Coming soon · Chapter I, Lauds

Horologium

A puzzle game of the hours.

Septies in die laudem dixi tibi

Seven times a day I have given praise to thee.
Psalm 118:164 · Douay-Rheims
The day, kept in eight hours

Every hour has its own light.

IDaybreak

Lauds

Deus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo.

O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day.

Psalmus LXII · ad Laudes

IISunrise

Prime

Haec est dies quam fecit Dominus; exsultemus, et laetemur in ea.

This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice therein.

Psalmus CXVII · ad Primam

IIIMid-morning

Terce

Deduc me in semitam mandatorum tuorum, quia ipsam volui.

Lead me into the path of thy commandments; for this same I have desired.

Psalmus CXVIII · ad Tertiam

IVNoon

Sext

Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum, et lumen semitis meis.

Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths.

Psalmus CXVIII · ad Sextam

VAfternoon

None

Declaratio sermonum tuorum illuminat, et intellectum dat parvulis.

The declaration of thy words giveth light: and giveth understanding to little ones.

Psalmus CXVIII · ad Nonam

VIEvening

Vespers

A solis ortu usque ad occasum laudabile nomen Domini.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise.

Psalmus CXII · ad Vesperas

VIINightfall

Compline

Scuto circumdabit te veritas ejus: non timebis a timore nocturno.

His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night.

Psalmus XC · ad Completorium

VIIIMidnight

Matins

Ego dormivi, et soporatus sum; et exsurrexi, quia Dominus suscepit me.

I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me.

Psalmus III · ad Matutinum

A game that asks for attention, not speed.

Someone finds an abandoned monastery. The monks left after Compline, and the great dial in the choir still points to it. Nothing says why. The book lies open on the lectern, the lamps are unlit, the bell rope is cut, and the walls still carry the psalms the monks prayed at each hour.

Horologium is a puzzle game built on the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer the Church has kept at fixed times of the day and night for centuries. You guide a small visitor with a lantern through the eight hours of one day. Turn the dial and the sky turns with it. Read the wall: the verse is the clue. The puzzles are slow, quiet and made by hand, and each hour ends with a verse from its own office before the day turns.

The monastery keeps your time. Open it before dawn and it is dark inside; open it at dusk and the lamps are waiting. Whatever the hour, every chapter is yours to play.

  • HoursEight, with the night office
  • First chapterLauds
  • ForiPhone and iPad
  • PriceOne purchase, no ads
  • TextsLatin and the Douay-Rheims, public domain
  • StatusComing soon

The opening of the day

Domine, labia mea aperies.

O Lord, thou wilt open my lips.