Spoiler-Free Strategy and Hint Guide [WIP!]

A guide to Blue Prince that is entirely hint-based and aims to nudge the player, instead of directly spoiling puzzles.

Frontmatter

Current status: Most of the "Mid-Game" sections are done. Working on lead up to Room 46..
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Welcome, architect!

As a Mystroidvania (my preferred term) or Metroidbrainia or "puzzle" game, talking about the experience of Blue Prince can spoil puzzles, exploration, discovery, and story. It can be very hard to search for a term or piece of information and not immediately get spoiled on something else you didn't know you didn't know. Hence, this guide.

Because of how I've structured this guide, you should assume that the further down it you go, the larger the spoilers are and the more I have to assume you know to provide reasonable hints. Rooms or puzzles might show up in multiple places, just as you might approach them from multiple directions. Every experience is different. I encourage you to dwell on the bare minimum hint that gives you information, but have zero judgement for you if you want to skip something or find it frustrating.

So What is This Guide?

This is intended as a resource to nudge you along when you might be feeling stuck on a particular problem or feel like a hint for a direction might be valuable. It aims to spoil the absolute minimum possible amount with both the questions / prompts as well as the spoiler-tastic information behind those black bars. Feedback is welcome, as crafting the "right" question or prompt can be difficult, and hints will, to the best of my ability, be scaffolded to avoid outright giving away the solution.

The un-spoilered text at the beginning of a section is mostly snark (or times I think I'm funny) and should not be taken as hints.

Also, this guide is AI-free™️. It is not pun-free.

I'm not sorry.

What This Guide is Not

This should not be taken as a solution guide. I do not think writing that is interesting and there's plenty of blogspam sites that already do that. This is also decidedly not a reference guide for all of the fiddly information like how many gems a room will cost and the rarity.

A Note to the Developer

Thank you so very much for this game and experience. I may not agree with all of the game design decisions you've made, but it's clear you have a vision and I am glad you made it and shared it with the world. This is a fantastic work of art and inspired me to make this guide, because I want people to be able to have the same journey and I felt like other resources I found simply spoiled it and ruined the magic of exploration and discovery.

Before Starting Out

Most importantly, before all the rest... don't take the experience too seriously. Enjoy the journey, let yourself wander. If you are feeling frustrated or even angry, step back for a bit. There is a tremendous amount of complexity going on and it will take awhile to understand everything. There are very few things you can do that will make your life semi-permanently harder in the game and many that will make it easier. They are reasonably telegraphed.

Overall Strategy

Resources and Management Thereof

You have limited resources you must balance, including your own time. Primarily, you're going to be dealing with steps, keys, gems, and coins. However, the number of accessible borders between rooms, the rooms available, the open spaces available, and more are all things that at least some thought should be put towards.

A good rule of thumb is that you should ensure you always have more than one available exit for drafting purposes. Two openings into the same tile is not the same as having two separate tiles available to draft.

Step economy is something to keep an eye on, but unless you're doing major backtracking, should be considered a relatively abundant resource to spend.

Keys provide access. Gems are spent drafting certain rooms. Your pockets are unlikely to be overflowing with either of them, but neither are they scarce.

Finally, for now, there are coins, utilized primarily for item acquisition.

Resources are not carried over day-to-day, which means they're "wasted" when you Call It Quits. Do not be afraid to spend them. You will (hopefully) begin to pick up an intuition for how to effectively spend them.

Drafting

You will always be presented with three rooms to pick from when traveling to a new tile. Usually at least one room will cost resources, sometimes two. There are zero guarantees on how many exits there are, what type(s) of rooms are shown, or that they will synergize with any of your existing rooms, plans, or goals.

That is not to say there aren't patterns or things that can be done to influence the draft, only that betting on getting a single room is a bad idea. Having multiple goals in mind can help, to adapt on the fly.

In general, don't block yourself off. If you have multiple exits and the new room would exit into a tile that you already have access to, you are reducing your options. Not necessarily a bad thing, but important to understand. You start with three exits and it is very easy to turn that into 1 within the first few drafts.

And, nothing requires you to walk through the door once you've drafted a room.

Documenting

"Leave no stone unturned" is an oft-used refrain in this kind of game but I would encourage you to not take that as seriously when documenting. If you see something peculiar or interesting, perhaps write it down? If you solved something, or got a clue, make sure you have that documented. But documenting every single thing in every room will be exhausting and tedious.

That being said, if you like collating information? Go nuts. There's an incredible amount of detail.

Language

Blue Prince has one language available and that's English. You do not need to be an expert in the language or have any sort of literary history knowledge, but I suspect if you are not fluent, you will encounter some issues. I'd be happy for feedback on this point.

A Note About Red Herrings

A "Red Herring" in puzzle game parlance is a clue or piece of information that seems like it is part of the solution to a puzzle or will lead to more information but is ultimately misleading or useless. Quoting Wikipedia, the name comes from "...a story of having used a strong-smelling smoked fish to divert and distract hounds from chasing a rabbit."

Blue Prince has a few, and as of the writing, I'm not entirely sure which are intentional.

That being said, I will do my best not to add to them. However, one of the things I'm aware of is how the structure of a guide can itself give away information. There will be times where I'm attempting to mask information about the length of a hint or the structure of a something like a list and those times should be obvious once you've seen the contextual information. The descriptor of each room that is unspoilered is an attempt at humor, not a hint.

Intro Cutscene

You can use this as an example of the format that this guide will take. This should mostly serve as a reminder, in Q&A form, because the content is hard to "hint" at.

What's going on?
This is a recording of a last will and testament.

Who is the speaker?
Herbert S. Sinclair

What is the message content saying?
That "All of my right, title, and interest in and to the house and land which I own near Mount Holly" are being granted to someone.

Who is the listener?
Awkward question formatting for spoiler reasons. The player / executors of the will / remaining family are the expected audience for a last will and testament.
More information: In this case, the grant was to his grand nephew, Simon P. Jones, son of the speaker's niece Mary Matthew.

When is this?
The will was written on March 18, 1993.

Are there penalties?
If Simon cannot find Room 46, then the gift "shall lapse," that is, Simon will not inherit anything.
More information: This, along with another piece of information, might imply that there is a timer on the game. As far as I am aware, there is not. I could have used that information early on.

Did I miss any puns or wordplay?
At least one - "in a timely manner / manor."

Time to start exploring!

Early Game

Your First Foray Into the Mansion

Wander. There's a lot of information to take in, both visually and in text. The black-background cards you will find give you useful information and are the game speaking to you, not a character.

Admire the game's art (it's really very well-done, not a hint).

Make sure you read the note on the table in front of you.

I keep getting stuck and drafting dead ends!
See the above section on Drafting. You may find your pool limiting. I don't want to say that it's intentional, but it is something to contend with. Use it as an opportunity to reexamine places you move through but if you find yourself pixel-hunting, consider not doing that.

Early Game - Parlor

Parlor

This sitting room will be a common sight.

What am I looking at?
There are three boxes of different (but consistent colors), a desk, a portrait, a couch, and some end tables.

What should I be doing?
Have you checked the desk? There are two items of note there.

What are these statements?
Have you checked around the room? There's something that might help you understand what you're looking at.

I didn't get anything, have I messed up?
Remember that there are few things in the Manor that are permanent. Today may simply not be your day.

No, really, what's going on here?
The boxes, as described by the note, are a logic puzzle. The note describes the specifics, and what the rules of the game are.

More help: The note states that there must be a box with only true statements and must be a box with only false statements.

More help: There is only one box that contains gems. Can you test the logic of the statements in such a way that you would narrow them down to a single box?

Further strategy: There are a few ways to go about the problem.

• One way is by brute force. If you assume a particular statement is true, what conclusions can you make from that? What will that have to mean about the other statements or the state of the boxes?
  
• A version of the brute-force method is to test the statements if you assume the gems are in a particular box. What happens to the truthiness of the statements? Is only one solution possible?
  
• Another way is by seeing the shape of the puzzle. You know the outcome - one box will contain gems. What is the minimum amount of information needed to get to a state where only one box would be the answer?

Help!
This puzzle can get pretty brutal in difficulty as you complete it successive times. Keep in mind the principles above and remember that paradoxes are usually a sign that one of your assumptions about which box is true or false is incorrect.

I don't like this puzzle!
You and me both. I will say that as the game goes on, solving the puzzle in this room becomes less vital to your progress.

Early Game - Billiards Room

Billiards Room

What am I looking at?
Well, there's the beer bottles and a dry bar and a pool table and some pool cues - oh, you mean the dart board.

What should I be doing?

1. Try interacting with some of the objects in the room.
   
2. You can figure out the puzzle using just the information in the room.
   
3. In a similar puzzle room, you might have encountered information about a puzzle. Perhaps someone else wrote about this puzzle?
   
4. The "intended" method requires information not contained in this room.
   
5. There are multiple places to get information about this puzzle.

I've explored this room and it doesn't make sense to me!
See the above list, numbers 3 (and potentially 4).

There's a lot going on in this room, how do I know what's important?
There are a number of red herrings, at least in regards to the obvious puzzle present in the room.
Minus the other-room information, everything you need to solve this puzzle is visible when you interact with it.

I acquired some information about the puzzle, but I'm still confused.
The information you likely have helps reduce the problem space of the puzzle.

More help: If you have some information that you've found, perhaps there's some Elementary exploration you could do.

More help: If you are still lost, somewhere is information that lays out the solution to this puzzle. You may not have realized when you read it, but it is obvious if you take a closer look again.

Help!
How does the puzzle in this room allow you to interact with it?

More help: If you try clicking different numbers, what happens?

More help: The pattern changing is progress.

More help: Given the limited player interaction and color palette, what are all of the possible interactions? What might those represent?

If you have already solved the puzzle on different days:
More "things:" There are some basic rules you've likely figured out. If two things are at the same "level," what does that imply about ordering?

Different "things:" You know the basis of the puzzle at this point. What are some other common operations that you might do with simple numbers?

"Different things" more help: Describing things aloud works well in this game.

More help: At least one of the shapes is similar to a character used in mathematics.

Snark help: It would seem unlikely that the game would ask you to take the sine or cosine of a number.

I don't like this puzzle
Sorry. There is a point where you may feel comfortable skipping it, but I think it flows a bit more smoothly than the other "base" puzzle you are likely to encounter on each run.

Do I need to do this puzzle?
The reward for this puzzle can change from day to day, and is a source of a consistent type of item. I would encourage not skipping it.

Early Game - Bedrooms, Den, & Spare Room

Bedrooms

Perhaps a little pink for my liking, but usually helpful for rest.

Why am I drafting these?
Mechanically: The bedrooms restore some steps.
More mechanical help: The bedrooms are a frequent spawn place for random common items.
More mechanical help: Some of the bedrooms can synergize with one another for even more steps.

Story: The bedrooms tend to contain writing or articles left by former occupants.

Den

What a cozy room for a cold climate.

What am I doing here?
Primarily, this room is a source of a gem and two exits in a T-junction.

It feels like I should wait around for something?
It is not worth your time to wait around. Make a note of what you found.

There's a locked trunk in here!
This is likely the first locked trunk you will find. They will spawn randomly around the House.

Early Game - Spare Room

Why is this a thing?
It's functionally a hallway. This is more text to pad out the length of the spoiler so that it doesn't seem quite so short when doing an overview of the article.

What can I do here?
Nothing. How about some more padding? The way they painted that wall is real odd. Not in a "I'm hinting at it being odd" but like, who paints a wall like that?!

Early Game - Commissary

For the low, low price of only one gem!

Can I do something with the Arcade Cabinet?
As of writing (patch 1.0.1), no. Functionality is intended to be added in a later patch.

I can't find what I need
The Commissary's inventory rotates every day.

I don't have enough resources to effectively utilize this room
You will find yourself limited on gold at the beginning of the game, but there are a few different ways to get more of it. Have you looked at what all of the items you've found do?

More help: There are a few items, in particular, that make getting more gold much easier. All three will go on sale in the Commissary, but they can also be found frequently around the Manor.

More help, explicit: The Shovel, Sledgehammer, and Metal Detector all give opportunities for more money.

First Item Help: The Shovel lets you dig those dirt spots you might have seen in certain rooms. Sometimes you will dig up coins.
Second Item Help: The sledgehammer lets you avoid using keys for locked trunks. Those trunks frequently have at least 4 coins.
Third Item Help: When you draft rooms while you have the Metal Detector, you'll frequently find one or two coins on the ground in a room. I think it also makes it more likely to find coins with the other two items.

What's up with the sticky notes on the cork board?
They are explicitly attached to the drawings that you see in this room. It is probably worth writing down a description of the drawings and which is associated with which note.

More help: Have you drafted the room multiple times? What changes when you do?

More help: Almost every room has these drawings. If you apply the hint from the sticky note to each pair, even if you don't know which pair it goes with, a pattern will emerge. More hints for that puzzle will be found in a different section.

What's the colored memo on the board?
It's telling you that the Commissary will be closed on certain days. That might be unfortunate, depending on your run. But, the room is still worth drafting on those days, as it does add a corner.

What's up with the other memo on the board?
It sounds like the estate was starting to modernize with some new-fangled technology called "computers." I don't think it will catch on. It mentions some other rooms that might be relevant.

More help: It looks like they also practiced some particularly bad IT security and wrote a password on a public note. If, for some reason, you need to do this in real life, if handwritten, writing over the letters with more random letters is a way to help confuse the written information, instead of just scribbling. Sort of a shame that it (appears) to have been done by a Mrs. Babbage[en.wikipedia.org] (link not relevant to the hint, just some fun historical context).

More help: Depending on your screen, you might have an idea of some of the letters. There might be a way to take a closer look, as well.

More help: The word seems to start with an S and end with an N followed by something rounded.

More help: You are not expected to solve this password with just this information.

Strategy?
You might find you don't have enough money to buy a thing you might want, but it's usually worth checking the stock every day and keeping it in mind as you explore. Depending on how well you've been drafting in the house, you may find that investing in one of the items produces more returns and lets you get the others. The bulk deals on gems are usually good if you have need of them.

More help: There are two items other than the ones mentioned above under the "resources" hints. There is another room that may help.

Item help: The Coupon Book reduces the price of everything by one coin. This can be really effective for cheap items, as you're getting 30% - 50% off. The other item is the Coinpurse, which gives you extra gold every few gold you pick up. It synergizes well with the other items mentioned above.

Room Synergy (minor spoiler for a different room): It will probably take a bit for this to be relevant, but one of the constellations will cause prices at the Commissary to be halved. With one of the items mentioned in this section, that can make certain purchases free.

Early Game - Observatory and Pantry

Early Game - Observatory

The stars above influence the paths we walk.

Do I have to do this puzzle every time?
Luckily, no. Once the telescope is aligned, it will stay aligned on subsequent visits, even if you move it for some reason.

Does drafting the room cause the effect?
No, other than getting a star for it. You must use the telescope and "identify" the constellations you are looking at.

More help: That also means you don't have to click on every constellation. The book in the room will help you identify which you may have a particular interest in.

Early Game - Pantry

A little bit of spending money and a nice fruit.

What am I missing?
If you've looked at the note, taken the coins, and eaten the fruit, nothing right now.

What can I do here?
Go into another room. It's a corner piece. If you've placed it on an edge, enjoy the window.

Early Game - Closet, Hallways, and Green Rooms

Early Game - Closet

You could say it closeted something away. No? Just me?

Am I missing something?
Not really. The closet is a dead end that has two items.

More info: I would say generally the items the closet will have are small enough to fit in the tray. Gold, gems, and keys are frequent items to be found. Those are not the only item that will spawn here.

More info (normal): This is also a location where you may find Ivory Dice, which provide the ability to reroll the three drafted rooms.

More info (special): As of roughly this time while I was playing, I saw the Lucky Rabbit's Foot, Coin Purse, and Metal Detector in this room.

Early Game - Hallways

These include the Hallway, Corridor, and others.

Am I missing something?
Unlikely. These are more important as part of your drafting strategy. They usually provide more than one link to another room, and sometimes contain items.

More info: Have you noticed that certain hallways only seem to come up in the draft in certain places?

More info: The West Wing Hallway and East Wing Hallway will only ever show up in the first and last column of the Manor. You are entering the Manor's Entrance Hall from the south.

Early Game - Green Rooms

Flora, but none that you're being told you have to eat before dessert.

All this dirt seems awfully messy
But oddly conspicuous, at least in video game terms. Maybe a tool will help?

More explicit: There is a shovel that, when used, will dig on one of the dirt spots. Frequently there's nothing, but sometimes it will produce something valuable.

Even more explicit: Green rooms in particular tend to have dig spots, but they can be found all over the Estate. Frequently the dirt will produce nothing, but sometimes it will produce gold or keys.

The room did something with gems?
One of the green rooms has an effect that will "spread" gems around the Manor. This is an in-game keyword.

More info: "Spreading" in the game's parlance means that a random amount of that item are now extant in the rooms of the Manor.

More info: This means that if you have more rooms, there are more opportunities for that item.

Early Game - Utility Closet

One usually doesn't want your breakers in a location that's constantly changing but alas.

I'm doing stuff but nothing is changing
Looking at the panel, there are three sections.

One: This is labeled "Keycard Entry System" - have you seen doors that require a keycard?

More One: There's a room that relates to the overall security of the mansion. If you are unsure of what I'm referring to, keep drafting before checking out the next part of this hint.

More One: In the Security Room, the terminal allows for some amount of control over the keycard system. More hints about that will be in that room in this guide.

Two: Labeled "V.A.C. Indicators," have you found anything else that has six circles in a row? It will be obvious when you find it.

More Two: Perhaps someone misplaced a technical manual, or needed to remember to send it after the fact.

Three: For those that don't know, these are what standard breaker switches look like, for toggling power to a circuit in a location.

More Three: Does the note about Danger actually represent something dangerous?

More Three: If you haven't found any of these rooms, then there's not too much more you can do here. But one of these rooms you might want to power off, and the other two you might want on. Or need to turn on.

Early Game - Nook and Storeroom

Seems less suited to reading than it appears to be used for, but who am I to judge?

Am I missing something?
Not right now. This is a bit more padding for making this not look too short.

More info: The Nook is frequently a room where a particular item spawns.

More info: The Magnifying Glass shows up in this room an amount that seems more than entirely random.

The Note
The Game is speaking directly to you as a player. It is a useful note to follow.

More info: What did the example journal take as notes?

More info: Maybe an item that sometimes spawns in this room is helpful for getting a closer look.

More info (spoiler for another room): Looking closely at the note with the Magnifying Glass has a hint about the Billiards Room puzzle.

Early Game - Storeroom

A good place to store all the furniture you're going to forget about in a decade.

Am I missing something?
Probably not. The room essentially profers a trade: A dead-end for a coin, a gem, and a key.

More info: It's easy for things to get put under something in a room as cluttered as this.

Early Game - Dark Room

I know dark rooms usually have red lights but this is ridiculous.

Are there jump-scares?
No.

The effect this has on my drafting sucks!
It is one of the worse effects, especially because it can easily end up having you draft dead ends. There are two potential ways to deal with it, I'll call Alpha the one more likely to be available to you and say that Beta is the one that you shouldn't look at unless you have unlocked a permanent upgrade that deals with a set of rooms.

Alpha: Looks like the room's circuit is a bit faulty.

More Alpha: Usually when lights go out like that in real life, you'd want to turn the breaker back on. Wonder if there's a place to do that?

More-er Alpha: There is another room where you can toggle the lights in this room back on, which will negate the effect (at the cost of steps to get there and back).

Alpha Addendum (slightly more spoiler-y): Unfortunately, you can't toggle the breaker before the lights go out to avoid the effects, either. It will always go out when you enter the room, barring other potential effects.

Beta: To separate this into the less and more spoiler-y parts, have you unlocked the West Gate yet?

More Beta: Following the path through the West Gate, there is a single door / room that can be drafted. One of those rooms has an ability that protects you from Red Rooms you draft.

I fixed it, now what?
Well, it's a T-junction, which is nice. So in your drafting strategy, you can consider it a benefit instead of a downside, if you have the appropriate countermeasure. Otherwise, it seems like someone was a bit of a budding photographer. There's even a bathroom selfie! You don't need to right now, but can you identify the people in the photos?

More info: There's quite a trove of information here, at least about the world. Can you identify where every photo was taken?

More info: One photo in particular probably holds more significance. It relates to another location, and that location in this guide will have more information.

Early Game - Garage

We three keys of driving are // waiting for you to draft a car.

I have never seen this room
The manor is "smart" about where certain rooms can be drafted.

More help: Since you're already here, you have an idea what this room might be. What would need to be true about its placement?

More help: This room is one of the more restrictive rooms in terms of placement, but once you realize where it gets placed, comes up consistently.

More help: This room can only be drafted from one of three directions.

There's a lot of junk in this room
Hey! Some people really like old cars. But much of it doesn't seem to be interactable. What is, though?

More help: There's a button on the wall - does it work?

More help: Seems like something might be wrong with the circuit in this room. Best reset the breaker.

What do I do with the door in this room?
If you understand that this is not referring to a normal door, hints continue below.

Hint: Have you opened the door? If not, it's probably worth resetting the circuit breaker to see if you can.

More help: What is beyond this door is a rather larger space than you're used to. You don't need to comb it, but there are some things you might want to pay attention to. The "more important" one for now is Thing Two.

Thing One: The Manor is not the only location with doors.

Thing Two: If you go south (remember, you enter the Entrance Hall from the south), can you loop back around?

More Thing Two: There is something you should unlock here before you continue exploring the Manor.

I found an item that might be related to this room?
Yep, you're right about where it's useful.

More help: There are two "obvious" things you can open in this room with that item.

Story Hint: If you've read the note on the workbench in this room, found the note that the item gives you access to, and seen the other contents accessible with the item, there's some conclusions you might be able to draw.

More Story Hint: There are a few time-honored "professions" that have existed as long as there have been societies with rules. It appears that the Driver might have been engaged in one of them?

More Story Hint (cultural context): In the US, there is an image of what a "Moonshine Jug" looks like. It's a stoneware jug, usually marked with three Xs, and sometimes has a white body and brown "top" or vice-versa. There is a significant amount of history here that is fascinating to read, but...

More Story Hint (mild speculation): ...the disappearance of the driver at regular intervals where the car would not be expected to be in use, the note in the car, and the jugs in the locked trunk would imply that the driver was moonlighting (ha) as a liquor smuggler.

There is something else that seems important but I can't interact with it
This is referring to the object in the corner that seems to be linked with something up the wall and along the ceiling of the room.

Hint: Have you seen the kind of structure that is up the wall and along the ceiling, in other rooms?

More Hint: It looks like it might be a way of transferring something between rooms.

More Hint: If you have not found another room that seems clearly related to this chain of hints, keep exploring and drafting.

Further Information: Once you find a source, can you think about how to draft effectively to make this work?

Early Game - Chapel

When housing many, it is also kind to have a place for the pious.

This happens every time?
Yup, the effect is any time you enter the room. It's useful as a T-junction, though, so you might just have to spend any money before you need to traverse it a bunch.

This room is pretty
There are a number of things to examine. If you're wanting to know more about...

Something colorful?: There are some exquisite details on the imagery in this room.

A more colorful hint: Jotting down some of the broad strokes of the imagery is useful for understanding a bit more about the world.

More, but limited, hint: You have likely already seen reference to one of the figures depicted here, even if it was not in a visual format.

Something waxy?: There are an awful lot of candles around. Remember that the game is good about not giving you the ability to interact with something if you can't interact with it.

Something that is a word used as an onomatopoeia for laser guns in media?: This hint is the same color as the fabric on the pews, and perhaps smells of fish. Herring?

Not one of the above?: This is a room with a lot of detail. I will say I wish to avoid describing more of it, for the time being.

From the colorful above, I don't recognize something
I will assume you have looked at all the components of the stained glass and that you have noticed a number at the bottom. If you don't understand what I mean by "number," check hint "One" below. If you are asking about what they are holding, check "Two" below.

One: These are Roman Numerals. They are frequently used when something wants to appear "older," though they are commonly used in the real-world, even though arithmetic with them becomes more difficult. The basic symbols are I (the letter "eye"), V, X, L, C, D, and M. They represent 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 1000. The more repeats of the symbol, the more it's counted, so "III" would be three. Symbols that are smaller and to the left indicate subtraction away from the bigger number. So for instance, "IV" is 4, 1 subtracted from 5. Multiple symbols in a row are simply added. So the current year of this guide (2025) is written as MMXXV (1000 + 1000 + 10 + 10 + 5). While "VIIII" (9) would technically be correct, it is commonly written as "IX."

Complete digression about the above hint, irrelevant to Blue Prince: Because of the words "Million," "Billion," and "Trillion" (US English), currency values are sometimes written as "$100M" representing "One-hundred million dollars." However, old-school accounting used "MM" to represent million, because it's "1000 x 1000." Then there's oil and gas, which use "barrel" as a unit, so you'll have "B" and "bbl" (lowercase) sometimes referring to a barrel, but also "B" referring to "billion" and "BBL" (uppercase) referring to "billion barrels!" It's a giant mess and I have no meaningful point to make here (I did warn you).

Two: This list will have 10 elements to throw off the visual of a list of seven things. The numbering will start at "Beta," as in "Beta" is associated with the window with a Roman Numeral I on it.

• Alpha: Check "Two" again for more information.
  
• Beta: Hoe - Common tool for gardening.
  
• Gamma: Peel - Used in Baking for moving bread in and around an oven.
  
• Delta: Pitchfork - A farming implement for moving hay or churning organic matter.
  
• Epsilon: Chimney Sweep Brush - Usually associated with Victorian UK and industrialization, used for cleaning soot and other material out of chimneys.
  
• Zeta: Broom / Feather Duster - For sweeping, lightly pushing dust away from a delicate surface.
  
• Eta: Riding Crop - Used on horses, the outfit is associated with hunting or racing.
  
• Theta: Scepter - A really fancy stick humans have used since antiquity to represent a ruler of a peoples.
  
• Iota: This list already had one reference to checking "Two's" text again.
  
• Kappa: An emoji used on a particular streaming platform, usually to represent some sort of sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek humor.

I have some lore questions
Reasonable. Is it about the Imagery ("Alpha" below) or about much broader topics ("Beta" below)?

Alpha: How many figures are depicted? What does the iconography associated with the figure represent?

More alpha: Each has an implement associated with a station or role. That may or may not be the only thing they are called by.

More more alpha: A certain shop advertised a sale. It might be worth cross-referencing that flyer to make a connection.

Alpha "real-world" context (spoiler on the hints above): In English, the days of the week are named after a variety of things. Sunday, for example, is "Sun's Day," and originated at least as far back as the turn of the common era (~2000 years ago). Monday -> "Moon's Day," "Tuesday" -> "Tiw's Day" (or "Týr's day," taken from the Norse), and so on, borrowed from a variety of sources. How many figures are depicted?

Setting / Timeline hint / discussion: Each of the figures has a depicted role, and some are ancient - farming is one of the bases of civilization, after all - but the fact that a chimney sweep is depicted as one of the figures is telling. Either the profession (and thus industrialization) in this world is very old or the religion this iconography is from is very new.

Early Game - Drawing Room

There's at least three levels of pun in the name.

What is this room's purpose?
Normally used as a "with*drawing* room," the inhabitants of the Manor appear to have taken it a bit more literally. It's power to "redraw" for the draft is a pretty incredible one for how often it comes up in the draft pool.

More help (strategy): If you can, always try to make sure the two exits from the room are open. It can be worth backtracking to draft a room from the Drawing Room as well, since the redraw effect applies to the door, not the tile that it leads into. It can help in a pinch if you're out of gems and the only non-gem room is a dead-end.

The room's decor
There a lot of arrows, and a lot of the same image.

Hint: While you may have seen other arrows around, the likely association is not one you should be making.

More explicit version of the above hint (other room spoilers): There is imagery you may have seen in the Den. As far as I know and for this puzzle, they are not related.

Alternate Hint: Depending on when you get here, you may or may not have a hint that will help. I am assuming you do not.

Alternate hint elaboration: There will be more hints about this room in a later section.

Early Game - Security Room

Sadly, this room offers no additional emotional security to you.

Are there jump-scares?
No.

Let's talk about it
Everything after this message is going to be speculation and theme discussion. I wanted to make sure I answered the jump-scare part, and then gave a bit of separation before discussing "what you just watched."

This cutscene serves as a reminder that you are a teenage boy (Simon), exploring this house with your pack, every day.

More (discussion): It is an expedition. You see the signs that this is lived in, or was recently lived-in. This sort-of confirms that, if there was someone watching, they'd be right where you're standing.

More (themes): Blue Prince is a fundamentally lonely experience. You see the traces of other people, notes that feel like they might have been left for you, puzzles that seem designed for you. From this room, it becomes obvious that there is no one else here. Not in the room watching, nor in any of the rooms being watched.

More more themes: And yet, as close as this brings you to other Rooms, you're still so very far away - you are likely to not be able to identify many of the locations on the screens. The game's music generally reflects this. It's melancholy, slow, methodical, full of minor keys and long-drawn-out chords.

Personal experience: For me, this was the first moment of realization that there were many more rooms than I had seen.

I found a note
The board colored notes ("Alpha"), the desk ("Beta"), or the memo ("Gamma")?

Alpha: There are two statements here, presented differently. Do you have more context from somewhere nearby about that context?

Beta: That note has some very useful information! Is that all of it?

More Beta: There's something more on this piece of paper, if only you could get a closer look.

Gamma: This is a duplicate of a note you have seen somewhere else. However, the information on it might be more relevant here.

What about the other interactable in the room?
Out of the gate, it has some useful functions. It's worth reading through them and considering them in the greater context. "Entry" below refers to the list order in the terminal.

More help (first entry): For some of the way you can think about this function, consider what you would have to do to get the same information or what resources you would have to spend.

More help (second entry): You've likely encountered the mechanism that this entry is referring to, in your exploration. There's an obvious change to the settings you could make. Are there other interactions you can think of?

More more help (second entry): If you have found the item that bypasses the system that this manipulates, and it takes the place of a locked door, what does that mean about the total number of available locked doors?

More more more (room hint): The other option is more interesting. It's describing the fail safe - does it fail open or fail closed? By default it's set to fail closed.

Room hint expanded: Somewhere else may be the functionality to change the powered state of the keycard system.

I need a secret to continue
I don't recommend trying to brute-force the password.

• More: In the early days of computing, a terminal that connected to a larger system usually had multiple users on it - this became the basis of multi-user systems and computing. A common problem that arose was sharing passwords. (This is still a problem)
  
• More: The mansion had a large staff. And they swapped from a physical to a virtual timekeeping system.
  
• More: The more people need to remember a password who don't interact with it commonly, the more that the password needs to be memorable (and short). People have a tendency to make their password associate with their environment in a variety of ways.
  
• More help (explicit): While this is the room you want to use the information in, there might be multiple places where the information is posted.
  
• More: Getting a closer look is going to be valuable here.

Different help:

• Have you noticed some themes around the house? Perhaps a decoration that also has an association with family crests? (I have gotten feedback that this is a particularly hard hint and potentially misleading.)
  
• I'm not an ornithologist, so I can't comment too strongly on the password.
  
• The password is a bit odd for a Manor that doesn't have strong musical themes.
  
• More help (explicit room spoiler): Maybe taking a drive would get some fresh air and ideas.

Early Game - Boudoir

Originally from the French "bouder," "to sulk."

This room is very pink
There is a primary association you should be making at this point in the game, with colors.

What can I interact with?
There are two primary things you can interact with in this room.

"Should" I spend more time in this room?
If you have not already identified an association with any particular goal, it might be worth moving on for now.

=== Early Game - Miscellany and Wrap-up

If you're here, that implies you've got a hold on the basic mechanics. You can draft a Manor of 20+ rooms reasonably well, you might have found things that are mentioned above and might have found things that aren't. You probably have an idea of where certain items might be found, and you can start using that information to plan your next day.

What "Should" I Know?

Any combination of the above hints, including none of it. Again, go at your own pace, not any pace I or anyone else sets.

That being said, there are some questions that I would ask you before moving on:

Outside:
- Have you had a chance to explore the grounds?
- Can you get past the west gate?

Different outside:
- Have you seen another area that seems like it could be easily accessible? Silly video game waist-high walls.
- Shame about the stump next to the gate. I wonder if anyone tried to record what the tree looked like before?

People:
- Have you started to figure out who the people that have gone through the Manor are?
- Do you have at least the beginnings of ideas around what notes were written for whom?

Resources:
- Do you have a decent idea on how and where you can get more of the basic resources (keys, gems, gold)?
- Have you been consistently getting different items?
- Are you aware of the places those items might appear?

Timeline:
- Do you know what today's date is?

Story:
- No questions for now. I just didn't want this to be left out.

Mid Game - Growing Comfortable with the Manor

You've gone through a few days (weeks), you've drafted a bunch of new rooms, you have a lot of notes, but maybe you're feeling a little lost on where to go, what to do, or even just some of the more complex interactions that start appearing at this point.

Beyond this point, I have to start assuming a certain amount of basic knowledge of the game mechanics and setting. The following are assumptions that I will be making:

Items: You know what the Shovel, Sledgehammer, Coin Purse, Ivory Dice, and Metal Detector do.
Keys: You are at least aware of the existence of non-standard keys and may have used one.
Food: You know that food will give you steps and that there are specialty dishes around the Manor.
Terminology: You know the words and phrases "Rank," "Pool," "Draft," "Redraw," "Dead End," and "Mechanical Room."
Rooms: You are aware that rooms have a type and color associated with them, that certain rooms have certain requirements to be drafted, and that the effects of rooms might extend beyond just that room.
Puzzles: You are aware of the existence of "meta-puzzles," that is, puzzles that span multiple rooms or concepts.
Overarching: You have a concept of "permanent" changes, both in your pool and to your character.

You may be aware of more than these pieces of information, but those are the only things I will assume in the "Mid-Game" section. As always, I will do my best to avoid spoiling the existence of a particular thing.

Mid-Game Goals

By this point, you should have at least one goal that you are working towards.

I am feeling lost, please be more explicit
From the intro (and potentially other locations), you have been told to find Room 46, made strange by the fact that the Manor only has 45 rooms (9 x 5 grid).

More guidance: There is a constant on your layout - the Antechamber. Have you gotten to it (see hint sections below)?

No
Make this a priority.

More "no": Your drafting strategy will make a large difference here. If you feel you have comfortably more resources available than you started the game with, check "No, A." If you're still feeling very limited, check "No, B." The hint under "No, C" is broadly applicable.

"No, A": Abundance is good, but remember that "fancier" rooms tend to require more gems. If you can avoid spending them until you get to the higher ranks, there's a decent chance you will have more rooms that take you where you want to go, or have effects that make it easier to continue north.

"No, B": Reconsider how you're spending those resources. The early game is definitely not marked with abundance, but synergies between certain rooms start to arise, and if you can chain together a series of helpful rooms, then you may find yourself with more resources available. Don't fret about making sure exits have to go north, especially if there are still other doors available to you.

"No, C:" The pool is not unlimited, so the more you are drafting rooms that are "good" (for whatever you're trying to accomplish) more rooms that are "bad" will show up. The opposite is true, though. If you can find a way to "use up" more of the dead-end rooms early, then you won't run into quite as many of them in the higher ranks. I've personally had mixed success with this particular strategy, and more often than not it has led to me having an 8 - 15 room cottage instead of a sprawling manor.

Yes
What did you find? Was it locked?

More yes: The antechamber isn't opened by even special keys.

More explicit yes: Have you found something Secret yet? Or perhaps Great?

Explicit elaboration: You are not limited to finding the thing(s) suggested by the prior hint, but they are more likely for the assumptions I am making about this point in the game.

More explicit elaboration (mildly-spoilery): Do you have an understanding of the limitations on drafting certain kinds of rooms?

Even more explicit (spoils a room): Two of the places you may be seeking are Green rooms.

Yes, but actually yes, more than the prior yes
Have you seen anything that would even remotely allow you to do what you are being told to do?

More "actual yes": You might have avoided drafting a room because of its permanence.

More more "actual yes": The aforementioned hint is not the only way. What do you know about pumping systems?

I have no idea what the last hint meant (mild room existence spoiler): Try drafting the pool.

Mid Game - Drafting Strategy Part 2

For me (and judging by other comments and reviews), this is the most frustrating part of the game. I adore puzzle games but I'm not someone who usually plays deckbuilding roguelikes. This left me at a bit of a disadvantage, and I had some help from a friend to better understand what I was doing (wrong).

First of all, to reinforce the first section, do not leave yourself with only one draftable exit. If two rooms lead into the same tile, you only have one exit (the most the room can do is keep it the same). Most of the rooms in the drafting pool do not have four exits.

Secondly, consider filling out the lower Ranks before moving north in the manor. The limitations imposed by higher ranks means you are much more likely to get a room you don't want, in a spot that is harder to deal with than it would be in lower ranks.

More explicit about limitations: The game will tell you this in a few places, but the higher the rank, the more locked and keycard doors you will encounter. If you have been rushing north, there's a decent likelihood of getting a Closet and a Storeroom and a Lavatory, after you already had to burn a key to get there. Not fun.

A lesson I picked up from other competitive games is to consider your health as a resource to be spent. In those games, that boils down to considering that there are times that a trade is worth it ("If I remove that person's ability to do damage, at the cost of X damage, I will save my team Y damage in the next encounter"). It is a helpful mindset to get into if you commonly avoid encounters because of wanting to avoid damage (I'm guilty of this). Being stuck in that avoidant mindset leads to not taking the actions that would benefit you in the long run. Blue Prince has steps, which have some similarity. Since there's no combat, it's not like you're "losing it" to an opponent, but at the end of the day, the steps are lost if you don't use them before calling it quits. That is a form of inefficiency. Consider backtracking more if you have lots left over at the end of the day. I can almost guarantee you have more to explore.

Similarly, if you're ending the day with draftable doors still open, you're cutting off an opportunity to see something new, even if you don't think there's much else you're trying to accomplish in a run.

Beyond the larger goals you may be trying to achieve, have smaller goals in mind for a given day. Making a list of the questions you have can be excellent for organizing it and taking advantage of whatever nonsense the draft pool throws at you.

As for gems... because of how the draft works, you should never get a situation where you can't draft at least one room. But a lot of the dead ends don't cost gems to draft whereas rooms with more exits inevitably do. If at all possible, don't draft a room when you have zero gems. At the same time, don't just spend them because they're there. Is there going to be a way to get more in the next room? How many gems are even potentially available in your current set of rooms? Is it worth it anyway?

And finally, is it new? If you haven't seen something before, there is a high likelihood there is information / a mechanic / story there that you currently don't know about. This is, after all, still a game about exploration.

So, you know. Just casually balance that all.

Mid Game - Meta Puzzles

So to put some things up front: It's very hard for me to write about these puzzles because being aware of their existence is frequently a spoiler. Sometimes meta puzzles might chain into one another. Sometimes you can go an entire game without realizing the existence of one.

This section may reference or have you go to other sections of this document. You will not need to look at all of the hints to know where to go - that will be the last sentence of a section and the first part will be unspoilered. That's the best I can do in terms of spoilers for content length. If you do not see a particular puzzle here, it may be that I'm considering that "later" than you might. I'm erring on the limited side.

I am unsure of having seen any meta puzzles and would like some more hinting.
- As you have drafted some rooms, have you noticed patterns or similarities between them?
- More specifically, have you noticed a common element within the rooms?
- Every room in the Manor has two of them (mostly) prominently displayed.
- Including the Entrance Hall.
- Someone did a couple of very good studies of a hand holding something, in the Entrance Hall.

If any of above has given you an idea of what to look for and you would like more information, go to the "Mid Game - Differing Views" section.

I see that there is a pattern, in sets of two
Start here: If you have identified a pattern of something that shows up in every room, in sets of two, and are looking for more information, then go to the "Mid Game - Differing Views" section.

If that doesn't sound right:
- Perhaps you might think the puzzle you've identified is black and white?
- Would it normally include a board of some kind?
- You might have to put it together piecemeal?
- You don't have to be a Grandmaster to understand this puzzle.
- While these words are pawns of mine, I am still hoping that their meaning is captured.
- Way, way, way more explicit: If you're thinking about the chess pieces in various rooms.

If any of above has given you an idea of what to look for and you would like more information, go to the "Mid Game - Battles" section.

How do I get past this seemingly insurmountable waist-high fence?
This is about the orchard.

See the section titled "Mid Game - Fencing Lessons"

I need to progress but when I open a door, there's just a wall.
This is for people that have made it to Rank 9 in the Manor.

See the section on "Mid Game - Antechamber"

I have a question about pieces, seen consistently
You will need to progress another puzzle for this to be relevant.

More: I recommend documenting what you've seen and where you saw it.

More: If you want a hint on where you might use this information, check the next hint.

Mild Spoiler: Have you explored outside any?

Explicit: Go to the "Mid Game - Cliffs" section.

I already know about the above and am looking for the next part: Check the "Mid Game - Battles" section.

I have seen a blue flame
Start here: This should be a flame that you caused. If so...

...go to the "Mid Game - Cliffs" section.

I have found a room full of hissing and pipes
Is it the Boiler Room?

See the section called "Mid Game - Mechanical."

Mid Game - Resource & Item Hints

A note on the phrasing on these hints: I use "inhabitants" or "staff" in this section a lot. It is not a hint at any sort of greater goings-on in the game, just the best way to frame some of the hints I'm trying to give.

I'd like to get rich
Who just leaves money lying around?!
Turns out, in this Manor, almost everyone.
A particular item for finding small, metallic objects may come in handy.

Room hint: Where might someone do paperwork for accounting?
Different room hint: The Manor is so large, it seems to have its own secure storage. I'll bet there's security cameras in it.

I want to take a chance on a roll
These will appear in almost all of the places that other random items spawn.
The same spots that have random coins will sometimes have this item instead.
Sometimes these are locked away to prevent you taking them.
The Closet is also a common source of at least one of these.

I need to get a closer look at something
This item is relatively common, and I found it in a number of places, consistently.
Based on context, a number of the inhabitants of the Manor were older and perhaps had trouble with small print.
Because of that, the Commissary seems to frequently stock it.
Inhabitants frequently left theirs near where they were trying to read.

I need a device to help me find small, metallic objects
This is not an item that is usually left out in the nicer rooms.
However, this is a relatively common item around the Manor, put somewhere for storage, in the same way I might put away a coat.
I would store this outside if I had a dedicated space to do so.
Finding small objects around the estate must have been a frequent hobby, because it's a common item in the Commissary.

The item description implies it should help me find something colorful, but it isn't beeping!
What is the item used to find?
Do the colorful items that you are thinking of have that property?
Explicit: Gems are not metallic.

I want to move some dirt around
I have never seen someone bring an item like this into their living room, bedroom, or other "nice" spaces.
I would store this outside if I had a dedicated space to do so.
I think a gardener may have left one while working.
The Manor must lose a lot of these, with how frequently it shows up in the Commissary.

I'm looking to smash my way through some problems
I have never seen someone bring an item like this into their living room, bedroom, or other "nice" spaces.
I would store this outside if I had a dedicated space to do so.
I'm not sure why, but the gardeners seemed to have need of this tool, frequently.
It must have been a workout to restock the Commissary with this item with how often they show up.

Item use hint: When all you have is a hammer, every lock tends to look like a nail.

I'm hoping to better orient myself
This item is (somewhat commonly) found where small items spawn.

I'm looking for a return on my investment
I didn't have pockets so I set down my things while I was thinking of a logic game, but I think I forgot to take it with me when I left.
Also found where other small items spawn.

Item use hint: The earlier you find this, the better it is.
More: If you have a backtrack-heavy exploration pattern, you don't need to pick up every penny you find immediately.

I'm looking to scrape and save my pennies
Someone seems to have been looking through deals while getting dressed.
Sometimes the staff is helpful and leaves one for you before dinner.
The kitchen staff sometimes forget to put it away when prepping meals.

I'm seeing stars, or at least I want to
You could check for lost items?
Otherwise, your guess on where to find this consistently is as good as mine. I will update this as I have more info.

I'm trying to get some better sleep
A lot of the staff do, as well, but have to keep buying new ones.
It is most likely found in the place it is most likely to be used.
Sometimes a person doesn't put it down until they're looking through outfits for the day.

I lost my fuzzy charm!
The only place I saw this consistently was after I renovated a spare room so I could have an extra bed.
Have you checked the closet?

I'm looking for an item that might need repairs before using
When I have items to repair, I'll leave them near where I would repair them, to help me remember.
While fumbling in the dark for a light switch, I set this item down and forgot about it.

"Key" Items

I feel like I'm playing an older 3D Zelda game with all of these locked doors.

Overarching, personal hint: I almost always draft a couple of the earliest rooms because of their consistency in giving me this item.
Explicit: The Nook and the Billiards Room are excellent sources of keys.

Overarching hint: With how often the staff lost these, it looks like they were a common item requisitioned.
Explicit: The Commissary is a source of keys for gold.

Different room hint: A Manor this large is likely to have its own locksmith.
Explicit: A key shop does exist.

I don't need something special
You'd think the staff all have faulty keychains with how often these are found on the floor.
Sometimes the staff tried storing them securely behind the use of another key.
I could spend a key seeing if I'm right... but the locks seem brittle enough that I could break them off.
An item that helps with finding small, metallic objects may help you find more.

Other hint, unrelated to the item, but to what the item does: There are a few rooms that would make needing more of this item moot.

I'm looking for a green hideaway
I think this is best discussed over a game of darts?

I need a room with lots of exits
I sometimes hit the bullseye when I'm looking for one of these.

Item use hint: Be forewarned, many of the rooms with lots of exits are Red.

The security system is blocking my way
The laboratory technicians seem to have left their access while engrossed in their experiments.
This can be found where any "special" key would be found.

I'm trying to open my safe deposit box
Enough of these have been lost that someone might be willing to trade you for one.

Mid Game - Parlor

The yellow curtains have become a common sight.

It gets harder!?
Yep, sorry. The actual hint is next spoiler. This is one of those things I think is a fantastic piece of game design (it's a simple puzzle that still has twists as the roguelike goes on and you see it a bunch) but can't help but dislike because I'm not fond of this kind of puzzle. Alright, off of the soap box.

Actual Hint: Have you read the rules to the game recently?

More help: Consider the edge cases of the game. What are the rules not saying?

More explicit help: The rules do not prohibit a box having a true statement and a false statement, so long as the other rules are upheld.

I'm feeling lost, do you have more help?
Sort of. There's an additional strategy option that I didn't describe above.

More help: You can also work on the puzzle by starting with the assumption that the gems are in one of the given boxes. Then work through which of the statements is true and which is false. If you encounter a paradox, that's not the right box.

More explicit help: Any given box is not required to have only true or only false statements. If you find a box that has a true and a false statement on it, then one of the other two boxes must be only true, and the other one must be only false.

Mid Game - Billiards Room

I didn't come into this wanting to be a pool shark.

The puzzle changed in a new way
Congratulations! That means you're completing it on successive days. From a roguelike game design point-of-view, this is fantastic, because it keeps you engaged as you go forward. If you were already finding this puzzle challenging, I'm sorry. More help below.

More help: To get here, you must have gotten the base rules down. What are some other common operations in mathematics that could be done on the numbers 1 - 20? All of the math of this puzzle can "fit in your head."

More help: Can you describe what the symbol looks like? Maybe how it looks in relation to other mathematical concepts?

I understand the above, and I'm still missing something: The symbol is itself colored.

More help: Consider how many times the symbol wants you to do an operation. One of the options may lead to very wild numbers.

I have another question not covered by the above
If it is about new symbols, check "Hint One" below.

Hint One: The additional symbols around the outside of the board are what this next hint is about.

More Hint One:

• Similarly to the other symbols, what do these symbols seem to visually say?
  
• The symbol seems to apply to the entire wedge.
  
• The outside symbols do not apply to the bullseye.
  
• The rules about grouping may not be the same as they were for the other symbols encountered.

Mid Game - Cliffs

It is possible you have landed here based on an associated guess. This concerns the braziers past the fountain and down the stairs if you turn around from the Entrance Hall.

I haven't done anything to advance this puzzle, but would like to have hints for it
- Have you had a chance to walk around outside the Manor?
- There's a beautiful view of the mountain peak just down the steps.
- There's an area that doesn't quite match its surroundings. Much more ornate.
- ...But there's some details to this platform that feel much more modern.
- Have you seen this stiyle of pipe before?
- Not in the manor proper, you haven't.

I have progressed at least a quarter through this puzzle and need some general hints.
- What type of area did you first find the valve in?
- Much like the valve you found, there are other permanent things you will need to unlock.
- If I make a reasonable assumption, one of the others is in the same "area" as one of the ones you found.
- Elaboration on prior line: Two of the four valves are available past the West Gate.
- Further elaboration: It would be impossible to turn two of the valves in the same day.

I've completed all but one part of this puzzle, where is the last part?!
To verify, you have gotten the valve that is outside, and two that are in a draftable area?

Yes:
- Before continuing, I want to note that this is one of the few puzzles I did not find a "leading" hint for the exploration component and so I don't have a good way to hint finding the path, just where the path is.
- The view is so good, I feel like sending a letter back home.
- When I send that letter, I should pick up my catalog that probably came in.
- I wonder where the Manor processes its mail.
- If you have identified a document that was sent by a vendor about a system they installed, see "Gamma" below.

Alpha:
This is a decoy hint. Just some fun praise for the game in this list.
- Have you taken a closer look at how this game does some of it's art? It's really, really well done. This game is gorgeous.
- And the sound design is pretty perfect, too!
- I adore Blue Prince's soundtrack. It adds so much to the atmosphere.

Beta:
- You have likely already seen the place where the information you've found is relevant.
- It comes up relatively frequently, and is a dead-end.
- It might not break your run.
- Once you have found the location, check for that room's info in the Mid Game section of this guide.

Gamma:
- Sounds like this vendor might be on the cutting edge of technology.
- It's much easier to update documentation electronically than physically.
- You have likely seen at least one place to access electronic resources.
- My employer is pretty strict and I have to go to my place of work to read my email.
- You're going to need a password. The "Early Game - Security Room" section has more information for that.
- If you have tried accessing a resource and been told that you can't, except for one location, that is referring to what I'm hinting at.
- Once you have recorded that info, if you want more info, check "Beta" above.

Mid Game - Observatory

What should I be doing here?
Observatories have a shutter that the telescope needs to point through to get an image.
The book on the desk might provide a bit more context.

Is that it?
Well, yes. But did you check the book?
Make sure you read what the room does again.
There will be opportunities to gain more stars.

Is there any strategy?
You need to look and click on a thing for its effect.

There's an obvious one you might not want to activate, but there's a less obvious one, as well.
More: How many rooms with four exits have you seen?
More: Most of the early 4-exit rooms you have are likely red. Consider if you want them more prominently in your draft.

Different hint: There are later days where more than a single thing shows up. This can make it drafting this room very powerful over the long term.

Mid Game - Laboratory

Dee Dee! Get out of my laboratory!

This room is visually noisy, what should I be looking for?
There's a few different things to interact with, in rough order of importance:

• Sometimes the researchers left their snacks on a workbench (do \1 bring food into a chemistry lab in real life)
  
• A note by one of the doors commiserates with the player finding their way around.
  
• Another document lists out the properties of a substance at different temperatures.
  
• Sometimes the technicians leave their access lying around.
  
• Ooh! A periodic table. It's pretty updated, too.
  
• A blank periodic table with some numbers on it seems to have been someone's idea of a joke?
  
• A terminal, and the note by the terminal.
  
• The machine in the corner.

I'm not seeing how I can use computing in my exploration?
There are whole fields devoted to computational modeling these days! Oh, you mean the experiment feature.

Help:

• Experiments have an obvious first-level application and a couple of second-level applications.
  
• Some of the experiments can have very powerful effects and can synergize with other rooms.
  
• Explicit suggestion: An easy one is the experiments that add trunks to the main hall - if you have a sledgehammer this can be a decent source of gems, keys, and coins.
  
• Explicit synergy suggestion: There is a particular room that you can get a permanent change to that, when paired with an experimental effect of adding copies of it to the pool, can be a very easy way to achieve certain outcomes.

What should I do here?
Once you've read / acknowledged all of the features of the room, make sure you set up an experiment. You can do one a day.

Different: It seems like they were running some experiments with ice? Wonder where that might be found.

Different: Powering the room is a good idea. Make sure you have an idea on what you'll do with the machine!
More help: I \1 check my knowledge for things I might have missed in case there are blanks.
More explicit: Ensure you've solved the empty periodic table puzzle.

I can't remember my elements!

• Looking closely at the blank chart... those don't seem to be the element numbers for those positions?
  
• If you're not sure, perhaps it might be time to go back to school? I think it was later in Elementary grades that I learned about elements.
  
• Games \1 to have periodic tables up in labs that might be even remotely related to chemistry.

I have another question not covered above
If it's about powering the room, then see information in the "Mid Game - Mechanical" section. If it's about what to do once the room is powered, do you remember your elements?

More explicit: Check the blank periodic table with numbers that's on the corkboard near the machine to be powered.

Mid Game - Fencing Lessons

You should only arrive here via the "Mid Game - Meta Puzzles" section.

• Do you recall seeing anything related to this area, before?
  
• Shame about the tree, it would have been nice to see it before it was cut down or fell down.
  
• I wonder if anyone took a record of what it looked like before that happened?
  
• Someone in the manor was a budding photographer.
  
• You might need to take a _closer_ look at what you find.
  
• Unlike other things you may have seen, you are required to use this item, on this image.

Mid Game - Mechanical

Not the Mechanical Age. This game was released about 31 years later (this is a Myst reference).

This section includes information on multiple kinds of rooms you might experience by this point in the game. Specifically, the Boiler Room (Alpha below), the Pump Room (Beta Below), and Laboratory (Gamma below). There are others, but I'm not discussing them here.

*Alpha*
I find this room very confusing

• It can be overwhelming when you first enter it. I suggest taking a moment to trace and note each of the objects in this room.
  
• You're trying to figure out how to power certain objects with steam from the boilers.
  
• Check which things' state can be changed (or presumably can be changed) and see if you can find the "only" way for that to work.
  
• You'll need to extend the bridge, and you can only do that when the elevator is powered.

I pushed a button and nothing happened

• The button didn't seem to be lit when you pressed it. Perhaps there's something more to do?
  
• If you trace the pipes, there's a couple that terminate in the large object in the center of the room.
  
• Both of them need to be supplying steam for the button to activate.
  
• You will not be able to leave through an exit while you are supplying the object in the middle, but you should be able to do it with the bridge down.
  
• The middle object does not need to have steam supplied to it once it's started up.

Do I have to do this every time?
Luckily, no. The room will largely stay in the state you left it in.

What did that do, though?

• Valve talks about the hardest thing to get a video game player to do is to look up.
  
• Only one of the three outputs can be powered at a time.

It's really hard to get rooms to line up
Yeah... This was probably the main source of frustration for me during this chunk of the game. There are a few other rooms that you might want to power ("Alpha"), and some other rooms that will transmit power ("Beta" below).

Alpha:
All of the ones you're likely to encounter at this point: Garage, Laboratory, Pump Room, and Furnace.

Discussion: Aligning these rooms is difficult and may seem like a Herculean task. I will say that you're sort of right. The fact that you are more likely to draft powered rooms from a powered room is helpful, but I still had some rooms that I didn't properly power until hours after I had originally drafted the Boiler Room. I stressed out and spent a significant amount of time and gnashing of teeth trying to get the rooms and I will encourage you not to. I'll add some hints about the room effects below.

Gnashing of teeth: Out of the rooms, the only two whose effects are meaningful (for the effort it takes) is the Laboratory and Pump Room.

Different, similar vein hint chain:

• The Boiler Room is not the only way to power rooms.
  
• A room's electric eel upgrade also powers adjacent rooms.
  
• If you have that room's upgrade... have you checked out the experiments in the Laboratory?
  
• Very Explicit about a room synergy: The Laboratory has an experiment effect that will add 3 Aquariums to the day's pool. That can quickly become overwhelming, but also gives way more chances for a power source room. This can significantly reduce the frustration on having to line up the Boiler Room.

Beta:
Fair warning, I'm going to list all of them with more than two exits (unless I forget one): Archives, Passageway, Weight Room, Dark Room, and Security Room.

An important note:

• If you draft through a doorway of a room that is powered, you are more likely to draft rooms that can be powered.
  
• You can see which room can accept / transmit power when you are drafting, because it will be outlined in the blue from the line at the bottom of the draw.
  
• ...which means you have a bit more information if you're stuck with the Archives' or Dark Rooms' effects.

I see this room so infrequently!
There are two potential things that can help with this. "One" is an item, and "Two" is a room.

One:

• There is a specific item that lets you tweak the rarity of certain kinds of rooms when you draft them.
  
• The last part is emphasized because I had plenty of times where I got it after I had already drafted a room.
  
• However, the item itself is relatively rare. It's not something I would store inside.

Two:

• There is a room that lets you manipulate the rarity of a random assortment of rooms.
  
• You have to find it first.
  
• Have you found any pages of music lying around? Check the "Mid Game
• Singing" section.

[/spoiler]
[/list]

Mid Game - Library & Bookshop

I don't know that "removing all the patrons" was the best option for keeping the library quiet...

How does this work?
The usual method in libraries is that you check out a book, take it with you for a time, and then return it. But the rules of your interaction with the house are rather specific, aren't they?
You can't take anything from the house, so you have to specify what book you would like to read and then come back on another day to read it

That's really frustrating!
Right there with you.

Drafting help:
There are a few different rooms that can make it easier to draft the Library.
I found the library also had a tendency to show up more, later.
Other room explicit: The Reading Nook makes it so that the Library always shows up in the draft out of that room.
Other option: There is a room that lets you tweak the rarity of other rooms. The library can be tweaked downward to make it appear more often.

I'm looking for some reading suggestions
All of the options are good, but...
You are likely not surprised to find I enjoy reading some history.
I'm also very fond of wordplay. Sometimes Children's books are written surprisingly well.

I'd like to acquire some new reading material
Looking for info on the books (alpha)? Or about the pricing (beta)?

Alpha:
- R&R: A reasonably good book if you're looking for a replacement for your damaged copy.
- ANC: The news article on the wall of the bookstore has a bit more information about this one.
- HoO
- DSIV: The game's provided way of giving you more information on various drafting strategies, techniques, and items.
- DSV: Same as IV, the game-provided way of giving you more information about different drafting strategies and a couple of particular rooms.
- More DSV: I hear there's a contest in this one!

Beta:
The cost of these can absolutely feel insurmountable early on, but without revealing too much, this will become easier with time.
I looked to the stars and they said you might be fortunate in your near future.
My office thought it would be a "fun" incentive to hide random coins all over the place.
Explicit item help: A metal detector might help you find between 10 - 20 coins in a day on the floor.
I was allowed a certain amount of spending money when I was a kid.

Help! I've never seen the Bookstore in a draft!
It is relatively rare, yes. It has a specific condition to trigger, which can make it seem more rare.
If you have drafted it, did you notice the context?
It wouldn't make much sense to have a Bookstore if you didn't have some place to read the books you get.
More explicit: I think the bookstore only drafts right after the library.

Is there anything else I can do here?
Reading is FUNdamental! But if you go up the spiral staircase, then you'll find two books on stands that are records of your current save.

Mid Game - Nook

I found something related to the terminals and this room
Congratulations! This hint tree is specific to this room, for that item, once you use it. There is not an ordering to the use of that item's effects.

More help: That is, you should already know that you are looking at, and it will be obvious, before continuing to read this prompt's hints.

More help: There are three upgrades for this room that you can pick. For consistency with the rest of this guide, I will break up hints for the three into Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, in the order that they appear in the terminal.

Alpha: A simple upgrade to a simple room.

Beta: There is value in food, obviously. There is a less obvious benefit, as well.

More Beta: The food item that is offered with this upgrade adds a particular room to the drafting pool that does not show up without that food item.

More Beta: This upgrade is not the only way to get that room.

Gamma: The room that this will help you draft is a very important one.

More Gamma: This is not the only opportunity to draft this extra room.

More Gamma: The room that this will draft is also an L-path room (two exits). That may limit your drafting options leading out from this room and make it easy to dead-end.

Discussion: Obviously there is no "correct" answer - your meta-progression is going to be different than mine. A suggestion related to option A is below under "Nudge A." I had personally picked the third option, and have had a long discussion with a friend about whether it was better than the second option. I do not otherwise think there is a clear winner between the two. A further discussion regarding strategy for the second upgrade is under "Nudge B" below, and the third upgrade will have discussion under "Nudge C."

Nudge A: If you are considering this upgrade because it is early and you are limited on keys, there are multiple ways and places that make the key economy easier to manage. This can be one of those, but there is no way to "undo" a room upgrade, so consider whether an extra key has more value than drafting uncommon (or higher) rooms.

Nudge B: The benefit of the room that this adds to the draft pool is a nice one, but it does require drafting this room and then drafting the added one. It can be a nice combo that chains across days, but it requires some amount of thought beyond the day's drafting strategy to feel effective. The bonus steps are nice, too.

Nudge C: As hinted above, the chain of Nook into the room this upgrade always drafts is a frequent source of dead-ends. That can be fine, but can also be very frustrating, especially when you rely on the base key this room offers. A bit more discussion on the room that this drafts in the next hint.

More Nudge C: The room that this drafts will require at least two visits to utilize the resources in it. It seems to bump in drafting priority if you have visited it once (to trigger the effect), but there's no guarantee it's the room you want here, either. Additionally, since you're limited by the L -> L shape, the other benefit that room offers may not be utilized as effectively as you may want.

Mid-Game - Singing

You will likely be directed to this section. If you want to know more go back to the "Mid Game - Meta Puzzles" section.

I found a single instance of the thing
Might be worth recording it. Where did you find it? Someplace...

Green:
This seems to be talking about the room that you're in, at least a little.
However, it's also saying you can't spend your resources on the hint that this page is.

Shop-py:
There's something about the way a word is written here that's talked about in the lyrics.
While the sheet references letters and stones, the link between the two is a little fishy. After all, "the note is read, the letter is not."

Shiny:
Certainly these describe the kinds of events that might happen in this kind of room.
While the pages are contextual to the room, that's not really the clue you're after. You might have more success if you have more of the pages of the note.

Musical:
Four whole pages! What's a common feature between them? (And no hint in this sentence, but I can't get over how much I love the pun of the last line of the first page.)
Page three seems to be talking about a particular kind of player. Perhaps this puzzle has less to do with music than one might think?

I think I solved it but I'm unsure what's next
Much like a two-part harmony, there's more than one part to this puzzle.
If you recorded the text of the pages in some way, you've already gotten a good start on this puzzle.

Next:
Have you seen white trees in the Manor?
Some of the trees seem to be less healthy near you campsite.
Bring a shovel.

Mid Game - Nursery

What am I doing here?
Oh look, a book! It's even the name of - oh wait, no, it's a different primary color.
Have you found notes referencing this book? If not, that's fine for now.
Theme: My, the prince is very stubborn! I know I love the color red, but this feels a little more extreme than that.
More theme: The prince is leaving himself quite blindsided by refusing to accept that other colors exist. One might even say he's doing it with some amount of zealotry.

I found something related to the terminals and this room
Congratulations! This hint tree is specific to this room, for that item, once you use it. There is not an ordering to the use of that item's effects.

More help: That is, you should already know that you are looking at, and it will be obvious, before continuing to read this prompt's hints.

Start here: There are three upgrades for this room that you can pick. For consistency with the rest of this guide, I will break up hints for the three into Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, in the order that they appear in the terminal.

Alpha:
- A simple upgrade to bedroom synergy
- Helps that it's on drafting another room.

Beta:
- Interesting synergy if you have lots of green rooms.
- Note that it also makes this room a green room, which can add to those effects.
- This can be a strong way to combo generating lots of gems.

Gamma:
- This may be one of the first times you've seen this particular mechanic.
- There's no restrictions to how many times you can use the power this room upgrade offers.


Discussion: Personally, I think there's one obvious choice here - the Nurse's Station changes the room from a dead-end that gives more steps once to something that can extend the length of a day indefinitely. Importantly, by the time I'd gotten this upgrade, I had other solutions to the benefit that the first and second upgrades can provide. Additionally, I frequently actively avoid drafting bedrooms of any kind in a layout, because so many of them are dead-ends.

Mid Game - Study

A cozy room to have studious thoughts.

The chalkboard!
- Yup, this is probably the most blatant of the hints towards the puzzle you're looking at.
- For more information, go to the "Mid Game - Differing Views" section.

What do I do with the safe?
Once you have the puzzle that the room is openly telling you about completed, you might have more of an idea what to do here.

More information
More info on this room is in later sections of this guide.

Mid Game - Secret Garden

Growing up reading the book of the same name, I always thought moors were purple, rolling hills. Probably had seen a picture of moors with lots of heather and the association stuck.

I have something related to this room, but it keeps telling me it doesn't work!
- What do you know about the placement of certain kinds of rooms within the Manor?
- This is a room that might be best exposed to the open air.
- You need to be in one of the wings of the house.

Now what?
A weathervane usually shows the direction the wind is blowing. This one seems rather independent of that.
I would not expect the different arrows on a weather vane to be pointing in different directions.

Mid Game - Office

A room used for conducting business. That's why it has a desk pad. They mean Business™.

What do I do here?
The main thing that you can do in this room is play around with the functions on the terminal.
The room can also act as a location for a particular item when you find it and need a terminal.

This room is a bust!
It does seems odd that a room largely used for business would include so many large and small busts of figures, some of which you may recognize.

There's something(s) re(a)d?
- The note you've found is definitely talking about the prior owner's love of puzzles.
- Herbert was just as aware of a kind of fish, even referenced in the note!
- Which one of the items in the list is not red?

Show me the money!
- There are two functions related to the Manor and financials on the terminal, though I found one of them significantly more useful than the other.
- The first one requires certain rooms to be drafted, which might be hard to remember if you're focused on something else. Instead...
- The second one is much more accessible, though can send you on a treasure hunt.
- Remember that spreading items works better with more rooms.
- ...and there might be a room that combos with "Spreading" quite well. Usually correlated with offices.

Mid Game - Aquarium

All the prettiness of a school field trip without any of the other people!

What does this room actually do?
It's a nice 3-exit room.
It is a kaleidoscope of color.
Powers that other rooms have, how do they work?
If you haven't been thinking about it, this is the time to start thinking about synergy between rooms.
It means all.

Mid Game - Tomb

Stale air and cold stone bring a sense of finality to this room.

This is heavy (themes)
Indeed. The letter you find and the context you find it in might weigh heavily on a self-reflective adult, never mind a 14-year-old.
The note sounds regretful, but hopes to inspire. Why?
Depending on what you're trying to understand, this might not be immediately useful.

This is heavy (physical)
Sorry, no actual hint here, I just needed to make the other section work.

There's a presence here I'm (dis)comforted by
Where have you seen imagery like this before?
They all seem consistent in their implement raised to the sky.
Some people feel moved by the imagery in the tomb.
Some of those implements look sharp, I wonder if you could get them on eye-level?

More hints, slightly different approach:
Does the number of depictions here have similarity with any other lists of the same number?
Do you know the names of any of the depicted figures?
I seem to recall the Commissary advertising something.
Perhaps I should be more pious, but the tithing always got to me.
My friend Roman really likes counting.

I found another depiction
Have you seen this figure represented anywhere else?
What implement is this one holding?
The implement is commonly associated with reap-ing grain.
Almost all cultures have a personification like this. In most contexts I can think of, they are usually ostracized in their own pantheon.
Seems like this room might be a dead end?

I found a fragment near this depiction
This is perhaps one of the few times I would very much encourage taking a screenshot. If you can draw, replicating it is fine.

How do I progress?
Have you tried doing exactly what you did to get here?

Mid Game - Differing Views

If you have not been directed to this section, I do not recommend that you read further. If you have a burning desire to know what this is about, start in the "Mid Game - Meta Puzzles" section.

I don't know where to start with this puzzle
The game provides quite a few different places to get hints. I'll try to hint towards their location here.

• Someone else saw these pinned to a board in a commonly-drafted shop, and added sticky notes to help.
  
• The teacher at the school seemed to really like this as a class puzzle.
  
• If you had a place to study, perhaps you might have a burst of inspiration?
  
• I got my future told by The Great Alzara and he gave me some clues.
  
• If you find the workshop, someone really set a clue in stone.

I think I understand the puzzle but I'm lost on a specific part
If you think you've identified elements of the puzzle and are looking for help with its structure, check "Alpha." If you have identified the elements but aren't sure what to do with them, check "Beta." If you have an idea what you need to do, and are looking for specifics for individual elements, check "Gamma."

Alpha:

• What have you noticed that's consistent about the drawings?
  
• Perhaps it's not the drawings themselves, but something about the drawings?
  
• Where are you finding the drawings, in the Manor?
  
• There's a constant - the Entrance Hall's drawings never change. What else never changes about the Entrance Hall?
  
• Try drafting the Study.

Beta:

• A technique I often use is describing things aloud - like the name of the game, things can become obvious when said versus written.
  
• Make sure you write it down once you describe it.
  
• While the puzzle requires looking at the elements with each other, you are not looking for something that is a compound of the two. They each stand on their own.
  
• Instead of comparing, perhaps the contrast between the two is important?
  
• The Great Alzara has seen this puzzle and may reference it to you.

More explicit: This is a word puzzle, at heart.

Gamma is the next section in the guide. Did you know that Steam has a limit on the number of characters in a section (it's 8000)? I do, now!

Mid Game - Differing Views cont'd

Gamma:
Below, there is a list of words, with a broad description un-spoilered to help determine if you're looking for it. Because this is a hint guide, I'm trying to get you to think of different ways to describe what you're seeing. There is a rough ordering to it, but that ordering should not be obvious.

An overall hint: An image seen multiple times may not necessarily be described in the same way in the different contexts.

Are you looking for information on something...

• Sweet? The depicted dish is a "flan" in case you haven't seen / heard it before.
  
• Sandy? You might be able to describe the specific formation, but where would you most likely find them?
  
• Religious? The hands are holding a Rosary, but clasped together as if in ...?
  
• Metal, large, and commonly associated with Valve? What are the intended uses of a crowbar? It has something to do with boxes.
  
• Used in Poker? The King, Queen, and Jack are commonly referred to with a particular word as a group, since it's depicted on them.
  
• Tall and woody? It might be worth refreshing yourself on the kinds of trees in coniferous forests.
  
• Metal, tiny, and sharp? These were considered safer than what they replaced and are used to hold something to another object.
  
• Majestic and living? There are a few different words we use to refer to specific kinds of deer. Deer is quite broad.
  
• Attached to a loop of wire? The number is important, and could be used to label something. In another context, soldiers have these.
  
• Normally blue? A homophone of the game's name, they're also used in preparation steps.
  
• Spiral-like? They may be a special kind, but what are they a special kind of?
  
• Flying and metallic? The name of this craft is frequently shortened, especially when talking about travel.
  
• Constellation-like? What makes up a constellation?
  
• Crossing a body of water? No need to be specific in what you call this.
  
• Dressed in white? The figure is commonly seen or associated with a groom and has a word of her own.
  
• Made of porcelain? What might you draw in one of these?
  
• Associated with vampires? Nothing specific is needed, what is it?
  
• Filled with rock? I would describe this as a coal trolley, but there are a variety of other words for this kind of object.
  
• Utilizing an internal combustion engine? What's the colloquial term for this?
  
• Bird-like? An actual bird, that is. Edgar Allen Poe wrote about ravens, but these are their smaller bretheren.
  
• Floating? What might you do with the oars in this device?
  
• Large and oscillating? I need to tell the time, so I look at...
  
• That requires a key? In a general sense, keys undo...?
  
• Vegetal? One could say that these objects are together in a pod.
  
• Mountainous? Specifically the top part of it.
  
• Layered? There are three of the thing this is describing.
  
• Common in men's formalwear? Worn around the neck, the word used to describe this might also be used with shoelaces.
  
• Worn outside? This style of garment was often worn in the rain, trenches, or as a larger version over smaller (one could say it's greater than the smaller version).
  
• Slept on? There is a specific term for this kind of bed usually used for camping or commonly associated with an army.
  
• With an empty audience? Shakespeare had something to say about the whole world and this. It might even be presented on this.
  
• Plant-like and flowering? While it's not where I got it from, part of my name is a name for this plant.
  
• Used to light candles? I like to watch the pretty flickering of it, sometimes, but I don't want to get too close lest I burn myself.
  
• Used in Typesetting? This is called an ampersand. It's used in place of another word.
  
• Glass and stoppered? Used in a lab, I would normally describe it as part of it's purpose, for testing.
  
• Scarf-wearing? I might describe this as a "Fighter Ace," but that's not really his job.
  
• Partitioned for greenery? People often talk of buying a little land one day and retiring to it.
  
• Cat-like? Or, in this case a cat. Famously, Hobbes of Calvin & Hobbes is one of these.
  
• Set up for presentation? Specifically, the content presented. And perhaps the trend?
  
• Used while camping? Simon has one set up outside at the campsite.
  
• Wet and coming down? I'm really talking about the weather with you, huh?
  
• Differently plant-like? We talk about fields of this, and we use it to make bread.
  
• With cliffs? This does seem to border the sea.
  
• Earth-like? This object is similar to Earth, but is another...?
  
• Boney? You need one of these to stand up, whether literally or metaphorically.
  
• Colored and used with a brush? The substance itself. Or perhaps what you might do with a blank canvas?
  
• Cold and foamy? The British usually talk about going down to the pub to get one of these.
  
• Commonly used by fancy ladies? They use it to keep themselves cooler by doing something with the air near them.
  
• Glass and partitioned? There were multiple instances of this in the Chapel.
  
• Cubic? Boxes that are specifically built for long-term storage or shipping might be called this instead.
  
• Coiled? Commonly used in a garden. Shares a name with a type of undergarment that isn't worn as much anymore.
  
• Building-like? A representation of the Manor. Since someone would live here, it's got another common name.
  
• Regal? This is worn on the head and usually represents the person in charge.
  
• Associated with food? What's the job this person would do?
  
• Associated with tribal imagery? Someone with this fancy a headdress might not just be a member of the tribe.
  
• Glowing? What do you use a lantern for?

Mid Game - Root Cellar

I was rooting around for something to buy, but didn't find it.

How much more?
Actually quite a bit! Especially if you have something like a metal detector, can find quite a few coins and keys.

What else is in this room?
There's some lovely jams that you can't try. But there is a tree that's worth looking at and paying attention to.

"Warning" about the prior hint: I'm of the opinion that this tree is drawn exactly incorrectly.

Mid Game - Battles

You should not have organically landed in this section. See "Mid Game - Meta Puzzles" section for more info.

What this is about: This is about the chess pieces you have seen in rooms.

I am here because I need some prodding
Start by recording what you see - that will be useful to you no matter what.
Notice what's consistent about the pieces.
Ideally, you should already have seen the room referenced by the "Mid Game - Cliffs" section.

What do the different colors represent?
Interesting question. Perhaps it's worth writing down and thinking about the places you're finding them?

I got to the room you referenced and I've recorded info and I'm still lost

• Notice that you don't have a chess board - what else do you interact with that has that same layout?
  
• If you've played around any with the pieces, have any of the tiles lit up?
  
• There's one of each piece type represented here.
  
• The color the pieces are isn't usually associated with chess. Is this a shade of blue that you've seen somewhere else?
  
• Check the house directory if you're feeling unsure about colors.

Much more explicit:

• Structurally, this puzzle is looking for the placement of chess pieces on what seem to be a layout of the house.
  
• If you've been recording where you've found chess pieces in the house, there is a you'll likely notice a pattern:
  
• Almost (if not) all pieces are in blue rooms.
  
• If you know what rooms that you might find a piece in, and you have a layout in front of you, how can you combine that information?
  
• This is not a puzzle you can do before drafting any rooms in a day.

Help! I can't find a specific thing!

• At this point in the game, it is likely that you will only have one room each for two different pieces of this puzzle.
  
• If I'm taking a class, sometimes it's nice to have somewhere to study.
  
• ...but then I have to go into the office to work.

I did it and now have a choice.
Congratulations! The game doesn't tell you this at this exact moment, but you can change the decision you're about to make on a later day, by doing the puzzle again. I think that's important to put up front.

You can go up to a piece to see what power it will grant you. I recommend doing that before reading the discussion below.

Discussion:
I agonized over my decision here a lot the first time, and personally settled on the Rook, because I had already realized that a particular room existed that drafts only on the corners, and so the ability to (hopefully) consistently draft it appealed to me. It then became a cornerstone of my drafting strategy - forcing most everything to Standard rarity.

The Knight is powerful because the armory provides (separately spoilered, discussion continues below):

a tool that can be used to permanently remove the gem cost of a room, but has limited uses, I've been led to believe.

Cont'd: There's other things it does which is nice, but that's the big one.

The Bishop is a way to deal with early game money problems, but I think that need drops off pretty quickly and feels a little underwhelming compared to the other powers on display.

The Queen's power removes some of the pressure on your key economy, but I also didn't find that I was starving for keys at the point I discovered / completed this puzzle.

If you're indecisive, you can pick the Pawn, but the requirements for activating it are pretty stringent and you're likely going to have exhausted most of the places where you'd really want to use it by the time you get there, unless you're specifically drafting around it.

And finally, the King is a power that I snoozed on originally, but is quite powerful when you're trying to draft specific things. However, keep in mind that some of the specific rooms that you might be trying to draft are probably Blue. You can check on that in the Room Directory before you pick this power.

Mid Game - Drafting Strategy Part 3

This is getting into further spoiler territory than Part 2.

You're likely reading this section for one of two reasons: you're either having trouble with the drafting and feeling stymied by it, or you're hoping there's some way to mitigate some of the drafting. I have some okay news, some good news and bad news.

Okay news, because of the restrictions on where certain rooms can be placed, you are more likely to have those rooms come up if you are drafting for that place.

Bad news, there's not really a mechanism to get "around" the drafting.

Good news, there are things you can do that permanently modify how and when rooms show up in the pool. If you want more hints or encouragement towards some of the potential permanent upgrades, check out the "Mid Game - Meta Puzzles" section.

Continued below.

There are a few rooms and items that can modify your draft pool. I will spoiler them separately with an "Explicit: " in front and then continue this message below.

Explicit: The rooms are the Conservatory (Room), the Drafting Room, the Repellant Spray, and the Gear Wrench. (I may be leaving one or two out, by mistake).

Additional context on the first one: One of the meta-puzzles is required to find it, and one of can make it much easier to draft.

Continued: Out of the above, the first one in the list is the most powerful for modification. It gives you a random selection of three rooms and lets you tweak their rarity to any of the four values. The problem is that you don't have any choice on _which_ three rooms you're presented with. Additionally, that particular room has some slightly more restrictive placement requirements, which can make it confusing and frustrating to draft. There is a permanent ability that is unlocked by a meta-puzzle that can make that much easier to do, but even then, I had times where it _still_ wouldn't come up.

The second is similar in its presentation of options, and what it can add is useful, but that doesn't necessarily tweak what already exists or help there.

The third of the list is helpful, but temporary. And I didn't find it until something like 50 hours into the game (and since I know that number might stand out - all but a small portion of the early hours have been _fantastic_ since then).

The fourth of the list I found early on, but then found so infrequently as to also be useless with trying to combine with what it affects (mechanical rooms only).

Some of the above offers you ways to thin your options as well, but maybe you might find that counterproductive. The Closet, for instance, is a good room for certain items early on and drafts easily at low ranks, but it's still a dead-end, and you might find there are "better" rooms later that you want, instead. That's even if you're given any ability to tweak its appearance in the pool.

And while the game gives you the option to _not_ add a room to your pool when you find it, there was never a situation where I _didn't_ want it, for either exploration, story, power, or other reasons.

My best suggestion right now is just to keep iterating on the ideas mentioned in the first two Drafting Strategy sections and the stuff above in this one. Write down observations, make notes of the decisions that you are making that are blocking you in some way. If you want to take that to an extreme (I do not recommend it), write down all of your drafting options each time, and then look back on paths you "could" have taken, why you didn't, and whether they would have helped or "solved" the problem.

=== Mid Game - Miscellany and Wrap-Up

If you're reading this section and wondering why the "Mid Game" is so short when it seems like I'm missing big parts, I'm still working on it. There were some thoughts that I felt were worth putting here, based on some feedback.

If the above message is still here, it's either still true or, if this is well into the future from the guide's publish date, I've likely forgotten to remove it. Oops.

Drafting Strategy Soapbox

Discussion thoughts (unfortunately one-way), but likely no meaningful hints.

So, where does that leave us?

I don't know is my honest answer. I can only offer up some constructive criticism to the dev and hope it's seen in the light that I intend it (a love for, rather than a tearing-down-of).

The primary source of this frustration is that the iteration time between "I have an idea about a puzzle I want to investigate or test" and "I can test that idea" is long. When the game revolves around exploring and placing rooms, many of the ideas you might come across involve how those things are placed or the combinations of those things. When you can't get the combo of things you need, then it feels like a slap in the face. I know there are other things I can explore. Around the time I reached peak frustration, I had a written list of 10 - 15 things I "could" explore, but the kind of rapid pivoting to another idea that roguelikes tend to engender is a lot harder in a puzzle game, when I need to be keeping the state of the puzzle in my head. Thinking about the possibility space in a roguelike and in a puzzle game is harder when the history of puzzle games includes pixel-hunting (I am pretty sure Blue Prince does not have any pixel-hunting, thankfully).

My guess is that this is to encourage you to explore other things and examine things with more detail that you perhaps overlooked. But just because I can write down every fiddly detail in a room (and there are so many, in many fantastic ways) doesn't mean I know what I can do with it. There's many details I suspect are relevant much further than even I am when I'm writing this. The very first page of my notes is a running list of questions have or things I want to explore, and it gets long, which is amazing, but at the same time, means that I can't keep them all in my head at the same time, and trying to reexamine that list every time I draft an unexpected room is disruptive and interrupts a flow state.

Secondly, the meta-progression stuff in roguelikes in general and here is really nice. It's helpful, it's what got me over the hump that I referenced above. But the other options I have for the pool modification are few and far between, and while making something more rare is an option, I can't help but feel like making it harder to get something is going to be a mistake somewhere.

I'm also pretty sure that there are a ton of hidden mechanics that make the set of rooms that are presented to the player semi-random at best and while a lot of that is very helpful as you move through the game, there's zero telegraphing that it happens and I haven't felt like writing down every single option given to me to build a statistical model of what's going on. (Also, see XCOM communities and takeaways for discussion about how "randomness" rarely feels that way to a player and how other games lie to the player about the presented number.)

Suggestions: There's two suggestions I have thought of, and I'm not sure either are "good."

The first is to have more options for manipulating the pool. Whether that's more opportunities to force a desired room, tweak the rarity of a given room, or remove rooms from the pool, something that's easier to access here would be a potential help without making it feel like every decision has to be agonized over.

The second is a much bigger hammer and feels like a more fundamental change that might have some negative consequences and that's to change it to four draft options instead of three. I have no idea on how this changes the statistics on the pool or when rooms come up, I have no idea if it's something that wouldn't work because of how some of the internal, secretive logic is, and I have no idea if it would trivialize something else.

I'm not good enough with roguelike game design to have better suggestions.

Mid Game - Drafting Strategy Soapbox

[Azshalle]

This guide is really fantastic. I'm well into late-game by now but in the early stages where there was so much info to process and I needed a little direction, this guide helped so much. Looking forward to returning when there are updates to see if there are any tips to locate easter eggs or lore bits I missed along the way!

[angry dooting]

I really love this guide!
That said, the 'Cliffs' section directs you to look for the section on the room in mid-game, which I assume is the breaker room? It doesn't have a section.

Spoiler for the puzzle after the mid-game cliffs puzzle: I actually opened up this guide because I was so confused about the Precipice chessboard puzzle. I want to at least know what I'm trying to solve before I start looking up spoilers. Can you give me any hints on this?

[Caïn]

This guide is great. It was written with great care, and in the spirit of the game. I was looking for a new clue (pun intended) and I already knew all this before i read it, but this is good material none the less.

[GameSage]

@Loddfafnir There is a specific clue that will tell you more information about what you found. It may be a bit later than you are at. Recommendation: I would perhaps not think too hard about the clue you found, right now.

As an update, I am still working on this, but as I am still playing aspects of the game, and getting into more interlinked stuff, I'm trying to be careful about how I'm structuring things.

[saml15]

Mid Late Game Secret Garden

Last section helped, is that all?

No, you should check out this wall!

[saml15]

my other comment is a "advanced" Drawing room solution help...

[saml15]

Better spoiler-free help for the mid-game drawing room:

One thing isn’t like the others.

Inspect the drawing without copies.

The central drawing differs from reality.

Find Herbert Sinclair’s portrait in the middle—its background doesn’t match. Adjust the room’s objects to mirror it to unlock a hidden lever.

I’ve got the first secret:

First lever discovered!

Have you spotted patterns in other rooms?

No? See hints for all rooms.

Yes? Above the fireplace, which of the 10 solution words matches the arrows under the walking man?
Need more? Gate vs. Gait is the clue.
Still stuck? Count men with small gaits and women with small gates; their sum gives a spring date to open the safe.

[Loddfafnir]

In aquarium, when you get water down there is an arrow in the red aquarium room, with water there is only one fish, looking like grinning, I thing it actually is a herring and in a red room. Or I have no clue how to find the place the arrow is showing...

[GameSage]

@Loddfafnir Feel free to use the spoiler tags to let me know which one you think it is. You can use [spoiler]Your spoiler[/spoiler] to let me know. Definitely open to feedback.

[Loddfafnir]

As for now I think there is an actual herring which is red... Or I'm to stupid to understand the clue