Puzzle Solutions
The three big blockers most players hit: the dragonfly puzzle (Tidal Reef A4) needs the three dragonflies' paths copied onto a 5×5 grid; the crab puzzle needs sums to match the shell values (1, 2, 3, 5, 8); the statue puzzle's answer is to give the extra statue to the ocean.
The puzzles most players get stuck on, solved — with the reasoning kept intact where it matters, and the honest answer where the game is just being sneaky.
The crab and shells puzzle (Tidal Reef)
The crab maths puzzle is a Fibonacci-flavoured summing game. Blue crabs show numbers; you select shells that add up to the same total. Red crabs show how many shells you may pick.
Shell values:
| Shell | Value |
|---|---|
| Sand dollar (star centre) | 1 — and there are two of them |
| Common shells (right of screen) | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Spiral shells, counting from the centre counter-clockwise | 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 |
- Add the numbers shown by the blue crabs.
- Select shells whose values sum to that total, using at most as many shells as there are red crabs.
- You cannot use the same shell twice — except the two sand dollars, which are interchangeable.
The first two rounds are randomly generated, so your sums differ from everyone else's. The final round is always the same: two fives and a final unmarked shell, and the answer is 8, 5, 3 (total 16) — community consensus is that the unmarked shell is worth 6, following the 1-2-3-4-5-6 pattern.
The statue puzzle
The famous rage-quit room. When you have placed every statue where it "belongs" and the door still laughs at you — that is the puzzle.
The answer: the last statue goes in the ocean. Not a pedestal, not a slot — dump it where it belongs.
Two community notes worth knowing before you blame yourself:
- The colours of the statues you find around the island are muted compared to the ones in the statue room; match by face and shape, not colour, if a placement "should" work and doesn't.
- At least one player reported needing to enter their statues leftmost-to-rightmost and to finish everything else on the island before the room accepted the answer. If your solution refuses to register, try that order before declaring a bug.
The Sanctum trials (ending island)
After the four spirits wake, the Sanctum's four corner rooms each hold a quiz. The rule is elegant: drive the right elemental into the big 2×2 crystal in the room. Which is the right one is implied by the emblem on the gate and the room's theme — and several solutions can be valid. Clear all four corners and the central gate opens for the final climb.
The trials are genuinely hard; even the community's 100% guide calls them "difficult and possibly having multiple solutions". Take your time.
The dragonfly puzzle (Tidal Reef A4)
This room guards the Flippers, so it is mandatory progress. The method the community settled on:
- Three dragonflies live on the island's other corner areas. Chase each one until it disappears — record its colour and exact path.
- In room A4, read the floor's 5×5 grid as a map of the island, and the movable crate as a dragonfly.
- Push the crate to each dragonfly's starting corner and have it repeat the recorded path. Three correct routes open the gate.
A picture guide ("The 3 colored dragonfly puzzle" on Steam) is worth having open beside you — routes are much easier to copy than to describe.
When a solution "doesn't work"
- Many puzzles are randomised per save. The community has confirmed that knowledge/meta puzzles (statue room, Frozen Spire signals and more) generate per-save solutions — a friend's walkthrough video will not transfer. This is by design: it forces understanding over copying.
- Check the version. Several rooms were reworked in 2025 (the Frozen Spire meta puzzle especially, in v2.3d). An answer from an old thread may no longer apply — the A1 page covers the current build.
- Suspect your memory, then the room. Re-step the inputs, recheck which shell you already used, and re-watch the demonstration once before assuming a bug.
FAQ
Does the crab puzzle change between patches? The shell values and the fixed final round held through the post-launch patches (the newest added shell is the "6"). If a future patch changes the maths, this page gets updated.
Is the statue solution really "throw it in the water"? Yes — and that is the puzzle. It checks whether you are willing to not place a statue.
