A Drafter’s Guide To Blue Prince
DIY architecture in Blue Prince can be a pretty daunting task, and keeping track of all those pesky Keys, Gems, and Gold can be a headache and a half. Maybe you end up in dead ends, perchance you run out of stamina just before that critical door, or mayhaps you simply have no idea what's going on in this wacky house. If so, you’ve come to the right place, as we’ve compiled a few neat tips and tricks to get you to that 46th door! Note: The list does contain the locations of a few clues and what they relate to, so if you haven’t played a few runs already, it is recommended!
1. New Rooms Are Cool
As you get into the groove of drafting rooms and familiarise yourself with the core mechanics of the game, you may be inclined to pick out the options you like the best and ignore the rest. While this is a natural move considering the limited resources at hand, it does go against some of the game's concepts: exploration and discovery. There are very few, if any, useless rooms in this mercurial manor, so picking one you’ve yet to try may be worth the risk! Some spaces that seem without purpose may also contain extra hints for those who know what to look for.
As an example, take the overtly expensive Vault. While the boon of 40 gold is enticing, the price tag of three Gems can be pretty prohibitive, especially when you’re far into the building and running low. However, did you know this is where you use the Safe Deposit Box Key item you may stumble upon on your meanderings? In a similar vein, the Commissary has a hint related to the Local Network! If you find yourself unsure of what to draft or have a few extra routes to fill, go for the new stuff!
2. Red Rooms Aren’t That Bad
Red Rooms get a bad reputation, though it is not completely unwarranted. While they often feature excellent connectivity, the price to pay is often annoying, if not run-ending (looking at you, Weight Room). Their risky nature does not mean you should just glance elsewhere as soon as you see a scarlet border, however. First off, and related to the first item on this list, Red Rooms may offer crucial clues on puzzles elsewhere, such as the Church hinting at something in the Tomb while also having a bit of loose change rolling around… sometimes. Checking them out at least once is a good idea (yes, even the Lavatory).
Secondly, a clever drafter may realise there are ways to counter their nasty habits! The Shelter is an obvious method, as drafting the space will negate the effects of the first three Red Rooms you enter. However, there are also mundane ways to avoid paying the cost. Consider both the Gymnasium and Darkroom: the former of these will eat up two extra steps every time you enter, and the latter will hide your draft choices while inside. If you happen to have a Utility Closet handy, you can use the Breaker Box to both turn the lights off in the Gymnasium, negating the cost of extra steps, and turn the lights back on in the Darkroom, making both negative effects inert. There are other ways to be found, of course, but the point is, don’t let that red border spook you off.
3. An Answer for All, Inside
Blue Prince has a habit of sprinkling very important pieces of information in unexpected locations, with some of them seeming innocuous even if found. As such, it can be easy to forget: every puzzle in the game can be solved with information within. There are no solutions that require you to take into account the current date, real-world history, or find a phone number on the back of the CD case — If it’s a puzzle, it has an answer. Case in point: when you run into the Time-Locked Safe, don’t be like me and set it for an hour real time; you will be sorely disappointed.
4. Peeking is Allowed, Just Be Careful
This is something you may wind up doing later in the game: to conserve a Step, you may end up peering into a room to see if it contains any extra goodies, Trunks, or nifty paintings worth your time. So begins the shimmying dance of the doorway crane as you swivel your neck as far as it goes to gleam any and all information. This is both smart and recommended! However, you should be careful about where you do your peeking from: if you are too close to the border between the two rooms, the game may decide that you are, in fact, passing from one to another in rapid succession, costing you a nightmarish amount of steppies in record time.
5. Touch Grass
And we mean that literally. Blue Prince kicks off each day with you already in the Entrance Hall, so it is relatively easy to go multiple runs without ever stepping foot outside, which is a mistake, as it has quite a bit to offer. Located near the grounds are a few key locations, such as your campsite, a few locked or blocked-off entryways, and a fountain in which you can wish for luck with the flick of a coin! While less exciting in the beginning, this outdoorsy area holds a few secrets of its own. Pay attention to your surroundings, visit any locations you unlock as the game progresses, and always remember to draft that one extra room you get early on!
As an aside, there is also a chance to start an Experiment in the Laboratory, wherein a trigger will cause a diggable patch of dirt to appear on the driveway. While filling the grounds with gopher holes is hilarious in its own right, you may also find it an excellent source of loose change, rubbish, and delicious turnips.
However, the existence of an answer does not make it easy to find or understand. Some of the solutions are indeed insidious, so you may need more to go on before their meaning is clear. If you feel like a puzzle is making no sense, leave it for now; odds are, you’ll run into some helpful hints sooner or later!
6. Leave Routes Open
A technique I had trouble mastering myself, going through every route and filling up the blueprint from bottom to top, is a natural impulse, but one you may end up regretting. As you progress further and further into the manor, you will find more and more locked doors, which may end with you having no keys and multiple doors. If you have already closed off all of your options, the run is pretty much done and dusted. However, if you leave a few unopened doors early on or angle your route to leave room for other alternatives, you may be able to go back and gain some much-needed resources or find a lucky Item to keep you going!
Similarly, following one path for a while, leaving branching paths behind you, may end with you boxing in a possible route or two. This may seem like a bad thing, as said direction is now useless for progress, but these dead ends offer the perfect position to put in some of those difficult-to-place rooms you usually avoid, such as the Bunk Bed or The Locksmith! Filling every square and making use of each space are very different, after all.
7. Make Notes
Last, but not least, an obvious one that is nonetheless important. Blue Prince is filled to the brim with meta puzzles, codes to remember, and solutions to repeat, making it quite a task to keep track of everything with memory alone; if you can do that, hats off to you! But for the rest of us with failing memories, I do recommend keeping a notepad, scratchpad, or memo app handy to help keep track of the aetherial clues and solutions you do not want to figure out ever again! If you have someone to play with, switching between log keeper and explorer after each run is also a great way to keep your mind sharp and share the joy this puzzler brings.
And there you have it! Some nifty tricks and useful tips to make your stay at the manor a bit more bearable. Did we manage to give you something to use, do you have any amazing strategies we missed? Let us know in the comments, though let’s keep the spoilers vague for those still making their way.
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