The Guides
By: Luke Lisi and Kevin Bradford
This is a complete step-by-step walkthrough with answers, tricks, solutions and help for Section 3 of the iOS and Android game The Guides. I will explain all the answers, so only look if you don’t mind spoilers. If you prefer to have a hint, you can ask in the comments section.
See my walkthrough for Sections 1 & 2.
Looking for my review of The Guides?
Section 3:
3-1: Use two fingers to press the top and orange spots at the same time.
3-2: It says: “I now believe a grave deception lies ahead.”
Hint: “Part of a reviled plot.”
Ok, so here’s what you do (thanks to reader Officer Shibe for this). Start with the little arrow and make a note of each X, which letter it’s under from the phrase above. Then put them together to get: “to proceed enter correlations”
Answer: correlations
3-3: The hint is “1” and counts up as you solve each screen. The game gives you the first action by circling “W” in two. Tap the “W,” then E, S, and T. I’m not exactly sure why, though.
3-4: The hint is “1•2•3•4”.
If you swipe left, you also see “Let (The Good) Go”.
The answer is WEST, based on the letters you chose in level 3-3.
3-5: It says “SEVEN” and “EIGHT”.
The hint is: “Don’t look back now.”
Swipe left to see more information.
If you translate each of the numbers into a letter, you get:
22 = V
9 = I
7 = G
14 = N
5 = E
20 = T
20 = T
E = E
Answer: Tap the letters in SEVEN and EIGHT to spell out VIGNETTE.
3-6: If you use the camera function built into the app, it adds a red tint to the screen. Then you can make out the word ECHO.
Answer: ECHO
3-7: The hint is “[B]”.
Basically, just tap the dots on the right to mirror the dots on the left. It will spell out C D E X.
3-8: Notice the sentence, “sometimes to move forward, we must move back.”
So go to the level select screen and choose level 7. This will actually take you to level 9!
3-9: Notice the bolded 1-5.
Go to level 1-5 and use the decoder to translate the binary. You should get PATIENCE. That’s the answer!
3-10: This is fairly straightforward. Make sure to swipe left to get the clue. There are numbers across and letters up and down. It says:
MANY OF
THESE
DREAMS
THAT
KEEP ME
AWAKE
The first page gives you a series of numbers/letters. So you start with B4, then A4, C6, D1, F5, E6. When you find the corresponding letters on the second page, they’ll spell out SYSTEM.
Answer: SYSTEM
3-11: Hint: calibrate
Line the two rings up like so, with the little notches matched up.
Now, look at the letters in the middle: KIYEXW
Look for those letters on the outer ring and write down the corresponding letters on the inner ring. You then get DEJAVU.
Answer: DEJAVU
3-12: The hint is: LXAADYCRXW
Notice the IX (9) inside the eye.
Swipe left to see this. Notice the ^/9.
Enter LXAADYCRXW into the decoder and shift it 9 letters (based on the two clues) to get CORRUPTION.
Answer: CORRUPTION
3-13: The hint is: “It is the key.”
IT is actually the key. Line up T on the outer ring with I on the inner ring. Then, look at the gold/brown letters in the center and decode those the same way you did in 3-11. You get CNNONEITCOE. Scramble it to make the word CONNECTION.
Answer: CONNECTION
3-14: Hint: “All that’s left…”
Rotate each circle to connect the lines.
3-15: Hint: “…is the negative shift.”
Swipe left to see this.
This is a tricky one, so bear with me as I try to explain it. The hint from 3-14 tells you to pay attention to the left side [L], which is the capital letters. The hint from this level tells you to use the “shift” decoder with a negative number. The 4 his highlighted, so you need to shift -4. Now, let me work it out and I’ll show you the answer.
Note: If you work with the squares with the X in them, you’ll end up with INCORRECT.
Focus on the plain squares and start from 1. You then get OQIIWPEKJ. Enter that into the decoder and shift it -4 to get SUMMATION.
Answer: SUMMATION
3-16: Hint: “math =”
Use the decoder to translate “math” into numbers, then add them up to get the answer. So M = 13, A = 1, T =20, H = 8. Add them up to get 42.
Answer: 42
3-17: Take note of the star that was in 3-16. Find all the stars like that with letters in them. You get HULYBUT using the light outlined stars. You get PCTGJCB using the darker outlined stars. And they’re shifts of each other!
If you shift HULYBUT 16 letters, you get REVILED. But why 16?
If you take PCTGJCB and shift it 24 letters, you get REVILED. I’m not sure why it’s 24, other than maybe 42 reversed? But why?
Answer: REVILED
3-18: Hint: Look at the hint bar. It actually changes as you press the black circles. If you tap right, you get C, then down E, left L, down M, right Y, down X, left P, up S, right Q, down E, left B, down K, right D, up S, left Y, up X, right C. That gives you CELMYXPSQEBKDSYXC. Press the single black circle.
3-19: Hint: “sequence.”
I also noticed that the [input] bar now says “devious,” even though I didn’t type it in. This is…quite devious. I’m not sure what it means yet, if it has any bearing on any of the levels or if it’s just the developers being coy.
Use the decoder to shift the letters you found in 3-19 10 letters (the X = 10) to get SUBCONFIGURATIONS
Answer: SUBCONFIGURATIONS
3-20: Hint: “x”
It says “> 6 • 20 • 36 • 42 • 50 • 65
Start at the 6th letter in the text and mark it down, then the 20th, 36th and so on. Ignore the spaces. You should end up with VKIOBC.
Enter it into the decoder and shift it 10 letters (for X) to get LAYERS.
Answer: LAYERS
3-21: This seems to be where that 22 comes in from 3-9, if you add up all the dark squares from all three layers. So spell out 22 using the white dots.
3-22: Hint: “failures”
The [input] bar also says 22.
If you then swipe left, you see this:
The satellite and thrusters look like what we saw in level 2-15. Find them all and you get the letters WXNQLP. Use the decoder with shift 22 to get ABRUPT.
Answer: ABRUPT
3-23: Hint: “key = sum( TRUE )”
So black is false and 0 & white is true and 1.
Turn them into binary and you get:
1101111
1111000
1100001
1111000
1101111
Translate that to letters and you get OXAXO.
Enter that into the decoder and shift it 23 letters (the number of white dots and also the level) to get RADAR.
Answer: RADAR.
3-24: Hint: “inverse function”
Go back to level 3-17 with all the stars on it. The answer to that level was REVILED. And it so happens that if you reverse/inverse that, you get DELIVER!
Answer: DELIVER
3-25: Hint: “[A]”
Swipe left to see this, which says:
Return network current.
n = sumPairs( ‘ALL’ )
It’s also showing you 25 letters of the alphabet (Z is missing), and there are 25 colored circles. So each one represents a letter of the alphabet.
Level 3-7 had a hint [B], so they’re likely related. That’s the level with the dots that say “CDEX”.
And I was really overthinking it. Just shift CDEX 25 letters and you get DEFY.
Answer: DEFY
There are new levels! Continue to Section 4.
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Oh reindeer bollocks! I was hoping YOU were ahead of ME! If you’ve not figured it out yet, shout me and I’ll give you a nudge (you’ll just have to tell me how hard). ?
I am pretty stumped, but I was at a movie for the last few hours, so didn’t try too many options. I was thinking maybe the path could be broken up to look like numbers (2, 7, 5) but nothing I tried worked. Still thinking about the grave/plot.
On a scale of Sun to Pluto, you’re out of the Solar System! ? Look at the pattern, what do you notice about it…? Think of other definitions of ‘plot’, particularly as a verb. What would help is a ruler, shame you can’t import screenshots into Notes, I’ve no fecking idea what the new drawing mode is supposed to be used for, other than scribbling, I thought it would allow annotation, but nope! ? I found I had another drawing app with a ruler, but a real one would work, top, or anything with a flat edge. Finally, and this… Read more »
Thanks for all that! Someone already gave me a much bigger hint, so I got past that (and went through all the trouble of labeling every X for my walkthrough lol).
For your hint, don’t forget to try swiping left on every level!
I’m currently stuck on 6.
I just beat 6. Try looking at it in a different way.
It’s not a Magic Eye, is it? Been trying that.
Ha, I tried Magic Eye as well. The bad part about this puzzle is that I needed something from my house to help view it correctly. I was able to find what I needed in the kitchen, but it might be something tough to come by.
Wait, what?
Do you need those blue & red 3D glasses?
Sorry, didn’t see your second reply.
**SPOILER BELOW**
I had to find a transparent red lid to view the answer.
Yeah, this is ridiculous. I don’t have anything like that. I might have the glasses somewhere, but wouldn’t even know where to begin to look. :/
I tried first with a light red water bottle, but that didn’t work. Same with a red glass pot. Finally, was able to stack three clear red Tuppeware lids and read the word. I can give you the answer if you need it.
I tried a red plastic bag, but it didn’t really help. This might be too much work to bother.
Yeah, it’s pretty bad. Another hint: it involved Tupperware, although you might be able to use something else.
If you use the photo function in The Guides app, it will automatically put on red filter for you.
Hope that helps!
Ahh thanks! Didn’t realize they added a use for that.
Good call! It’s been so long since playing Chapter 2 that I forgot about their supplemental tools.
Same! And the camera never helped before. Cool that they added a use for it.
For 3-9, if you stack the three charts the black boxes look like ’22’. That doesn’t work as the code, however.
Go to puzzle 1-5 and figure out the binary for the answer
Thanks!
I used a hint on this level and it said ‘Save the key for later’. I think maybe we can use 22 as some sort of key in later levels.
I figured out 3-10. Let me know if you’d like the word.
I figured it out just now. Was just sleeping. 😉
I guessed the answer for 3-10. I’m not exactly positive the correct way to come up with it.
Same here – brute force with the possible letter combinations did the trick. 3-11 isn’t bad. On 3-12 now, but going to call it a day. I think I’m on the right path at least.
I’m stumped on 3-11….plz help!!!!!
Does the answer make any sense at all?
For 3.10? The numbers are offsets into the text one the code page, right? But the order you combine the letters isn’t from A to F, it’s BACDFE by following the thread.
I’m stuck on 3.13, I’ve translated the phrase but now I’m not sure what to do with it.
How did you get past 3-12? I’m missing something on this one.
The code page? Are we supposed to refer to another page for clues on 10?
I don’t know how to do it the “right” way, even after finding the right answer. The random letter substitution cipher is a lot like the cryptoquip puzzles you find in newspapers. I found an online solver and used the hint text : /
For 3.10 by “code page” I meant the Stella interface, you’ve got the screenshot up so I think you figured it out, do you still think you’re missing a piece? Figured out 3.13, you have to anagram the right part of the phrase.
Oh crap. I was talking about 11. Sorry! I solved 10 already.
For 11, whatever you do, don’t touch the dials! If you did, you can leave the puzzle and come back and they’ll reset to their initial positions. Then you can translate. The word is common, but not English, so stick with it even if you start with some weird letters. I’m working on 15 now.
Hmm ok thanks!
MLV I have been stuck on section 3 – 11 for a day now:/ I am either exhausted or completely lost as I am unable to identify which letters to use! I know the notches are indicative of which letters to use, albeit I’m stumped! Any help would be great!!!
3-11: line up the notches, then see what you can get from there. Next two puzzles build on this and get tougher :-/
Anyone have any hints on3-15?
For 3.11, it should be V on the outer ring lined up with B on the inner ring. Then map the letters. Only one direction will give you the answer (it’s a common-ish two word phrase).
3.15 is cool. Treat each symbol independently (box, X, box with X, etc). You’ll get two words that are obviously wrong and one set of letters that you’ll need to cipher using one of the built in tools.
3.16 is a brick wall, I’ve got nothing…
I’m embarrassed to say I am completely lost still…what clue am I missing in regards to the notches indicating which letters to map…..
I still can’t figure out 3-15
I am so stuck on 3-15. I just don’t get what I’m missing. I tried to treat them independently using the left side and the number for the shift but it didn’t amount to anything. Any more help would be greatly appreciated
Ryan, for 3.11? Once you’ve lined up the rings, you’ve created a lookup table. So you can, say, look up a letter on the outer circle and write down the corresponding letter on the inner circle. The answer is six letters long, using the letters in the middle.
Lol this level is making me feel so stupid.
Oh! Now it makes sense! Thanks! 🙂
Ahhhhhhh! Finally! And now this feels like DeJavu!!! Thank you very much for helping!
Any other hint on 3-13? I saw the clue about anagramming the right part, but I tried all variations of the black letters, then the colored letters, then translated both groups of letters using the cipher and tried anagramming those and still can’t find the solution. Stuck for a day, so any other clue would be much obliged.
Pat, were you able to find the english phrase? After that, you get the answer by rearranging the letters of the english phrase that correspond to the letters that are brown. The tool I used was only able to find the one 10 letter word.
I’m still stuck on 3.16 : / I broke down and used a hint and it gave me “scramble these letters and the answer remains the same” but I can’t make anything of that, either. Anybody get past it?
Hint 1: the clue says “math=” and that means some calculation.
Hint 2: “math” equals “amth” or “tmah” or ” htam” or any other combinations.
Hint 3: The answer for the last level shows the way.
doh, thanks, Luc!
I’ve tried every combination of math possible. I have nothing.
You need to convert the word “math” into four numbers.
The answer for the last level tells you how to deal with these numbers.
“Scramble” means you can swap the numbers and it won’t affect the result.
Thank you
Appunwrapper, for 12, is the hint that you need to rotate 9 more than just the presence of a 9 on the page? I just noticed the leaders on either side of the eye are IX, which might also help. I didn’t spot either my first time through, though…
I actually did it by trial and error, starting from 1 until something made a word. Once j had 9, I noticed the second page says ^/9, which I think means to shift up to 9. Maybe I should circle that in the screenshot?
Ahh must have been tired when I read this. I do see IX inside the eye now. Good catch!
Stuck on 3-13 for almost 2 days… Any hints on how to translate the letters correctly? I’ve tried everything I can but still can’t get the ‘English phrase’ you said. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Thanks MLV, I hadn’t translated the phrase, but got it after your tip 🙂
Luc, I had to plug it into a cryptograph solver. If you’re not opposed to that, Google one and the rest should be easy. If you want to solve it on your own, a hint would be at least one of the brown letters in the encrypted phrase do not need to be decrypted. Good luck!
Thanks, Pat. I will try to figure out. I have another question, though, how does the hint ‘It is the key’ helps in finding the answer? There is a KEY on 3-10 and it is 22, I wonder if there is any connection.
Luc, You’re right to be super literal. “IT” is the key, I on the outer ring matches T on the inner, then do the same translation as the other level.
Finally figure it out! Thank you so much!
Wow, I might be a bit confused after slapping my forehead so hard after reading the “IT” clue.
I used “I” on the outer and “T” on the inner and got
“You cannot change the outcome”
Alas, that is wrong.
Stuck on 3-20. Any hints? What do those numbers mean?
Stuck on 3-15…what are those symbols mean? And their relationship with the letter and number?
The translating direction is from left to right, treat each symbol individually: box, box with X, X, > and <, then you get 5 groups of letters. 2 of them are already words and need no decryption, the answer lies within the other 3.
OK…I break it through…well…actually when I look back, I think the main clue is the circled “4”and clues of level 14 and 15 combined as a sentence “All that’s left is the negative shift”, anyway… THANK YOU A LOT!!!
Been staring at this and not making any sense of it. I assume the “left” is important for the left side, capital letters? And the negative shift might be for using a negative number in the shifting decoder?
Yes, you get the point. Put the capital letter in the order of the number showed above (such as first letter is “O” and then “Q”). After this, make a “negative shift”, as you said, using a negative number in the shift. (I’m not a native English speaker and I’m sorry for my bad English that confused you)
Ahh no worries. I didn’t mean you confused me. I was trying to figure out if my understanding about the hints was right. Thanks for confirming!
OK. When we focus on the highlighted “4” and we should also notice the same symbols: the box, and the box with “x”. However, when I put the box with “x” in order, it reads “incorrect”, so the right symbol is the pure green box, so put them in order and make negative shift… Hey, I started to feel the evil side of the game maker…
Oh nice. I didn’t even try the X’s.
That explained why 4 is highlighted. And I agree that “left” means the left side of the chart.
And it also pointed out the right symbol we should focus: the box…
Ahh good point!
Any luck yet? Can’t make any progress.
I’m sorry I was sleeping, I am in China so it’s just morning here. And no there is no luck yet, I tried many things but nothing worked. I even tried to jump to level 6, 20, etc (36 is regarded as 2-11, 42 as 2-17 and so on) but I found nothing helpful to solve this level yet. Any idea on what that x means?
For 3-19, shift value is shown in the grey circle in roman number: X means 10.
Ahhh wasn’t thinking of it as anything more than an X — nice catch!
Stuck on 3-19…OMG…
Everybody stuck on 3-20 also?
Yep. :/
The only hint it would give me for 3-20 is A=1
I haven’t figured it out, either, but is it weird that the clue is “A = 1” instead of “1 = A”? Maybe we’re supposed to do something with the text and the numbers at the bottom are a red herring (or for later use)…
Tried to pick out the 6th, 20th, etc letters from the text, but it made no sense, maybe more work to be done.
Any idea on what the hint “x” means?