Rusty Lake Roots: Complete Walkthrough Guide

Rusty Lake: Roots
By: LoyaltyGame B.V.

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This is a complete step-by-step walkthrough for the iOS, Android and PC game Rusty Lake: Roots by LoyaltyGame B.V. It’s the tenth game in the Cube Escape/Rusty Lake series. Feel free to ask for extra help in the comments section.

Note: This walkthrough goes in chronological order. I broke up the walkthrough into three chapters per page to make it a little more digestible. Just click on the links to find the chapter you’re looking for.

Page 1: James Vanderboom, The House, The Uncle

Page 2: Finding Love, Childbirth, The Staircase

Page 3: The Elixir, The Wake, Child’s Play

Page 4: Fertility, Masks, The Clock

Page 5: The Fortune Teller, The Swing, The Search

Page 6: The Wedding Photo, The Painting, The Lying Game

Page 7: The Family Band, Voodoo, The Brood

Page 8: The War Hero, The Trenches, Communication

Page 9: The Well pt. I, The Well pt. 2, Checkmate

Page 10, The Bathroom, The Treasure, The Stars

Page 11: The Last Dance, The Graveyard, Roots

More Roots: The 9 Gold Emblems, William (The Elixir)

Walkthrough:

James Vanderboom:

You can also watch my video for James Vanderboom, The House, and The Uncle here:

1. Tap on James inside the white box. Tap on James to zoom in on him and then look at the envelope in his pocket. Notice the number 572 on the bottom.

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2. Tap on the suitcase and drag the numbers so they say 572. Then tap on the lock to the right of the numbers to unlock it. Tap the lid of the suitcase to open it and take the bone from inside. There’s also a small box. Move the slider to the right to open it and take the seed.

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3. Zoom back out. Swipe to look to the right. Pick up the watering can. Give the bone to the dog and then tap on the dog to get him to dig a hole. Place the seed in the hole.

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4. Head left to the well and attach the can to the rope. Tap the handle to lower it down and then back up. Take the can full of water and use it to water the seed. A tree will start growing!

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5. Tap on James until a white box surrounds his face. Tap on the box to complete this chapter and add him to the family tree.

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The House:

1. Drag the stool to James’ feet and tap on him twice to make him stand on it. Then tap the tree and loosen the twig until it falls off. Give it to James and use it to knock down the crow’s nest.

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2. Tap on the flower pots and pick up the worm and white diamond. Then examine the nest. Tap on the egg until it cracks and a baby crow emerges. Feed the worm to the crow and get it to fly away. Pick up the green diamond.

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3. Swipe to look right. There’s another diamond inside the house, behind the glass window. Tap the glass a few times to break it and grab the pink diamond.

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4. Place all the diamonds on the door and turn the handle to open it. Tap the white box to complete the chapter.

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The Uncle:

1. Tap on the framed picture and peel it off to reveal a clue (heart in a jar) and a key. Take the key.

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2. Head right and use the key to unlock the bottom drawer of the dresser and take the hatchet. Also, take the matches from the second drawer.

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3. Use the hatchet to cut up the log of wood and take the pieces of wood. Place them in the fireplace and use the matches to light a fire. Take the key.

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4. Use the key to unlock the window and see some bloody handprints on the window. It’s a clue!

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5. Use the handprints clue to figure out which buttons to press on the puzzle to the left. Open the pocket watch and tap it to get the hands to land on 8:25.

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6. Go to the grandfather clock and set the time to 8:25. Open the door of the clock to see what appears to be the uncle’s corpse?

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7. Tap on the corpse to make it drop to the floor. Then zoom in on his nipple, tear it off (yuck!) and go inside to grab his heart. Continue on to leave through his mouth.

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8. Place the heart in the jar and tap on the white box to complete the chapter.

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Click on the little numbers below to continue to the next page of the walkthrough or click here.

This Post Has 93 Comments

  1. RustyFan

    I’m in the flower garden – presumably using the bee to create an Orange flower like the one marked 1 in Roman Numerals. I can get an orange flower – but when I use the garden tool to pick it – it disappears? What about a little clue?

    1. Jason

      You need to match not only the color/petals, but the stem as well. All of the numbered flowers from the planter in the back take three colors of pollen to get the petals right, plus one or two of the stem combinations (which are all empty except for the green leafy one when you start).

      Once you’ve matched the color just right, and chosen the right stem, pressing the flower again will automatically place it in your inventory. Keep in mind that certain colors may be used twice when creating each flower!

    2. AppUnwrapper

      I just posted screenshots that should hopefully help you if you’re still stuck on this. You almost had it right!

    3. SiraenLor

      The garden tool, or weasel, is only used to remove errors. When you get the right flower, it will automatically populate in your inventory or in the other pots. Ask Emma for advice 🙂

      1. Yeens

        please help me i am stuck in the well part 2, I lost my wooden stick. I can’t find it anywhere. Please help😭😭

    4. Rebecca Morris

      Make sure when you tell the bee to go to the flower that you are not currently selecting the tool to harvest the flowers, that happened to me as well.

      1. Willow

        I had the exact same problem! The Garden ‘weasel’ removes your current flower- make sure you aren’t holding it when you try to use the bee!

    5. Mikurunrun

      You need to make it EXACTLY like the one she wants or it will disappear

    6. CubeEscapeFan

      When you see the orange flower, do not use the gardening tool, because the gardening tool is used to start over, which is why it disappears.

      1. Rachael

        I can’t move past the well part 1. I’ve put the Y shaped twig in the bucket to ask for a drink but the bucket won’t rise up. I’ve tried restarting the level. Any help?

        1. HF Buick

          it’s the Y plus the stick. Y- the stick (-) confused me thinking it was a separator like in a formal document lol

    7. Lincoln

      You can mix more than 2 flower dyes to make one flower. You also have to match up the leaves. I think for the orange flower it’s either 2 yellow and 1 red or 2 red and 1 yellow, some of them you also have to add the matching stem and leaves.

    8. Rachel Couch

      If you use the garden weasel, it plucks the flower up so you can start over if you get it wrong. Have a nice day! 🙂

  2. Jab3112000

    If you miss collecting something— like tears— do we get the chance to go back at some point? Right now it says “you’ve already finished this chapter” if I try to go back.

    1. AppUnwrapper

      Are you sure you don’t have them? For me, I think they collected automatically when I tapped on her face.

    2. SARVASWA RAJ

      No you can’t go and without tears the level can’t be finished.

  3. Pat

    I am hopelessly stuck on The Clock. I had all of the gears, and placed them incorrectly the first time. I tried dragging them away, and as soon as I dragged them away from the clock, they just disappeared. I have only one gear, and the rest are nowhere to be found, can’t finish the level. I can’t even figure out how to reset the level and start over. Anyone had this issue or know how to resolve it?

    1. AppUnwrapper

      You can reset a level by pausing while in that level. Press “Reset” and make sure that it asks you if you want to reset that level, not the whole game. Be very careful, because that same button is used to reset the whole game.

      1. Pat

        Thanks! I had a really hard time figuring out how to reset just the level. It didn’t give me the ‘reset level’ option, just the whole game. But I tried it again and randomly worked.

        1. Petea

          I’m shooting marbles but the beehive does not fall

    2. Rebecca Morris

      This game is pretty early and still will have some bugs. Unfortunately I’d have to recommend restarting the level to get the gears back.

  4. stuck

    Wheres the last part?? I cant see the root part im stuck on the weighting scale with 9 sacrifices help meee

    1. Rebecca

      Look back at the drawings of the people, one of them tells you what weight a certain sacrifice should be placed on. After that, place the surrounding sacrifices on the other waits so that they all are balanced.

      1. AppUnwrapper

        Weird. The drawings say the tongue is 1 and the hair is 3. But those don’t balance out. I balanced them out by ignoring the tongue = 1 but the numbers didn’t work to open the chest. Ugh.

        1. Rebecca Morris

          It’s really difficult. The hair is supposed to be three I think. I eventually had to look up a walkthrough to beat the level.

      1. Batman

        I see it’s been updated, but everything needs to total 6 for the weights to balance out, so the tongue weighs 1, and it goes on the 5–getting 6. The hair 3 works because 3+3 equals 6.

        1. AppUnwrapper

          And yeah, I figured that out eventually, but not on my own. It’s the one point in the game where I felt there wasn’t really enough info. But maybe that’s just me! Was weird getting the 6 clue after you already use it. :/

          1. Dave

            I realize this is from two years ago, but I just finished Roots now. Your walkthroughs have gotten me through some tough places in all the Rusty Lake games. Thanks! The reason the “six” clue didn’t make sense is because you were supposed to do them in the opposite order. You were supposed to figure out the weights of the six family sacrifices based off the weights of the two they told you. By going back and forth you
            could figure out what they all weighed, and once you opened up the box and got the heart, THEN you were supposed to go balance them. At least that’s the way I understood it – thanks again for all of your walkthroughs, they’ve been fantastic!!

  5. Batman

    Can’t wait for the elixir to be finished. I find it frustrating that when experimenting, previously created elements will disappear from shelving when created again in the bowl. Still trying to figure out how to create the elements that make the elixir. Thanks for your help with these walkthroughs. For some areas, I was doing things *mostly* correctly but missed placement of an item or something like that.

    1. AppUnwrapper

      I’m updating it now. I just finished everything. 🙂

      1. Batman

        You are the best! I just figured out how to make a lightbulb, and I’m like oh, great, still not what I need! Thanks!

        1. AppUnwrapper

          Wait I never made a lightbulb! Lol I thought I made everything! And it won’t let me go back and play around anymore.

        2. AppUnwrapper

          I’m guessing the lightbulb was lightning + glass? I didn’t try that.

          1. Batman

            Yup! All I need to do is make the darn egg.

      2. bt0716

        Thanks for the help. I figured the pigeon thing out, but it didn’t work because when you ring the bell for the second time to call the pigeons back, you have to wait there zoomed in. If you zoom out while they are flying, they don’t bring the stuff. I literally spent an hour trying to figure out what im doing wrong… i find it stupid that some of the solutions in this game depend on small things like this

        1. stoicstoat

          yes! 10000000 times what i hate the most about this game

    2. Rebecca Morris

      The elixir part is super frustrating. Though I think I’ve narrowed it down to the first and second boxes on the first shelf, and the middle box on the second shelf. If you place something in any of those three boxes and leave then they will disappear when you come back. It’s a small and annoying bug.

      1. AppUnwrapper

        I don’t think the boxes matter. You can only have one of each item at a time, so if you make a duplicate the first one disappears.

  6. Iris

    Can anyone explain to me why the bottom shelf in ‘the staircase’ has to be like that? I did it on my first try but just couldn’t figure out why the order of the symbols couldn’t be swapped.

  7. rae

    thanks for the guide!

    i got the ff recipe while trying to figure out what I really needed to get before I got frustrated and finally checked your walkthrough!

    stone + metal bar = blade
    blade + tree = wood
    wood + fire = campfire
    campfire + air = coal
    coal + fire = diamond

    1. AppUnwrapper

      Thanks! I’ve actually found some of those, as well as a few others like the blender, knife, caramel, etc. And apparently there’s even more I’ve missed!

  8. Zark84010

    By typing CUBEESCAPE in the Ouija board in level Communication, Rose says, “My daughter will return to Rusty Lake.” Is the young lady from previous cube escape games her daughter…or William Vanderboom was reborn as a girl who was raised by rose as her daughter? (another thing, Rose, during the last dance, wore the same dress which is worn by the young lady).

    1. AppUnwrapper

      Oh I didn’t try that. But I think they’re working on a new Cube Escape game now, so maybe that’s what it will be about.

  9. Ben

    Sand + Plant = Grain
    Grain + Glass with Water = Vodka

  10. Ben

    Vodka + Fruit Juice = Rusty Lake Cocktail

  11. Aimi

    Could you please do a video of how to do the map in The Treasure? I must be placing the frog etc in the wrong place as I’ve tried countless times but can’t get it to work! 🙁

    1. AppUnwrapper

      I made videos of the whole game. You should see them at the top of each page.

  12. Jessica Marlowe

    In the final level Roots/Elixir, after you drink the elixir and William is lying dead or the floor, did anyone else notice the arrow on his side pointing towards his nipple? I tried pushing it but nothing happened. Just curious if it ment anything.

  13. Jessica Marlowe

    Discard my last comment. I just remembered the arrow was a clue to one of the levels. My bad.

  14. Ahmadjohn

    How long I need to wait for baby to appear?

    1. AppUnwrapper

      It should happen instantly if you did everything right, but I have had that part glitch up on me. If that happened, try restarting that level until it works.

      1. Bethan

        You forgot to specify that you need to use the flint to light the candle

  15. West

    Diamond + Fish = White Cube

  16. Thiago

    Man where did the game say you should say rustylake on the Ouija board??? That was impossible to figure out.

    1. Jordy

      Not found in the guide:
      In AlbertΓò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£├╗s chapter, when you get the emblem, there is a card of The Empress. If you click on it, you get the clue for Rose’s chapter:
      “Tell Rose the letters in the names
      R1 S4 J5 A6 M4
      L1 I3 F5 E1”

      1. Noni

        It gives you the position (number) of the letter in the name that represents the capital letter in the paintings in chapter “roots”. For example, R1: R is for Rose, 1 is for 1st letter of the name, which is R.
        S4: S is for Samuel, 4 is for 4th letter of the name, which is U. J5: for James, 5th letter, is S, and so on…
        At the end, you spell RUSTYLAKE.

        All the love from Greece!!

  17. Kim Flury

    Help! In “The Treasure” I cannot figure out how to jump the grasshoppers. Thanks, KC

  18. Betsy

    I also found lightbulb + crow egg = crow. Fish + diamond= white cube. Crow + white cube = black cube. Sand + algae = grain+ water= vodka+ fruit juice= rusty lake cocktail. Blade +electricity= blender+friut= fruit juice.

  19. Betsy

    I’ also curious why WShe Illiam is mixing elixer butt nakked.

  20. Ryieane

    Im at the elixir part..but when i enter the right code to the box below the bookcase..i cant open it..help meee

  21. explaination

    In the roots part, the clue for the code to the chest is the tongue is 1 but when put on the scale it’s 5, it’s a hard clue but it is there.

  22. Dotty

    Is there anyway that I can redo a level? I forgot to take the crow and dead mans timepiece and I canΓÇÖt complete the game without it? IΓÇÖve tried to click on the tree part but it just tells me that IΓÇÖve already done this level. I really donΓÇÖt want to do it all again itΓÇÖs took me ages and thatΓÇÖs with your Walkthrough, which are excellent I may say. The detail in each level is so good? thank you??????
    P.S. I am already a subscriber and have been for quite a while

  23. Dotty

    IΓÇÖve tried to reset the crow and dead mans timepiece (see comment before) but it still wonΓÇÖt let me reset it, cos IΓÇÖve already finished it. Does this mean I will have to start game over again?

  24. Jacky

    IΓÇÖm trying to get the green grasshoppers over the brown but itΓÇÖs not working very well. Any thoughts on how to do it?

  25. Alberts love

    I dont know what can I say about this game
    This is legend
    This is a dream
    This is Mr owl

  26. TooOldToPlay

    I can’t get the bee to drop pollen in the white pot!

  27. JeezLouise

    The last few tasks on the main game got super obscure, had to use your walkthroughs. Then the “more rusty lake” activities I didn’t even try and figure out on my own, way all over the place and would have taken hours of trial and error. Thanks for these haha

  28. Shira

    This hand is Albert’s hand :p

  29. Rachel

    I have played and reset the game 3 times now and every time I get to the final level I only have 9 sacrifices!!! And the missing one is different each time. I am extremely frustrated! This walk through was extremely helpful when I got stuck, so thank you!

    1. AppUnwrapper

      You can replay sections, if I remember correctly. You donΓÇÖt need to start from scratch if youΓÇÖre missing something.

      1. Rachel

        The problem is that the game says I have everything in the main menu area, but I don’t have them all in the level.

  30. Ahuman

    I need help with war hero. I finished putting the bike together, but when I tap on him nothing happens.

  31. Ahuman

    I can’t get past the war hero. I put the bike together, but when I tap him nothing happens. Please help.

  32. Justine Prudhomme

    In the well pt.2 the fire wood isnΓÇÖt showing up

  33. Sophia

    I finished the main game and now I’m doing “More Roots”. I have gotten every emblem except for the one in Samuel’s chapter because I’m stuck! Instead of turning the clock’s hands to 10:35 and then the amulet popping up, it was already there next to the clock before I did anything. I tried tapping on the emblem and nothing happened, so I figured that it was stuck there until I did the puzzle. But when I tried to move the hands on the clock, it wouldn’t work. I’ve tapped and dragged in every direction and neither hand will move. I can’t get the last emblem and I’m unable to change the time on the clock. Help 🙁

  34. Kas Parris

    What about the code on the back of the empress card?

    1. YH

      It says: r1-s4-j5-a6-m4-l1-i3-f5-e1
      So the number of the letter of the family members name:
      for example the first letter of Rose (R)
      forth letter of Samuel (U)
      fifth letter in James (S)
      which gives us “rusty lake”

  35. Christopher Becerra

    Where, exactly, are the matches for this level? I got light this suckerΓÇÖs pipe and move on.

  36. Jynxed

    So, for the sacrifices puzzle, the logic isn’t straightforward, but rather simple once you solve it. The tongue does equal 1u, each of the pedestals are marked with their weight. If you put the tongue on the weight marked 5u, it will show you the balance level for 6u. Balance all the scales (except the last spare one hint at bottom), and you get your results.

    ((The empty one should be 5, and one tick higher than the others.))

  37. Fio

    In the “roots” chapter, there is a wedding photo that has 6 people in it.
    The “human body parts” container jars, each of them have a single numbered value of their own. Every “jar holder” also has it’s own value.
    A jar’s value and the value of that jar’s holder, when added, needs to give a total of 6.
    Maybe the “total = 6” is supposed to represent the 6 roots of that family tree (roots = people).

  38. Milo

    Hi, after balancing the sacrifices. Like you said tongue is (5+1) =6 . The rest can be simply subtracted from 6 respective to the weights of each sacrifice.
    S-1 –> 6-1=5 (same for Ida)
    Likewise for Emma 6-4=2
    Albert and Mary 6-3=3
    Rose 6-2=4

  39. Jambah

    For Roots, i think the number on each platform is the weight of the platform itself. For each pound, the platform sinks one level. That’s why, when there is nothing on a “1” platform, it rests at the highest position, when there’s nothing on a “2” platform, it rests one spot lower than the empty “1” platform. We know the tongue has a weight of 1 from the picture. When you put the 1 pound tongue on a “1” platform, the total weight is 2 pounds, and that platform rests at the same level as the empty “2” platform. If the weight of the jar + weight of the platofrm is 6 or more, the platform will be at the lowest point.

  40. Rusty Laker

    Where. The. Hell. Is. The. Grasshopper. Video?

  41. Nana

    Thank you so much for this. I had no issues with the riddles until the one with the weights of the sacrifices.

  42. Silver

    Hi I am in the treasure section I wanted to know how to move the locusts to the opposite directionک

  43. sdixo

    Someone might’ve already figured this out, but I think the first set of numbers associated with the letters/photos/box on the last level might have something to do with the numbers of the order you found the body parts in the game? I’m pretty sure it adds up somehow. It wouldn’t make sense to get the “6” weight/scale clue after opening the box, right? I think that’s why they kept showing the poster of the sacrifices throughout the entire game. I’m going to play it again and write down the order to make sure.

  44. minztwu

    The bird is gone

  45. Perry Grosshans

    Good god. That last puzzle was a stretch. Thanks for explaining it (tongue 1, 5+1 =6; hair 3, 3+3=6).

  46. Jack

    In “The Painting,” every time I finish painting it, Emma is not hanging by the noose. Does mine have to look exactly like yours? It seems as if my brush is making thicker lines than shown in the picture.

  47. Bella

    I want to write something to roots, point 6. It is a question about the 6. I think, it’s cause the sacrifices can’t have zero weight on the scale, they need to exist..╬ô├½├¡Γò₧├åΓö£ΓûÆΓö£Γòó It need a wight, so you take the 1
    What do you think?

    1. YH

      I thought this: when you put the jar with the eye on the scale with the 5 on it, it completely moves down. So my assumption was: 5+1=6 Same with the 3+3=6

  48. YH

    It says: r1-s4-j5-a6-m4-l1-i3-f5-e1
    So the number of the letter of the family members name:
    for example the first letter of Rose (R)
    forth letter of Samuel (U)
    fifth letter in James (S)
    which gives us “rusty lake”

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