Hardest Puzzle

[Skinkie]

Just finished the game, mostly found the puzzles straight forward to deal with, but of course there's always one. For me it was strangely

 

Spoiler

When you are trying to get Stan sentenced to 10 years, I rummaged through the paperwork before taking it to the judge, so Guybrush didn't pull out the document he needs. it never occurred to me that I needed to do that same thing afterwards. I kept going around to every location to see if I could find where that guy had fled to so I could drag him over to the courthouse

 

What about everyone else? Anything snag you for particularly long?

Edited October 5, 2022 by Skinkie

[Gins]

I did the same thing but found it out faster, but not sure if I wasn't lucky.

 

For me the one where I needed a hint was the Bite of a Thousand Needles, but it's arguably not the hardest puzzle.

 

I'll say that the whole "breaking out Stan" puzzle chain might be one of the hardest definitely. It involves the photo in multiple ways and a bit of out of the box thinking (how to get Stan to WANT to be broken out in the first place, and how to "prove" that I'm his accountant).

[Remi]

The

limmeric

.

 

I mean, WTF. ¬

[ThunderPeel2001]

1 hour ago, Skinkie said:

What about everyone else?

 

Yes! I think I solved this by pure accident. Really confused me.

[Skinkie]

37 minutes ago, Gins said:

I did the same thing but found it out faster, but not sure if I wasn't lucky.

 

For me the one where I needed a hint was the Bite of a Thousand Needles, but it's arguably not the hardest puzzle.

 

I'll say that the whole "breaking out Stan" puzzle chain might be one of the hardest definitely. It involves the photo in multiple ways and a bit of out of the box thinking (how to get Stan to WANT to be broken out in the first place, and how to "prove" that I'm his accountant).

 

I do like the way Part IV ramps up the puzzle insanity. The first few parts felt fairly contained, and then this part it just branches uncontrollably. Every one of the many things you wanted now requires these many other things

 

And Bite of a Thousand Needles got me for a bit too

Edited October 5, 2022 by Skinkie

[Huz]

2 hours ago, Skinkie said:

Just finished the game, mostly found the puzzles straight forward to deal with, but of course there's always one. For me it was strangely

 

  Hide contents

When you are trying to get Stan sentenced to 10 years, I rummaged through the paperwork before taking it to the judge, so Guybrush didn't pull out the document he needs. it never occurred to me that I needed to do that same thing afterwards. I kept going around to every location to see if I could find where that guy had fled to so I could drag him over to the courthouse

 

What about everyone else? Anything snag you for particularly long?

Exactly the same for me! At first I had quite a few other puzzle chains to complete, but I soon reached the point where there was nothing else left. After spending literally an hour running all over the game looking for this guy, I was this close to using the hint book (for what would have been the only time) when I figured it out.

 

The thing that felt most mentally taxing for me was (before reaching Brrr Muda)

 

 

the quarantine form thing. I think I got it right on my second attempt - did it actually have to be filled in correctly? When I was doing it I was like "oh man, I hope it accepts my answers this time, this is another bone puzzle from The Dig in the making". Did not enjoy.

Edited October 5, 2022 by Huz

[Thrik]

1 hour ago, Huz said:

Exactly the same for me! At first I had quite a few other puzzle chains to complete, but I soon reached the point where there was nothing else left. After spending literally an hour running all over the game looking for this guy, I was this close to using the hint book (for what would have been the only time) when I figured it out.

 

The thing that felt most mentally taxing for me was (before reaching Brrr Muda)

 

  Hide contents

the quarantine form thing. I think I got it right on my second attempt - did it actually have to be filled in correctly? When I was doing it I was like "oh man, I hope it accepts my answers this time, this is another bone puzzle from The Dig in the making". Did not enjoy.

That bloody form. I took what felt like forever filling it out and got rejected for being a pirate. So I literally just ticked that I had limes, didn’t tick the pirate one or any others, and it was accepted. 😡

[LuigiHann]

3 hours ago, Gins said:

I did the same thing but found it out faster, but not sure if I wasn't lucky.

 

For me the one where I needed a hint was the Bite of a Thousand Needles, but it's arguably not the hardest puzzle.

 

I'll say that the whole "breaking out Stan" puzzle chain might be one of the hardest definitely. It involves the photo in multiple ways and a bit of out of the box thinking (how to get Stan to WANT to be broken out in the first place, and how to "prove" that I'm his accountant).

 

Oh yeah, the "prove you're the accountant" puzzle was probably the trickiest legitimate puzzle for me. Very clever. 

 

The final puzzle at the end definitely stumped me for a long long time, because I was so certain I had the correct solution that I thought I must just be entering it wrong.

 

Spoiler

Spent a long time trying to make it work with "1730" (1726 + 4) in the center. Feel like the puzzle would be fairer if 1730 wasn't an option at all, or if the limerick used different wording like "four times." 

 

I'm sure it was intended to be tricky, but it comes across as one of those "legitimate answer not accepted by the program" situations, which are otherwise nearly nonexistent in this game. 

[Huz]

Also agreed on the above! I solved that aspect of the puzzle by mistake because I had the other elements in the right position and I was spinning through all the possible dates. I had to go back and check the riddle to see why it was accepted.

[OzzieMonkey]

The trivia cards  
No, but seriously, I had no idea how to flatten Murray for ages because I mustn't have read the flavor text describing the launder machine and had no idea how I was going to do it. I also struggled to figure out the maze on Terror Island and had to use the hintbook to get how to work out the order. I was also stumped on treasure chests under the monkey head for a while. I also didn't get what the mop tree map wanted me to do, I was getting sent back to the beginning of the forest numerous times because I was just following the lines, not the plants.

 

I think you can tell that I'm not as good with puzzle puzzzles as I am with working out what objects to use on what things and the like. 

[Garystu]

Making the Scorched Alaska hot. For whatever reason, I became fixated on somehow filling the empty demon pepper shaker as a solution, and wasn't considering all possibilities.

 

 

 

The quarantine form wasn't a roadblock to me, but I did solve it by accident. I tried once legitimately, and failed. Then I thought "I bet there's a trick to this" and "it would be funny to only select the last option and see what happens, a massive failure might give me some good info towards solving the puzzle" or something like that. And I got it right away. I was so surprised it was so funny.

 

Thats some trivia for you. You don't have to tick that you have limes on the form. The judge will give you a line of dialogue saying he'll fill that bit out for you, if you didn't select it.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Garystu

[Marius]

Oh man, this is not a hard puzzle, but it frustrated me:

The fish eating contest. I knew that the spicy fish will be the solution, so I put spicy fish in the bucket. But how do I get an “un-spicy” one? I was looking for like a glass of milk everywhere. How do I solve this??

 

It never occurred to me that, during the contest, I can pick a fish from my inventory instead of the bucket on the table. That is wild to me, because usually, the judge is so strict. Why would he allow that in the contest? I guess he didn’t see it?

That’s the only puzzle that kinda annoyed me instead of going “aha!”.

 

But: the cutscene where both the Queen and Guybrush almost die of that spice is so funny to watch. I never got tired of that.

[Staple Remover]

36 minutes ago, Marius said:

Oh man, this is not a hard puzzle, but it frustrated me:

 

  Hide contents

The fish eating contest. I knew that the spicy fish will be the solution, so I put spicy fish in the bucket. But how do I get an “un-spicy” one? I was looking for like a glass of milk everywhere. How do I solve this??

 

 

It never occurred to me that, during the contest, I can pick a fish from my inventory instead of the bucket on the table. That is wild to me, because usually, the judge is so strict. Why would he allow that in the contest? I guess he didn’t see it?

That’s the only puzzle that kinda annoyed me instead of going “aha!”.

 

But: the cutscene where both the Queen and Guybrush almost die of that spice is so funny to watch. I never got tired of that.

 

 

I had the same problem and I was frustrated that I used a hint on it because I technically had the solution but it was the implementation that threw me off. 

[Gins]

39 minutes ago, Marius said:

Oh man, this is not a hard puzzle, but it frustrated me:

 

I think the puzzle would have become cooler if you'd had to put an unspiced fish on top of the bucket.

[OzzieMonkey]

49 minutes ago, Marius said:

Oh man, this is not a hard puzzle, but it frustrated me:

 

  Hide contents

The fish eating contest. I knew that the spicy fish will be the solution, so I put spicy fish in the bucket. But how do I get an “un-spicy” one? I was looking for like a glass of milk everywhere. How do I solve this??

 

 

It never occurred to me that, during the contest, I can pick a fish from my inventory instead of the bucket on the table. That is wild to me, because usually, the judge is so strict. Why would he allow that in the contest? I guess he didn’t see it?

That’s the only puzzle that kinda annoyed me instead of going “aha!”.

 

But: the cutscene where both the Queen and Guybrush almost die of that spice is so funny to watch. I never got tired of that.

 

 

Actually that's another one I got stumped on, for the exact same reason 😂

[BaronGrackle]

5 hours ago, Marius said:

Oh man, this is not a hard puzzle, but it frustrated me:

 

  Hide contents

The fish eating contest. I knew that the spicy fish will be the solution, so I put spicy fish in the bucket. But how do I get an “un-spicy” one? I was looking for like a glass of milk everywhere. How do I solve this??

 

 

It never occurred to me that, during the contest, I can pick a fish from my inventory instead of the bucket on the table. That is wild to me, because usually, the judge is so strict. Why would he allow that in the contest? I guess he didn’t see it?

That’s the only puzzle that kinda annoyed me instead of going “aha!”.

 

But: the cutscene where both the Queen and Guybrush almost die of that spice is so funny to watch. I never got tired of that.

 

 

I just solved this one last night. I was stumped because my first attempt looked like:

1) Make the fish spicy.

2) Put the spicy fish in the contest basket.

3) Go back to Mêlée and find new fish.

4) Go back to Brrr Muda, ready for the contest!

5) The contest basket is empty again.

 

It took me way too long to figure out the laws of hagfish and the universe. I spent some time on Terror Island looking for worms or something I could eat instead.

Edited October 6, 2022 by BaronGrackle

[ThunderPeel2001]

12 hours ago, Thrik said:

That bloody form. I took what felt like forever filling it out and got rejected for being a pirate. So I literally just ticked that I had limes, didn’t tick the pirate one or any others, and it was accepted. 😡

 

Was that even a puzzle? The only time it's been rejected was when I selected "I'm a pirate". I've never been rejected for anything else... even just submitting a blank form. I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be fiendishly difficult or just a joke?

5 hours ago, OzzieMonkey said:

The fish eating contest. I knew that the spicy fish will be the solution, so I put spicy fish in the bucket. But how do I get an “un-spicy” one? I was looking for like a glass of milk everywhere. How do I solve this??

 

Ah yes! The way the inventory treated that particular item was confusing... It would have helped a lot if Guybrush had said, "And I still have a ton left over!" after filling the bucket in the room.

[Huz]

Haha, it's funny to hear that how you filled in the form didn't really matter. I suspected as much when I got it right on the second attempt (after saying I was a pirate the first time!), but I still worked through all the logic needlessly.

 

The fish puzzle is one where recognising how adventure games work makes it easier, so I'm shocked that you guys didn't spot it right away! The game has given me back control between starting the contest and eating the fish, so of course I need to do something with the fish first. I can see that puzzle being a lot more tricky for inexperienced players.

[OzzieMonkey]

It is news to me that you only need to sign the form at the bottom. I spent way too long making sure each check was logical. What a waste 😂

[Thrik]

I think it’s a gotcha more than a puzzle. If you try to follow its logic it’s pretty time-consuming, but just ticking limes or I guess any box is probably enough. I was in no mood to keep reloading and trying options. 😀

1 hour ago, ThunderPeel2001 said:

 

Was that even a puzzle? The only time it's been rejected was when I selected "I'm a pirate". I've never been rejected for anything else... even just submitting a blank form. I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be fiendishly difficult or just a joke?

 

Ah yes! The way the inventory treated that particular item was confusing... It would have helped a lot if Guybrush had said, "And I still have a ton left over!" after filling the bucket in the room.

He does give a subtle clue when you examine the fish at any point, saying that the portion is essentially bottomless (or something like that).

 

This of course is how I was able to try 10,000 contest attempts before resorting to the hint book. But it also nods towards the fish always being there to use.

[BaronGrackle]

1 hour ago, Huz said:

The fish puzzle is one where recognising how adventure games work makes it easier, so I'm shocked that you guys didn't spot it right away! The game has given me back control between starting the contest and eating the fish, so of course I need to do something with the fish first. I can see that puzzle being a lot more tricky for inexperienced players.

Well, I knew I had to eat an alternative (there's popup text for "sneak hagfish on your plate" or something), but my problem was I peppered the fish beforehand, and I thought I'd be able to stock the basket with this and then get NEW fish at Mêlée... but the game nullifies that possible solution.

 

The sabotaged fish will stay in the contest basket indefinitely, until the moment you get replacement fish on Mêlée. When you get replacement fish on Mêlée, the fish in the contest basket will magically disappear. Because Guybrush's fish supply has been changed, it changes the state of fish he has deposited elsewhere.

 

(It kind of reminds me of the Phatt City Library checkout physics, where the only thing that actually affects the "number of books Guybrush has checked out" is the number of books he is physically holding, regardless of how many different names those books were checked out to or whether you gave a book to a Fisherman instead of returning it.)

 

My problem was: I didn't interpret this to mean I had the right answer but was doing it wrong. I interpreted it to mean that regular hagfish could not exist at the same time as peppered hagfish... and when I looked at the hagfish in my inventory, Guybrush felt it was important to tell me they looked like snakes... therefore, a spent a good hour or so on Terror and Scurvy Islands looking for some sort of snake or worm to sneak on my plate. 😆

Edited October 6, 2022 by BaronGrackle

[Lagomorph01]

I actually peppered the fish while they were IN my inventory, so I had to go to Mélêe to get a second portion of fish that wasn't peppered! I did beat the puzzle though!

 

The hardest one for me was proving that I was the accountant. I was sure I had to find out where he went and convince him to sentence Stan. After I was meddling with the picture I kinda stumbled upon it by accident. Same goes for the last puzzle (with the date and the pirate heads), I had no idea the limerick was supposed to house a year.

[LuigiHann]

I actually liked the pepper fish puzzle. The limited interactions available during the contest nudged me towards sneaking something onto my plate, and since I didn't currently have any non-peppered fish in my inventory, I had to think about how I'd resolve that next time. I definitely chased a few wrong answers before I came to the right one, but I thought the correct solution was logical enough, and actually a bit less complicated than I was thinking about.

 

I didn't realize the fish reset based on your inventory, that's a bit silly. I didn't check especially often so I just figured it reset when you left the building.

[BaronGrackle]

37 minutes ago, LuigiHann said:

I didn't realize the fish reset based on your inventory, that's a bit silly. I didn't check especially often so I just figured it reset when you left the building.

Hmm. I can't 100% guarantee this, actually. 😅

[Marius]

I don't think it's a bad puzzle. Just narratively it pull me out of the moment, since the judge is standing right next to Guybrush. That's a bit too much cheatin' hitman for my taste.