Be careful before looking at the hints, as they can kill the fun if you go to them too easily! Please be sure you're really stuck before looking at a hint.
THERE ARE TWO LEVELS OF HINT FOR EACH OF THE BELOW SECTIONS. When you click on one of the sections below, you will get an abstract hint in the right direction. That's the first hint. If you scroll down further, you will get a more direct hint. That's the second hint. We recommend trying the first hint out for a while before going to the second.
If you're still stuck after that, go back to the mansion and click the Cheats link, which will just give you the answer.
Each clue card has a front with a picture and a back with a clue. The pictures aren't chosen just for being pretty...
The clue cards are all themed. Remember at the entrance how the clue for the scales puzzle had a picture of scales on it? They're all like that.
You’d think that ships would give you some sort of clue to Anchor the order you read these red hits in.
The board is laid out where the rows are labeled with letters and the columns with numbers. If we knew what order to read the columns in...
It’s so frustrating that this board doesn’t have on it where to go or the value of that information.
The missing tiles can be rearranged into the name of the place you want to put the eventual seven-digit code in.
The true mastermind is always sure to read up on the rules of the game.
Check the Library to read about the rules of Mastermind. The blue-red-green-orange row with two white pegs and one red peg tells us, in the correct series of four colored pegs, exactly three of those pegs are the right color, and exactly one of those three is in the right spot.
These pieces are like a storybook. Surely the story is sitting around here somewhere, telling the characters where to go and where they haven't gone yet.
The story from the clue card tells you where on the board the princess goes. But where doesn't she go until the very end?
Someone else who wanted to study was the princess. Of course, she’d been just about everywhere but home for the past while.
Solve the puzzle in the Ballroom to get the right answer
I like to relax in the lounge after a nice big meal.
Solve the puzzle in the Dining Room to get the entry code. Be sure to enter the answer in lower-case.
It takes mastery to put four colored pegs in order.
Solve the puzzle in the Billiards room.
Gimme a K number, gimme a I number, gimme a T number! If I keep going, what does that... numberspell?
Solve the puzzle in the Hall in order to get the numeric code to enter here.
After we’ve put these strange-looking cards in order, we may want to carefully consider the hand we’ve been dealt this time.
Look in the library to get the rules for Set. Each correct set of three cards must have all the same color, number, shape, and shade, or all different. So if three cards are all purple, and all diamonds, but they are 1, 2, and 3, and solid, empty, and shaded, that would be valid. If the three cards are purple, purple, red, then the rest doesn't matter, since purple purple red isn't all the same or all different. Once you have them in order, think where you might be able to use this clue this time to get another clue..
You can’t hide from your enemies! Although you’d hope that in a place like the study at least one person would be able to find a safe space.
Check the library to get the rules for how the chess pieces can move. Once you know that, you'll notice how each piece can be captured by its enemies. But can they?
Once I’m done playing this game I’m going to plan a big trip. I’ll have to Study up on how I can add a little color to my journey.
You'll need to get a series of four colors, in order, out of this set of maps. Of course, you'd need some sort of key to show you how map locations can be turned into colors.
In the kitchen there is a big mess of potential suspects. We’ll probably need some witness accounts to figure out who the culprits are, and another Clue entirely to interpret their strange sounds.
The witness accounts can help you figure out which the four robbers are, and in which order. But what about the sounds they make when you click on them? There must be a CLUE you can find somewhere.
The downstairs makes it look like there are some secret passageways in this house. I'd point them out to you but that would be too easy!
The four rooms in the corners have secret passageways. Click where the black arrows are.
If I were building a big scary mansion with locked secret passageways, I’d want to be sure that the keys to those passageways were as close to their doors as possible.
The Conservatory door opens with the answer from the Conservatory puzzle, and so on.
The telltale diamonds beat like a heart underneath the floor. But where? Maybe if we climb a ladder we'll be able to see better to give us a clue where to move.
The clue card with a ladder tells us how the pieces move into place, following the Chutes and Ladders rules (see the Library). Once they've moved to the right tiles, that might tell you where to look.
If you’re stuck here, you might want to brush up on how dice work. An instructional video might help.
The left board tells you the rules. Filling in the right, after handling the red dice properly, gives the answer.
There sure do seem to be a lot of them… you’ll probably want to figure out which is the right tile before rolling the dice on trying a code.
One puzzle tells you how to locate the right tile relative to the pieces. Another tells you the code to enter when you're under there.
Criminals think they’re so slick, but they can’t resist telling you all about the shape of their secrets.
You'll need to combine information from a few sources: the clues on this board are incomplete without their match - the color might help you find that match! Then once you know the cards you're looking for, you'll need a way to turn the shapes you get into something else.