", and that is exactly the kind of thing an email can fix in the next version. Include your iPhone model.