Achievement Guide

Achievement guide for 9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek. Will include a Speed "Runthrough" after testing it a bit.

Overview/Intro

9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek isn't a very hard game to get all the achievements on, but can be tedious if you don't know what to look for.

There's no multi-save system. so if you miss something, (puzzles or certain areas), you cannot go back. You'll have to finish the playthrough and start a new one. There is an in-game achievement section viewable from the main menu or the pause menu so you know what you miss. Note that in-game, it is game-profile-specific, while the Steam achievements are Steam profile-specific. Meaning, that you could probably use a second in-game profile as an "alternate save", but I assume the "Complete All Other Achievements" achievement is linked to the completion of that achievement in-game, rather than the completion of the other achievements on Steam, so in the end, you'd still need to get all the achievements on one in-game profile.

This guide'll help you know which ones are missible, as well as how to get the missble ones and when you'll get the unmissable ones.


Thanks
A quick thanks to those who helped me improve the guide.
- Loliwo

Story-Related Achievements

These are story-related and are (most likely) unmissable.

Last Stand - Save Yourself
I assume it's unmissable, but it might not be. The achievement icon is a big hint, but there's only one time where you're life is on the line and you have a gun in your inventory. If you can't get seem to get it, bullets are in the Garage.

Freshman - Complete Your first Detective Mode.
D. Tracy - Complete all the Detective Mode scenes.
Should both be unmissable.
The first time you go into Detective Mode is when you enter the car garage.
From what I've tried in a speed run (getting the ? symbols I missed), DMs can't be skipped. That said, I don't know if using the hint makes the mode not count.

Clue Finder - Find three Clues connected to your investigation.
Clue Seeker - Find five Clues connected to your investigation.
Clue Master - Find all Clues conneted to your investigation.
The game is called "9 Clues", so I'm pretty sure it's unmissable. That said, storyline-wise, it's like a snowball effect. The first few clues will have this huge timeline between them, and then you'll get a bunch of clues toward the end (as everything gets revealed and it's tied together).

Scrupulous - Gather information on all of the characters.
I'm pretty sure it's story related. You get information on each person when you meet them.

It's Something - Finish your first Hidden-Object Puzzle.
That'll be the briefcase you find. Hidden-Object puzzles can't be skipped, so this is unmissable.

Shoo! - Get rid of Breebo for good.
Probably unmissable. When he's important in the storyline, he's guarding these animal amulets you need to go through. Basically, you just get rid of him the way you did the first time.

Puzzle-Related

Puzzle Solver - Solve a Puzzle without using the Skip button.
Puzzle Addict - Solve five puzzles without using the Skip button.
Puzzle Master - Solve all puzzles without using the Skip button.
Pretty self-explanatory. I don't think there's any time limits on the puzzles. Just don't skip them and you should get it.

Unaided - Complete three Hidden-Object Puzzles without using the Hint button.
You really shouldn't need the hint button, unless you want to speed things up. I don't believe there's ever a time limit, and I believe there's only a click-penalty on the hardest mode, so just take your time if you're stuck.

Also, if I remember correctly, the only one that gave me REAL trouble (as in "WTH is that?" was Tapir....which is an anteater/panda looking animal. You may want to look that up.

I'll update this with the 2-part hidden objects soon.

Arsene Lupin - Solve three Lockpick puzzles in less than one minute.
There are only three lockpick puzzles, so if you miss any, you'll have to try again in a subsequent playthrough.
I got it without really trying, but it may take others more time (it just depends on how fast you can find the solution). Each lockpick minigame has six snakeheads forming a hexagon, with one of the slots being a "toggle" slot. You have to use two rotators to turn the snakehead groups, and the minigame ends when they are all green/on.
I believe all except one puzzle has a "3" button. So, my general tip is to work it around the other button (usually a 5 or 2), as the 3 button basically just moves it to the opposite spot.

Miscellaneous

Cat Lady - Play with Breebo.
This could be the first achievement you get, if you want. Basically, right from the start, zoom into the bike area and you'll see a cat. Just keep clicking on it until you get the achievement (maybe 5 clicks). If you don't get it then, you'll get another chance to play with Breebo in the stands.

Show Me More - Watch the cutscene in the museum.
Museum-Second Floor-Hallway: On the wall next to the door, there's 3 paintings. Just click on them and wait out the cutscene that tells about the snake god or whatever.

Avid Reader - Read three newspapers.
There are quite a few newspaper clippings around in the game. There is a section where you find a bunch of newspaper slides. If they count, then it's a very easy spot to get them. But, if you're looking around like a detective should, you'll get it WAY before that point.

Clue Collector - Find all nine "Clue" objects hidden throughout the entire game.
If you're looking at Steam Achievements it might not make much sense. That's probably because of a coding problem with quotation mark. (The full desription came from the in-game achievements list). Basically, while you play the game you'll come across some easily-missable "?" marks. If you're having trouble finding them, or just don't want to risk having to do another playthrough, this guide has screenshots of them all (with the cursor hovering over them): http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=287210834

Achievementologist - Complete all other achievements.
Self-explanatory. It'll definitely be the last (or second-to-last, depending on what get's counted first) achievement you get.

Runthrough

Currently working on it. This will be an explanation that will give you all of the achievements as soon as possible (and tell you exactly when you should get them).

Still Stuck?

If you need any extra tips or hints, or have a specific request for a puzzle or something, feel free to leave a comment, so I can prioritize putting help up for it.

[Photiel]

Thank you!

[Valeryous]

Thanks!!

[ToxicDog]

I added your guide here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=963020290
I did it because the guide will allow people to find the best achievement guides for their games in just one click ^^
P.S. it is just an alpha test

[cubs2084]

Thanks for this. We ever going to get screenshots for the tricky puzzles?

[aubri]

Great guide, thank you!

[Dite]

Oh yeah. I can add that. I'll also add some screenshots soon. I just got caught up with other games and forgot.

[Menace123]

Great job man, I would say that you can still get "Cat Lady - Play with Breebo." while interacting with Breboo in the stands.

[Grinning_Wolves]

Thanks man

[Parallel Platypus]

Adding screenshots would be great

[LyndaSmiles ᴱᴳ]

Thanks for all the work you put into the guide! :))