The Lake
Rules you should know
If you’re reading this page of the guide, I’ll assume you have completed the tutorial levels and that you understand all the concepts therein. But just in case, I’ll write all those concepts here. If any of them feel shaky to you, return to the appropriate levels to experiment some more.
[Noun] is [Property]: It’s what the whole game is about so if you don’t get this you’re going to have a bad time.
You (Levels 02 and 06)
Win (Levels 01, 02, and 03)
Stop (all of them)
Push (levels 04 and 05)
Sink (level 03)
Hot and Melt (level 05)
Defeat (levels 04 and 06)
How to create two statements with only one “Is.”
Reminder: Bold text refers to rules themselves. Italics refer to the objects affected by rules - every one of them in the level. Regular text only refers to specific instances of those objects. “Quoted text” refers to the actual noun, property, and connecting word text you can interact with on the level. All hints are invisible until you highlight text.
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The Lake
It’s the only place you can go.
Initial Lake Map
Each world has a dozen or so puzzles, but you don’t need to solve all of them. You only need to clear 8 of the 15 puzzles in The Lake. If you want to complete the world, but some of the puzzles give you trouble, you can always leave and come back. I recommend completing through level 11 on your first visit so you understand all the concepts you need. You might need to return later for levels 12-13 and the extras.
Notice also how the map is divided into three distinct sections: bottom, top, and right. Each section deals with a different mechanic. The bottom section teaches the operator And; the top teaches Open and Shut; and the right section deals with transformations.
01: Icy Waters
難易度: ☆
新物件：noun Jelly; property And.
What properties does Baba have at level start? So, how does And work? Just for fun, try replacing the “Sink” with “Wall.” What happens here? Is it different from what you expected? How does the game parse a sentence with And?
02: Turns
難易度: ☆
新物件：nouns Crab, Star. In this case “Star” refers to the Starfish object. In other worlds “Star” refers to the outline of a Star.
Some puzzles in this game seem to be made of a series of smaller puzzles. In these cases, you need to figure out what those smaller puzzles are and then solve them in sequence. It’s much easier to break things down into their smaller parts. For this level, you have two puzzles: how will you get Baba past the Skull, and how will you reach the Flag? Solve one at a time.
03: Affection
難易度: ☆☆
新物件：nouns Keke, Love, Algae. Love is easy - it’s the heart. Algae is the green plants surrounding Love. Keke is the red blob with feet. Also new property Move.
This is the only level in The Lake which has the property Move. It’s okay if you don’t quite get it yet. In fact, you can solve this puzzle without using “Move” at all! I’ve found six solutions to this one. However, I’m just going to list the one I think is developer-intended.
04: Pillar Yard
難易度: ☆☆
新物件：noun Pillar.
05: Brick Wall
難易度: ☆
This is another level whose solution turns out to be useful in a number of later levels.
06: Lock
難易度: ☆
新物件：nouns Key and Door. Should be obvious which is which. Also properties Open and Shut.
Push that first Key into the Door. What does this tell you about Open and Shut? It seems similar to the concept of Sink. What are the differences between Open/Shut and Sink? There are also similarities to Hot and Melt. But what are the differences there?
07: Novice Locksmith
難易度: ☆☆
08: Locked In
難易度: ☆☆
09: Changeless
難易度: ☆
Knowing the solution to the previous level makes this and future levels with the same trick much easier. I’ll call these tricks “transformations.”
Pay special attention in this level. Before you even take a step, take note of what you see. After making a step, what happens? Why does this happen, and why can’t it be reversed?
10: Two Doors
難易度: ☆☆☆
新物件：noun Hedge, used as an alternative to Wall.
This is another level known for having multiple solutions. Honestly, I’m not sure which one is developer intended. They’re all similarly difficult and weird. I just picked one.
11: Jelly Throne
難易度: ☆☆
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12: Crab Storage
難易度: ☆☆☆☆☆
This was the first level I had to leave for later. It is nowhere near as tough as later levels, but it is tough for world one. Don’t feel bad if you get stuck here. You can always come back later when you are more experienced.
13: Burglary
難易度: ☆☆☆
Sometimes rules are completely blocked off and sometimes they are completely accessible. But you’ve probably seen, and will continue to see, rules which only are partially accessible. Usually this means the accessible part and only that part will be changed.
This level also has a pretty gnarly alternate solution if you’re willing to try anything.
Extra 1: Submerged Ruins
難易度: ☆☆☆☆
Each world contains at least one “extra” level. These are revealed only after completing other levels - in this case, Lake 05. Many times these extra levels are remixes of earlier levels with a twist that requires a completely new solution. Other times, such as with this level, it’s just a twist on a previously learned concept. No extra level is required in order to win the game, so if they’re too hard, leave them for later.
Extra 2: Sunken Temple
難易度: ☆☆☆☆☆
World Complete!
You have to clear this world to get anywhere, and when you do, only one path opens to you: Solitary Island. If you think you’ve grasped the concepts in The Lake, feel free to move on.