Intro And Notation
W E L C O M E
V E L C O M E
...and may you find what you're looking for. If you're stuck or curious about the behavior of how things in the game work, this guide/manual is for you.
Note that this is not a guide to help you complete any specific puzzle (look to other guides for that, or the discussion boards), but instead is supposed to explain how the words in the game work. This guide contains more or less all the words that can be found in the level editor (except as noted below), so if for instance you're confused as to what something like REVERT means or how it works, it's here.
The words here are sorted by the approximate time(s) you'll encounter them in-game, so as to minimize spoilers.
In this guide, BOLD ALL-CAPS refers to the in-game text, whereas anything else refers to the actual objects.
Word Classes And Grammar
The words in Baba Is You can be divided into seven (7) classes:
1) Objects...such as BABA, KEKE, FLAG, WALL, ROCK, and so on. Each actual object in the game has an orientation for the purposes of some actions (e.g. SHIFT). This includes the text, too. There are 150 non-meta objects in Baba Is You (not including ANNI... she's too special), plus a handful of others, but I won't list them for two reasons: (1) Spoilers, obviously (it's more fun to see firsthand what objects exist in the game), and (2) it really doesn't matter which non-meta object is which, as seen by Level Overworld 01, where instead of the expected BABA IS YOU, you have WALL IS YOU. Other times KEKE IS YOU, ME IS YOU, STATUE IS YOU, BIRD IS YOU, and so on. When designing a level, it's best to set a character-type object (BABA, KEKE, ME, GHOST, FOFO, JIJI, etc.) to YOU unless you need to have a meta or semi-meta object be YOU. The meta objects are ALL, GROUP, GROUP2, and GROUP3; and LEVEL, EMPTY, and TEXT are all semi-meta. All meta objects and semi-meta objects except TEXT will be explained below (TEXT just refers to all the text in a level — nothing more).
2) Actions...such as PUSH, STOP, MOVE, ...and yes, even YOU. These are denoted in the game by a rounded square with transparent text inside (as opposed to just text). Each action does something distinctly different.
3) Verbs...such as IS, HAS, MAKE, FEAR, and so on. These are typically denoted by white or red text (or occasionally green), but only IS (and WRITE) can be followed by an action in order for the rule to be effective (e.g. KEKE EAT YOU is meaningless, unlike KEKE EAT CAKE). Each Verb does something distinctly different.
4) Adjectives...such as LONELY and IDLE. These are denoted by colored text, and can only be placed directly before an object in order for the rule in play to take effect. Multiple adjectives are allowed in a rule, but only at the beginning of said rule.
5) Modifiers...such as ON, FACING, WITHOUT, etc. These are denoted by white text, but are only effective when placed directly before an object. These add some conditional restriction to the rule in play. Only one modifier is allowed in a rule.
6) The negator...NOT, which is denoted by red text, and can be placed before any object (place it before any adjectives), action, or modifier in a statement in order to take effect. Note that double negatives apply (e.g. BABA IS NOT NOT YOU is equivalent to BABA IS YOU).
7) The connective...AND, which is denoted by white text, and can be used to merge statements (e.g. instead of having WALL IS WALL and WALL IS STOP separately, it's more convenient to have WALL IS STOP AND WALL), among other, more complex uses.
Grammar
To form Complex Objects, we just add Modifiers and/or Adjectives:
<Adjective #1> AND <Adjective #2> AND ... AND <Adjective #m> <Object #0> <Modifier> <Object #1> AND <Object #2> AND ... AND <Object #n>Note that a simple Object counts as a Complex Object.
Next we have the valid basic sentence structures:
<Complex Object> <Verb> <Object>
<Complex Object> IS <Action>...and then you can pepper these up with NOT and chain/merge them together with AND (more detail on that below).
Note that "<Action> <Verb> <Action>" or "<Action> <Verb> <Object>" is meaningless in Baba Is You.
Finally, note that overlapping text can be used to codify multiple rules without AND. For example, if KEKE and JIJI take up the same space and (KEKE/JIJI) IS YOU, then you will control both keke and jiji (it's as if KEKE IS YOU and JIJI IS YOU were separate, active rules, because they basically are).
In the following sections, the word type will be noted.
Implicit Rules In Baba Is You
TEXT IS PUSH
LEVEL IS STOP
CURSOR IS YOU*
CURSOR IS SELECT
*Strictly speaking, it's not this exact rule, but it's more like "cursor on whatever is controlled by YOU is YOU."
Of these, the first one is the most important to make note of for individual puzzles. The last two you need only worry about if you plan on making a levelpack.
One last thing of note: if there's a change in rules, it applies at the end of a turn, never the beginning, so movement is computed before the rules are (re-)applied.
Fundamental Words
(Verb)
Perhaps even more fundamental than YOU is this — the copular verb present in every language in the universe (no seriously, it's that fundamental — ask any linguist!). However there are some nuances on how it's used.
The first use is "<object> IS <Action>", such as the ubiquitous WALL IS STOP. This is the most intuitive use of IS, and in fact only IS (and WRITE, but that's not important here) can do this. This is the power of the copula!
The second use is "<object> IS <object>", which can be used to transform objects into other objects (e.g. ROCK IS FLAG). By setting an object to be itself (e.g. WALL IS WALL), it becomes immutable — that is, it cannot be changed by some other rule such as WALL IS ROCK (which will be X'd out). This is a common trick used to prevent unintended solutions.
If you have a series of chained IS statements, e.g. BABA IS KEKE IS ME IS ROCK IS JIJI IS ..., the statement will be applied on a per-turn basis, so BABA will not immediately become JIJI or ROCK.
(Actions)
Perhaps confusingly, YOU is not a noun in Baba Is You, but an action! Whatever objects are set to be YOU (e.g. BABA, rather famously) can be controlled by you. This is found in every level since without it you just get either an automaton, or an impossible level. If you control multiple instances of an object (e.g. 2 babas or a baba and a tree), they will all move simultaneously, so use an object set to STOP (if one exists, and if possible) to align the objects you control as needed.
With YOU2, you can separately control a second set of objects. This was introduced in the levelpack "New Adventures."
(Action)
This is 100% a requirement for any Baba Is You level! When something is WIN, then when anything controlled by you (i.e. set to YOU) touches (or is) said object, you win!
(Action)
Any objects set to STOP are fully tangible and impassible. Note that PUSH and PULL can override the blocking nature of STOP.
(Action)
Any objects set to PUSH can be pushed around Sokoban-style, either by something controlled by YOU, or by something that can move (either via MOVE or something else). Note that Baba Is You is one of those games where you can push multiple objects at once. The pushed objects will change their orientation to match the direction they last traveled in (e.g. a belt pushed up will face up).
Slightly Less Fundamental Words
(Action)
Anything set to DEFEAT will destroy anything controlled by YOU (or YOU2) upon overlap, while the objects set to DEFEAT themselves remain intact. Much like STOP, DEFEAT is typically used to prevent exploits and be an obstacle to you. Note that PUSH and PULL can override the destructive nature of DEFEAT.
(Action)
Anything set to SINK will destroy anything that comes into contact with it, as well as itself. For example, if ROCK IS SINK, then if, say, a hedge is pushed onto it, both the rock and the hedge will be destroyed.
(Actions)
These words work in tandem. Anything set to MELT will be destroyed by anything set to HOT, while the latter object remains intact. A little reminder that these words have nothing to do with YOU nor the objects they modify. This means that ICE can be HOT and LAVA can be MELT! Also note that if something is both HOT and MELT, it will self-destruct.
Words From The Lake
(Conjunction)
...AND here it is. Introduced for the first time. I won't say much about this word except how it's used to chain statements together.
For these examples, suppose you have some Complex Objects which I'll denote by C₁, C₂, etc.; a verb V; some Objects which I'll denote by O₁, O₂, etc.; and some Actions, which I'll denote by A₁, A₂, etc.
We can shorten C₁ V O₁ and C₁ V O₂ to C₁ V O₁ AND O2 (e.g. BOX HAS KEY and BOX HAS FLAG becomes BOX HAS KEY AND FLAG)
We can shorten C₁ V O₁ and C₂ V O₁ to C₁ AND C₂ V O₁ (e.g. GHOST FEAR BABA and ME FEAR BABA becomes GHOST AND ME FEAR BABA)
We can shorten C₁ IS A₁ and C₂ IS A₁ to C₁ AND C₂ IS A₁ (e.g. WALL IS STOP and DOOR IS STOP becomes WALL AND DOOR IS STOP)
We can shorten C₁ IS O₁ and C₁ IS A₁ to C₁ IS O₁ AND A₁ (e.g. BELT IS BELT and BELT IS SHIFT becomes BELT IS BELT AND SHIFT)
We can shorten C₁ IS A₁ and C₁ IS A₂ to C₁ IS A₁ AND A₂ (e.g. BABA IS YOU and BABA IS WEAK becomes BABA IS YOU AND WEAK)Multiple shortenings can be applied. For instance, ROCK IS DEFEAT, KEY IS DEFEAT, ROCK IS OPEN, and KEY IS OPEN can all be combined into ROCK AND KEY IS DEFEAT AND OPEN.
Note that setting a rule with AND in it is equivalent to setting up two (or more) rules simultaneously. Remember that when next you visit the Skull House.
(Actions)
Like with HOT and MELT, these words also work in tandem. Anything set to SHUT will be destroyed by anything set to OPEN, and vice versa because both objects get destroyed. A little reminder that these words have nothing to do with YOU nor the objects they modify. This means that WALL can be OPEN and CRAB can be SHUT! Also note that if something is both SHUT and OPEN, it will self-destruct.
When designing a puzzle, if you want the most control over object deletion, use SHUT/OPEN or HOT/MELT, but don't rule out the possibilities of SINK or WEAK.
Words From Solitary Island
(Action)
Anything set to FLOAT, as the word implies, floats on its own plane. Anything that is FLOAT does not fully interact with objects that are not FLOAT — objects with STOP, PUSH or PULL being the exceptions.
The main purpose of this word is to prevent unintended solutions (typically using TEXT IS FLOAT, so that it cannot be pushed onto an object with SINK, or so that the text cannot be teleported), but there are some more puzzle-y uses for FLOAT as well.
(Action)
Anything set to MOVE will move one space per turn in the direction of its orientation, reversing direction upon hitting a tangible object. Such objects that MOVE can still be pushed, or pulled, sometimes to change their orientation. When an object is YOU and MOVE, both movement effects stack, meaning that whatever you control will move not just one, but two spaces per turn unless you idle.
Notably, only through YOU and MOVE (and possibly SHIFT and CHILL) can any puzzle dynamically advance, so if nothing is YOU, something had better be MOVE (or SHIFT or CHILL)! Remember this when next you visit Further Fields.
Words From Temple Ruins
(Action)
WEAK objects get destroyed by running into something (or being ran into). For instance, if BABA IS YOU AND WEAK, baba cannot even touch a little leaf without getting destroyed. Another example: if BOX IS WEAK and BABA IS YOU, baba can destroy any boxes without harm.
WEAK overrides DEFEAT, but not PUSH and PULL.
(Verb)
This word allows you to conditionally change or multiply objects, the condition being that the first object must be destroyed to "release" the second. As an example, if you have BOX HAS KEY in a puzzle, in order to get the key, you have to destroy the box (there are methods described above: BOX IS WEAK, BOX IS SHUT paired with something else that is OPEN, BOX IS MELT (not HOT!) paired with something that is HOT, BOX IS SINK, or possibly BOX IS DEFEAT).
A cute trick with HAS arises from setting both the subject and the object to be the same thing (e.g. BABA HAS BABA): it becomes indestructible!
Words From Forest Of Fall
(Action)
Short for "teleport", any instances of this object will teleport other objects between them. For example, LOVE IS TELE (as seen in the puzzle Hop) teleports any other object that is not LOVE between other instances of LOVE. Notably, TELE only works on a per-object basis, so for instance, if you have LOVE IS TELE and ICE IS TELE, objects cannot be teleported from love to ice and vice versa. This also means that at least 2 instances of an object that is TELE need to be present in order for TELE to work (NB the rule will work regardless since it is well-formed, but it won't always be useable). When there are more than 2 instances, the teleportation destination is randomly chosen.
(Action)
Similar effect to PUSH, except that the specified object(s) get pulled instead of pushed. As with PUSH, multiple objects, even of different types, can be pulled, and the orientation will change to match. This means that something that is stuck in a corner or against a wall can be pulled off of it if said object is PULL (though mazelike corridors with bends will still be problematic).
PULL can also have an inadvertently creepy effect when trying to back away from an object that is PULL. The trick is always to sidestep your placed objects if possible. This also means that there is a degree of anti-synergy with FACING.
(Negator)
Does what you'd expect it to do: negate a thing. Examples:
NOT BABA IS YOU: everything that is not baba is controlled by you. Note that BABA IS YOU does not contradict this statement.
NOT BABA IS BABA: everything that is not baba becomes baba ("if you can't beat 'em, join 'em")! Note that BABA IS BABA does not contradict this statement.
WALL IS NOT PUSH: negates any instance of WALL IS PUSH (which will be X'd out).
BABA IS NOT KEKE: negates any instance of BABA IS KEKE (which will be X'd out).
HEDGE IS NOT HEDGE: causes all hedges to self-destruct!
KEKE NOT ON TILE IS MOVE: anytime keke is not on a tile, they will move. This does not necessarily mean that whenever keke is on a tile they will not move.There are also more complex uses for NOT, as can be seen in the level Exactly As It Says.
And again, unlike many natural languages, but like in English and math, double negatives cancel, so any occurrence of NOT NOT in a rule can be deleted to extract the real rule.
Words From Deep Forest
(Action)
Whatever is SHIFT will move said object one space in the direction of its orientation in the same turn. This allows for all those belts with BELT IS SHIFT on them to behave about as you would expect them to: always forward, never backward. However SHIFT has some other uses too — it can substitute for PUSH (e.g. in the level Broken Expectations, where TEXT IS NOT PUSH but BABA IS YOU and BABA IS SHIFT).
Note that SHIFT can be stacked, so for example BELT IS SHIFT AND SHIFT will advance whatever is on it not just by one space, but by two. A wacky example of this can be seen in Cannon in The Museum.
(Action)
Rather intuitive, when something is SWAP, it will swap places with whatever ran into it (think of all those Match 3 games if you're having trouble visualizing the effect of SWAP).
Note that unlike PUSH and PULL, SWAP will not override STOP since the position of the object with STOP on it cannot be occupied — something which PUSH and PULL do not require.
(Actions)
When something is set to one of these directions, it will automatically be oriented in that direction. Has no effect on said object's movement, so you'd need something like MOVE in order to make it move.
Words From Rocket Trip
(Semi-meta Object)
This refers to any space not occupied by any other object. As such it can be a little tricky to comprehend (unless you're a topologist who's used to thinking in terms of set complements), because when it's in use, its form naturally changes (e.g. when using EMPTY IS YOU, perhaps you've discovered that you can push objects onto, say, grass, but once they're there, they can no longer be pushed because grass is not empty, meaning you cannot exist there as empty).
(directional Action)
When an object is set to FALL, it will act as if it had gravity applied to it each turn. Just because something is FALL doesn't mean it will fall one space per turn — instead, it will fall as far as it can during the turn. Note that FALL has a teleportation effect to it, as seen in The Pit: if BABA IS YOU and BABA IS FALL, but baba has to pass through some skulls and SKULL IS DEFEAT, baba can fall through them without getting hurt.
Although the default direction for FALL is down, since the levelpack "New Adventures," FALL can also be oriented left, right, and up.
Words From Flower Garden
(Verb)
When you have <object #1> MAKE <object #2>, whenever the first object changes position (via something like PUSH, PULL or MOVE), it will leave behind a copy of the second object. Likewise when still, except the copies of the second object won't stack.
(Modifier)
When you have <object #1> ON <object #2>, the rule as a whole restricts what will happen to the first object to only those instances of when it is on the second object. For example, ROCK ON TILE IS FLAG means that while a rock on its own won't become a flag, when it's placed on a tile, it will become a flag.
Note that when using ON, the rule will never apply to the second object, as is standard for modifiers. Always think in terms of the first object when reading the rule. In the example above, this means that nothing special applies to the tile(s).
Words From Chasm
(Meta Object)
ALL refers to any and all present objects in the level. For example, if a level contains BABA, SKULL, KEKE, GRASS, and WALL, ALL will collectively refer to all of these at once. ALL will never refer to any semi-meta object, for rather obvious reasons.
(Action)
Anything that is MORE will orthogonally multiply at each turn. More explicitly, anything that is MORE will create copies of itself immediately to the left, to the right, above, and below itself, space permitting.
One word of caution: as you may have surmised, improper use of this word can cause the level to crash, generating the error "TOO COMPLEX!" Fortunately, this is fairly easy to avoid with this word.
(Action)
Any non-text object that is WORD will act as if it were its text equivalent. For instance ROCK IS WORD and <rock> IS PUSH means that rocks can be pushed while the latter rule is active. Note that only <object text> IS WORD will be effective — it is impossible to try to out-meta this action by, say, first setting ROCK IS WORD and then setting <rock> IS WORD.
(Action)
Mostly used for cosmetic purposes. Anything that is SLEEP is immobile, and so cannot be affected by YOU, YOU2, or MOVE.
Words From Volcanic Cavern
(Modifier)
Pretty self-explanatory, and it has to do with the orientation of an object. Say an object such as baba is facing up and directly in front of it is another object such as a wall. Then BABA FACING WALL will be active in a statement such as BABA FACING WALL IS EMPTY. Note that the second object (the wall in this example) has to be directly in front of the first (baba in this example), or else the rule will not apply.
(Meta Objects)
This refers to anything that IS it. Apart from AND, these are also somewhat useful for joining rules into one statement. For instance we could have instead of DOOR AND KEKE FACING WALL IS STOP, DOOR IS GROUP and GROUP AND KEKE FACING WALL IS STOP.
...OK, so it's probably not really all that useful except for creating some cute puzzles. Notably, GROUP2 and GROUP3 were added in the levelpack "New Adventures."
Words From Mountaintop
(Adjective)
This essentially means "not on anything" so one doesn't have to write out NOT ON <object #1> AND NOT ON <object #2> AND .... For instance, LONELY BABA IS YOU means that, as long as you're not on anything (such as rubble or grass), you control baba. Note that LONELY therefore has a level of anti-synergy with ON.
Other Words From The Base Game
(Modifier)
Becomes active whenever something is, well, near something else — specifically, one square (including diagonally) adjacent. For example, BOX NEAR WALL IS WEAK means that, while the box isn't normally weak, place it next to a wall, and it will become weak.
(Action)
As the word says: anything that is HIDE will be hidden, and any hidden rules will not display in the pause menu. Mostly present for a secret or two. Please do not abuse this word to create excessively trolly levels.
(Action)
This word is also primarily present for some secrets. Anything that is BONUS will behave similarly to WIN, except that the object will just disappear as if it were WEAK (note though that WEAK overrides BONUS).
(Semi-meta Object)
This word is arguably the most interesting one, as it can represent a selectable level or the whole level itself. Examples of use:
LEVEL IS <object>: transforms the whole level into an object (if possible — the level needs to be part of a levelpack), which is required to access all that meta-game stuff.
LEVEL <Verb> <object>: typically applies to the selectable variants rather than the whole level, but not always.
LEVEL IS <Action>: typically applies to the whole level rather than the selectable variants.
<Complex Object> <Verb> LEVEL: typically applies to the selectable variants rather than the whole level (but not always for verbs other than IS). For instance, WALL IS LEVEL will transform any walls into selectable levels. Notably, these levels are unuseable, even if you have a cursor with which to select them, because they are locked. However, there are occasions when transforming an otherwise innocent object such as a flag into a level are valid and actually unlock levels! This is seen in all that meta-game content (and in fact is kinda required to advance). When designing your own levels, don't expect this to factor into any design decisions unless you're creating a levelpack.
(Action)
This one was featured in The Museum and... it's a little underrated I feel. It's not in the Level Editor, but I include it here because it almost made it into the base game.
So how does it work? Anything that is HOLD will prevent anything else that is on it from moving, even if YOU or MOVE is set. For instance, if HAND IS HOLD and KEY IS MOVE, if the key is on the hand, it won't go anywhere.
Color And Status Words
These are all Actions that are typically used in conjunction with FEELING or for cosmetic purposes (e.g. the level Poem in Solitary Island, or ANNI IS BEST).
New Words From The Overworld And Babarcade
(04, 05, 07, 08, Babarcade) (Action)
Your world becomes 3D! Try not to get disoriented as you navigate the game in this mode.
There is a crucial control difference in 3D: anything controlled by YOU can only be active one character at a time. For example, if YOU control two trees, normally they would all move simultaneously in the same turn, but not in 3D — you have to select which one you want to move.
(03) (Verb)
Anything set to FOLLOW another object will change its orientation to face the object to be followed. In the puzzle in New Adventures, we see EYE FOLLOW IT, and all the eyes change their orientation to face toward It, regardless of any obstacles in the way.
If in the example there were multiple "It"s, the eyes would prioritize the nearest one to follow, and should It be on a perfect diagonal from an eye, said eye will take a preference to vertical orientation.
(02) (Verb)
Mostly for cosmetics, PLAY is used very specifically: <object> PLAY <A, B, C, D, E, F, G> <optional ♭ or ♯>. Nothing else works for this verb. When an object is set to PLAY a musical note, it will play that note for a turn. Note that E♯, B♯, F♭ and C♭ are currently a little bugged: they don't shift pitch (not like you should need these explicitly anyway).
Certain objects such a GUITAR or SAX are musical instruments which play notes using a non-default timbre, true to the instrument being portrayed (the default is just a sawtooth wave).
(12,16,17) (Modifier)
Behaves almost identically to FACING, the exception being that the object in question needn't be right up against the object it is facing. There still cannot be any objects in the way, or else the rule will not apply.
(14) (Modifier)
Functions similarly, but not identically, to NEAR. With NEAR, the rule is active whenever the object in question is adjacent in any direction or overlapping the NEAR object. With NEXT TO, it only considers left, right, above, and below — diagonal adjacency or overlapping won't trigger a rule with NEXT TO in it.
(13,15,18) (Action)
You like explosions? This action is for you! The moment <object> IS BOOM, it will blow up in a certain radius determined by how many times the rule is stacked. As demonstrated in the level Boom!, <object> IS BOOM only blows itself up, but <object> IS BOOM AND BOOM AND BOOM creates a blast in a 5×5 area (basically a square with radius 3 since the rule is stacked 3 times) centered at the object.
Now the key part of BOOM: it will destroy any objects within its blast radius, regardless of their properties except for SAFE.
New Words From Land Of Oddities
(Action)
Cannot be destroyed by any means, whether by DEFEAT, SINK, HOT/MELT, OPEN/SHUT, or something else perhaps.
(Verb)
If an object FEAR another object, it will try to run away. More specifically, the former object will advance one space away from the latter object in the same turn if the latter object tries to get next to the former (NB diagonal positioning has no effect). For example, ROCK FEAR BABA means that if baba tries to move directly one space to the left of, to the right of, above or below the rock, said rock will move one space away from baba in the same turn.
(Adjective)
This triggers whenever you wait for a turn. As an example, if IDLE KEKE IS DEFEAT, then keke will destroy whatever you control if it's waiting on keke for a turn.
(Verb)
Functions very similarly to IS, except of course that <object> MIMIC <Action> is meaningless. It can be thought of a way to use IS without its object-changing ability. Alternatively, it can be thought of a way to transfer one object's properties onto another. For example, if ROCK IS PUSH and KEKE MIMIC ROCK, then the rule KEKE IS PUSH (MIMIC), as displayed in the pause menu, will be inherent. Think of it as a "replacement" rule, where in the example, ROCK gets "replaced" by KEKE.
It should be noted that when <object #1> MIMIC <object #2> and <object #2> IS <object #3> is involved, things get a tad more complicated, as the rule <object #1> IS <object #3> (MIMIC) will be set up, so in this case MIMIC can be used to change an object's properties. Just remember that it's not MIMIC alone changing the object — the statement with IS is key too.
New Words From Land Of Delicacies
(Verb)
The latter object gets destroyed by the former. Overrides DEFEAT, STOP, PUSH, and PULL.
(Modifier)
When a level has WITHOUT active, any object preceding WITHOUT must be 100% absent from the level in order for the rule to take effect. As an example, BABA WITHOUT FRUIT IS WIN means that if the level has fruit in it, regardless of the number or location of said fruit(s), baba will not be WIN.
Note that WITHOUT FRUIT IS WIN is actually an incomplete statement that the game will read as FRUIT IS WIN. If you're designing a level and don't want a specific object to be tied to a WITHOUT condition, try LEVEL WITHOUT FRUIT IS WIN (i.e. use LEVEL as a sort of dummy placeholder). Using ALL isn't entirely recommended since it ties every non-meta object to your statement (and EMPTY does no good either since EMPTY is a semi-meta object, meaning that it can, and almost certainly does, exist in your level).
(Modifier)
A very useful keyword for forming more advanced conditionals! When something is FEELING something else (e.g. BABA FEELING RED), then the rest of the rule will be true if said object IS also that state.
Perhaps an example is in order: if BABA IS RED and BABA FEELING RED IS HOT, then baba will only be HOT whenever they are RED.
Note that the action in question need not be a status word. For instance, STATUE IS PUSH and STATUE FEELING PUSH IS MELT means that the statue will be MELT whenever it is PUSH. It's slightly more nuanced than that though, as the very similar setup STATUE IS MELT and STATUE FEELING MELT IS PUSH is not equivalent!
This word can also be used with AND to form some proper AND-gating: set up <object> IS <state1> and <object> IS <state2> in conjunction with <object> FEELING <state1> AND <state2> <Verb> <object or Action>.
Finally, I know it's possible, but please do not abuse this keyword to create overly flashy effects (a few are fine, but we don't like eye rape).
(Action)
Did you ever think before that the game remembers what changes (as opposed to just your moves)? Well it does, and REVERT acts upon this. Say you have BUG IS TREE IS FLAG, as well as a bug in your map. By setting FLAG IS REVERT, the flag will revert to what it was originally. Note that <object #1> IS <object #1> cancels any REVERT rules, so in the above example, if you have BUG IS TREE IS FLAG IS FLAG, then FLAG IS REVERT will be invalidated and X'd out.
New Words From Starry Lands
(Modifiers)
These are all conditional words that restrict the application of a rule based on relative direction. As an example, BABA ABOVE FLAG IS WIN means that baba won't be WIN unconditionally, but only above the flag will they be WIN. All four words apply irrespective of the number of spaces or any objects in the way, so if baba is, say, 10 spaces above the flag and there's a pipe, a wall, and a skull in the way, the rule will still apply.
(directional Action)
Functionally very similar to AUTO, except that the object's orientation doesn't change. More explicitly, that which is NUDGE will shift its position in the indicated direction once each turn.
New Words From Land Of Vehicles
(Action and Adjective, respectively)
These words work in tandem, and POWERED is an adjective while POWER is an action. Anything set to POWER will make anything with POWERED true. Number of objects set to POWER and their location is inherently irrelevant. For instance, if BOLT IS POWER and POWERED ROBOT IS MOVE, then the robot will move, regardless of the number of bolts on the level or their location.
(Action)
As the word implies, that which is STILL cannot move. It's basically equivalent to NOT PUSH AND NOT MOVE AND NOT PULL AND NOT SWAP (and for the most part NOT YOU as well), but designed to save a bit of space. It functions essentially identically to SLEEP except without the cosmetic effect.
(Action)
That which is AUTO will move on its own, making it functionally very similar to MOVE except that there is no turning around.
LEVEL IS AUTO is special: when this rule is set, everything in the level will progress automatically, to the extent that it can. That's why there's a "LEVEL IS AUTO" slider in the Settings menu for a level: it controls how fast you want the auto-progress to be.
(Action)
Objects set to PHANTOM can pass through anything that is STOP, PUSH or PULL, meaning that they cannot push or pull anything, including text. However, objects set to PHANTOM can themselves still be pushed and/or pulled, though due to their intangibility, multiple instances of PHANTOM objects cannot be pushed at once unless they are stacked. Note that, much like FLOAT, there is a visual effect for this keyword.
(directional Action)
That which is LOCKED is prevented from moving a certain direction specified in the keyword. Can be used to form cool automatons and mini-games, among its more regular puzzle-y uses.
New Words From Land Land Land
(Action)
Anything that is BROKEN won't obey any other rules applied to it. For instance, if KEY IS PUSH AND OPEN but also KEY IS BROKEN, then there are no rules for the key(s) in question. Note that there is a visual effect for this keyword (much like HOT, BONUS and WIN).
(Action)
Typically used in conjunction with MOVE, FEAR, NUDGE, or anything else that can automatically move an object (so this excludes PUSH and PULL). Whenever the object IS REVERSE and moves, it will move backwards instead of forwards (i.e. in the exact opposite direction of its orientation). REVERSE has no effect on its own.
(Action)
This behaves similarly to REVERT, except now all moves count instead of object changes. As an example, if you change a rock into a tree, then by setting TREE IS BACK, it will change back into the rock it once was, all the while keeping in step with what you did at the time (i.e. the number of moves since its last change). If the rock moved at all however, BACK won't affect that, even if you set ROCK IS BACK (which will merely change it back into the tree that it "once" was).
As another example, if you push a rock, BACK will eventually force the rock to backtrack on its own whereas REVERT can do no such thing.
Other New Words
(Action)
Anything set to TURN will rotate its orientation in the indicated direction once per turn. Useful in conjunction with something like MOVE.
(Adjectives)
Wanna add a little RNG to your puzzle (and more than just what you get from TELE)? These words will do ya. They are both adjectives that do what you might expect. For example, OFTEN BABA IS RED means that during most turns, baba will be colored red (but as usual, will not change during a single turn). Similarly, SELDOM BABA IS RED means that during most turns, baba will not be colored red.
(Action)
This is "chill" in the sense of "hanging around" rather than "to make cold". And so, anything that is CHILL will move one space in a random direction each turn. As with MOVE, the movement effects stack with anything else that affects movement (MOVE, YOU/YOU2, SHIFT).
(Verb)
This is the only other exception to IS in that you can place either another Object or an Action after this verb. When an object is set to WRITE another Object or Action, all instances of said object will immediately be transformed into the specified text. This makes WRITE much more powerful than a mere <object> IS TEXT statement.
Perhaps an example will help: if keke is present in the level, the moment KEKE WRITE UP is formed, all instances of keke will be transformed into the Action text UP.
Another example: if a wall is present in the level, the moment WALL WRITE FIRE is formed, all the walls will be transformed into the Object text FIRE.
One word of caution: improper use of this word can cause the level to crash, generating the error "TOO COMPLEX!" That's why it should only be used very selectively in your puzzles.
(Action)
I suspect this is solely for levelpack creation. Probably don't need to worry about this one.
Finale Words
I'm not gonna explain what these do. Unless you're creating a levelpack, you don't even need them in your levels (OK maaaybe DONE, but not really)! Go (re)play the main game to find out for yourself!
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2725290821
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