Introduction

SafeCracker (not to be confused with the SafeCracker published by Dream Catcher back in 2000) is a simple, straight forward puzzle game. There is a house full of safes and you must open them. The story line is just an excuse to get you there – there was an eccentric millionaire who was into safe collecting (that explains all the safes) and you are an expert locksmith hired by the family to open them all in order to find his will (that explains why you are there).

The game is very linear with only one to three safes able to be opened at any given time. There is nothing else to do, so I won't have to give the standard disclaimer of “look around and explore or you will not get your money's worth from the game.” The only exploration you will need to do is through the door you just unlocked.

That having been said, I will do my best not to ruin it for you. I will try to give as many simple hints as possible so that you can still figure the puzzles out for yourself. So scroll down slowly, one line at a time, until you get to the hint which gets you unstuck.

General Comments

The only thing to do in this game is to unlock the locks. The locks come in three varieties:
1) Simple locks which just need a key or combination to unlock.
2) Puzzle locks which have to be solved to be opened. These are always available to work on.
3) Puzzle locks which also need a key or missing piece before you can work on them.

You will collect a bit of inventory, but it all comes from the safes. There is nothing to collect from the house itself. No books to read. No drawers to open. There is the occasional letter lying around out in the open. You can read these, but they are optional to the game.

Inventory is only used once and then is either removed or ghosted. So don't freak out when you lose that key – it could only be used that one time.

There is one solution to be found outside of a safe. It is not subtle. Just keep your eyes opened for something which screams, “I'M A PUZZLE!”

There are also two hints to be found on the menu screen. You will notice that something just doesn't look right – it will be fairly obvious when to use that knowledge. The other hint is just an image which will come up later.

You can trust your map. It will show all the safes which you have access to and you can be sure that at least one of them can be solved.

Beginning

At the start, there are only three locks available to you – a locked door in the Hall which requires a four digit code, a large floor safe in the Small Sitting Room which requires a simple key and a puzzle safe in the Small Corridor. Since we have neither code nor key, we start with the puzzle safe.

Small Corridor

Subtle Hints:
· Notice what happens when you press the buttons.
· Notice the color of the buttons.
· Go ahead and experiment. Just back away from the puzzle and it will be reset to where you first found it when you return.

Goal:
Move the two green lights in front of the two green arrows, the two blue lights in front of the two blue arrows and the two red lights in front of the two red arrows.

Strategy:
· Notice the six path intersections. Use the intersections to move lights on and off of a ring.
· Start with any color and solve it first. Then solve the remaining two colors.

Solution:
G – Green R – Red B – Blue L – Left R – Right
GR – GR – BR – BR – RL – GR

Collect:
· One Resister
· One Note with four numbers on it.

The Hall

Subtle Hints:
· Check the display. How many numbers do you need?
· Check your inventory.

Solution:
You're kidding me. Right? The paper from the safe says “4298.” Just enter that number into the keypad.

Collect:
Door opens to new area.
You now have access to three puzzle safes.

Museum
Be sure to unlock the door to the right of the puzzle safe. This will make navigation easier.

Subtle Hints:
· Oh No! It's a Slider! EVERYBODY PANIC!
· Calm down and check out my General Slider Walkthrough. Sliders are easy.
· Where have you seen that image before?
· Take another close look at the Menu screen.
· Go ahead and experiment. You can never make a Slider more difficult – they always have the same solution. So try assembling small pieces just to see what the image looks like.

Goal:
Move the blocks around until they form the image of a dollar sign with parenthesis-looking-things like you can see on the Menu screen.

Strategy:
· Just do one row at a time and don't worry about the rest of the puzzle.
· Solve the top row first.
· Then solve the second row without touching the top row.
· Solve the third row without touching the upper two.
· Solve the last two rows together one column at a time starting with the right hand column.

Solution:

Collect:
· One piece of paper with key to Confederate Cypher Puzzle.
· Flip the switch to activate Three Podium Puzzle.

You now have access to two puzzle safes and the key to opening a third puzzle safe.

Office – Laser Puzzle Safe

Subtle Hints:
· The buttons must be pressed in the correct order.
· Those are arrows and they are trying to tell you something.
· Even after you solve the puzzle, you still have to aim it.
· Follow the light...

Goal:
Get all fifteen buttons to stay down. This will open the sixteenth red button so you can press it as well. The laser must then be redirected to its target.

Strategy:
Start with the red button and work your way backwards. Find the one button which points to your current button, then move on to it. Fortunately, there is only one path so it is quite easy.

Solution:
Start with the third button over on the second row. It has a single arrow pointing to the left. Once the laser is on, click on both mirrors up near the ceiling so that it is redirected to the globe.

Collect:
One transistor.

You now have access to one puzzle safe and the key to a second puzzle safe.

The Study – Magnetic Puzzle Safe

Subtle Hints:
· The four red “C” buttons are your only controls.
· Falling off the edge of the earth does not help.
· There are four targets you can aim for.
· Only one of the targets has a path leading to it.
· Sometimes, the best way to solve a maze is to start at the end and work backwards.
· To get to a certain “stop” you must first get onto its path.
· To get onto a path, you must travel at right angles to it.

Goal:
Move the ball around the board until it drops into the hole which is furthest to the right and farthest down.

Strategy:
Start at the target hole and work backwards. Find a stop just off the path to the hole where the ball could be stopped and be on that path. Then find the stop which gets you to the path to that stop and so on back to the beginning.

Solution:

Collect:
One Four-pin Circuit

You now have the key to solve the Puzzle Safe in the Main Sitting Room.

Main Sitting Room

Subtle Hints:
· Those letters at the bottom are there for a reason.
· Codes were meant to be broken.
· If only we knew the value of one of the letters so that we could align the wheels...
· Check your inventory.
· If the code is in Gold, then the clear text must be in Grey.

Goal:
Decode the letters at the bottom to reveal the combination.

Solution:
· Align the Gold “L” with the Grey “E”
· SIXFOURONETWO

Collect:
· Eight-Pin Circuit
· Photo of Sarah

You now have everything you need to open the locked door in the Office.

Office

Subtle Hints:
· “It seems to be missing some components”
· Check your inventory.

Solution:
Just put the four electronic components from your inventory into the lock.

Collect:
The Workroom is now open.

You now have access to one Puzzle Safe.

Workroom – Defective Safe

Subtle Hints:
· The keypad doesn't work.
· Well, it does work, but the rules have changed.
· Press the number “1” repeatably. Notice a pattern?
· Walk away from the puzzle and come back. Try the “1” again. Notice a pattern?
· What you see is the pattern. It resets every time you walk away and come back.
· What are the patterns for the rest of the numbers?

Goal:
To enter the combination so that the number on the sticky note is shown on the display.

Strategy:
· Reset the puzzle, then write down the sequence for each number.
· Reset the puzzle.
· Enter bogus combinations to consume the digits in front of the ones you need.
· Then enter the combination.

Solution:
Reset the puzzle and enter the following three combinations. The first two clear away the trash and the third actually opens it.
1 2 3 4
5 5 6 6
3 4 5 6

Collect:
One magnetic card.

You now have the key needed to unlock the door in the Study.

The Study – Unlock Door

Subtle Hints:
· You must first insert a magnetic card to activate the lock.
· You must enter a three digit code.
· You know, if you enter the same number enough times the keys will start to wear differently...

Strategy:
Notice which three keys look different than the others and use them for the code. There are only six different combinations to try.

Solution:
8 3 4

Collect:
The door opens to three new rooms.

You now have access to three puzzle safes.

Kitchen – Dumbwaiter

Subtle Hints:
· Just how far up does it go when you click the up arrow?
· Just how far down does it go when you click the down arrow?
· It will only move when it can move the whole way.

Goal:
Get the Dumbwaiter to line up perfectly with the opening and the glass cover will open.

Solution:
U – U – D – U – D – U – U – D – U – D – U

Collect:
One special Pipe Wrench.

You now have two Puzzle Safes available to you.

Dining Room

Subtle Hints:
· Check out the pictures on the wall to the left.
· They can be re-arranged.
· Where have you seen this before?
· Check your inventory.

Solution:
re-arrange the paintings to match the phote in your inventory.

Collect:
One letter.

You now have access to one Puzzle Safe and the hint you need to solve another Puzzle Safe.

Cellar – Lights

Subtle Hints:
· This puzzle is very complex.
· It is too complex to solve.

Goal:
Complete the circuits so that all the big lights light up. Some of the little lights will remain unlit.

Strategy:
There is none for solving this puzzle. A random solution would be too difficult to solve, so think of an easy solution.

Solution:
Turn the knobs so that they are all pointing up.

Collect:
You now can see into the two areas of the Cellar.

You now have access to one Puzzle Safe and the hint needed to solve a second Puzzle Safe.

Cellar – Wine Rack

Subtle Hints:
· There really is one light/button which will do something.
· It is two buttons down from the lit one.
· How was that button related to the first one?
· You can go in any direction when you are on an intersection.
· You can back up by clicking the lights to turn them back off

Goal:
Move from light to light until you land exactly on the target in the upper right.

Strategy:
You can only move straight ahead two buttons at a time.
Each time you land on an intersection, check ahead with your finger or a pointer. It won't take long to find the dead ends and you can then continue the other way.

Solution:

Collect:
· GPS Keycard
· Brass Key

You now have the hint needed to solve one Puzzle Safe, the cardkey needed to start another Puzzle Safe and the Brass Key needed to open the door in the Dining Room.

Since you are right there, open the door in the Dining Room. This gives you access to the Main Stairway. From there, open the other door to the Main Entrance. That makes it a little easier to get around.

Workroom – Laser Safe

Note: the concept of a tunable laser – one where you can change its frequency at will – has been the Holy Grail of optics ever since the first laser was produced. There are good reasons why it should be impossible to build one, but it is possible that someone may come up with a clever workaround. Mr. Adams might have made more money with this little toy than with all his oil.

Subtle Hints:
· Read the letter in your inventory.
· What color is a buttercup?
· Search the Internet or you favorite refference for optics and find the wavelengths for yellow and orange.
· Yellow is 580nm.
· Orange starts somewhere around 590nm.

Solution:
5 8 4

Collect:
· Small Gold Key
· T-Shaped Key

You now have the key needed to unlock the safe in the Small Sitting Room.

Small Sitting Room

Collect:
One Piston

You now have the piece you need to solve the Pump Puzzle in the Cellar.

Cellar – Pump Puzzle

Subtle Hints:
· You must restore the missing Piston before the controls will work.
· See the little arrow pointing to the second bar of the middle meter?
· Once you press an arrow, the pumping will continue until the source is empty or the destination is full.

Goal:
Set the middle meter to exactly four bars.

Strategy:
Use the differences in size to get the meters only partially full. Then use those partials to your advantage.

Solution:
· Large to Medium – Medium is now at five.
· Medium to Small – Small is now at three and Medium at two.
· Small to Large – Small is now empty.
· Medium to Small – Small now has two.
· Large to Medium – Medium is now ful with five.
· Medium to Small – Done!

Collect:
The pump is now working for the fountain. You will need that for later.

You now have access to the upper floor and have the keys needed to activate two of the Puzzle Safes up there.

I would suggest walking around and opening every door you can before continuing with the next puzzle.

West Coridor – Laser Door

Subtle Hints:
· You will have to open this lock up to work on it.
· You will need a special wrench.
· Yes, you have it in your inventory.
· Take a close look at the wires. Which is on top of which?
· Sit back and take a casual look at the wires. What do they look like?

Solution:
2 4 9 3

Collect:
Entrance to the Yellow Room

You now have access to one Puzzle Safe and key to activate another.

Yellow Room – Safe of Mystery and Obfuscation

Subtle Hints:
· Yes, you do have everything you need to crack this puppy.
· There are over six thousand four hundred different combinations.
· This is one of the few safes with a tenth button...

Strategy:
Buy low, sell high.

Solution:
Yeah, right.

Collect:
· Magnetic Pass
· Snooker Rules

You now have the keys you need for two Puzzle Safes.

Games Room – Racing Game

Subtle Hints:
· You will need a card to activate the game
· Use the key to start the game.
· You can't see it, but you really are moving.
· Yes, the steering wheel is really turning the car.
· Your goal is right in front of you.

Strategy:
Just turn the wheel in the directions indicated by the map.

Solution:
R – L – R – R – L – R – L – L – R – L

Collect:
A piece of paper with four digits on it.

You now have everything you need to solve the Snooker Puzzle and the elaborate puzzle in the Museum.

Games Room – Snooker Safe

Subtle Hints:
· Surely by now you have figured out that the card must go in first?
· Check your inventory.
· Hmm, Snooker has a certain number of balls and they are each worth a different value...
· The table is the key.
· Which balls are on the table?
· Which balls are not on the table?
· Which balls are in the pocket racks?
· Which balls appear to be missing entirely?

Solution:
1 1 3 7

Collect:
· One Fountain Plug
· One Lever

You now have everything you need to solve the Fountain Puzzle and the Museum Puzzle.

Fountain Puzzle

Subtle Hints:
· You have a Fountain Plug. Do I really need to tell you where to stick it?
· Walk in front of one of the other plugs and quickly look at the fountain. What happened?
· Step to another plug and quickly look at it. What happened?
· And a third time, if need be.
· If you step away from the Fountain, the puzzle resets.

Goal:
Get all four Plugs aimed at the correct target so that the key becomes available.

Strategy:
Walk around the plugs and note how many steps it takes to get them to the correct target. Then reset the puzzle and figure out how to walk the plugs to get the right result. Remember, you can now enter the Winter Garden from the Entrance or either side. So there are three different Plugs you can start at. Also remember that it takes four steps to cycle to a side target, but only two steps to cycle to a center target (It gets hit from both directions).

Solution:
· Approach the Fountain from the Museum.
· Walk around the Fountain counter-clockwise (or anti-clockwise, if you prefer) two whole times.
· Continue walking for two more Plugs so that you stop im front of the Main Sitting Room.
· Grab the foating key.

Collect:
Double Key

You are now able to complete the complex puzzle in the Museum and have the key to the Door in the East Coridor.

Museum – Near Office Door

Subtle Hints:
· There are four symbols.
· You must fill in all the blanks.
· No duplicates allowed.
· Diagonals don't count.

Goal:
You must fill in all the blanks for that every row and every column has only one of each symbol. Diagonals don't count.

Strategy:
· This is a very easy puzzle with many solutions.
· Start with the first symbol, the Dollar Sign, and place three more in separate rows and columns. Make sure that each row and each column has one and only one Dollar Sign.
· Now go to the second symbol, the Euro. You should be able to find a row or column with only two openings, but the Euro can not be placed in one of them because it is already on that column or row. So place it in the other.
· In similar fashion, find the locations where the other Euros must go.
· If you find a row or column where the symbol can be placed anywhere, go somewhere else first. Each move should be a forced move.
· Repeat with the Pound.
· Fill in with the Yen.

Solution:
Here is just one of many solutions:

Collect:
Nothing yet, but something happened.

Museum – Near the Winter Garden

Subtle Hints:
· You can move up and down, but only so far.
· You can move back and forth, but only so far.
· You can reverse direction.

Goal:
Jump from square to square untill they have all been removed.

Strategy:
Try to clear outlying squares while still leaving yourself a path to get back.

Solution:

Collect:
Nothing yet, but something happened.

Museum – Near the Slider Safe

Subtle Hints:
· You need a four digit code to activate the final puzzle.
· Check your inventory.
· It's called a Magic Square.

Goal:
Arrange the numbers to that each row, each column and both diagonals add up to 15.

Strategy:
I am not aware of any straight forward strategy beyond a conputer program for solving these. Your best bet is to search the Internet for "Magic Square" and find a solution.
Once you have your goal, just look carefully to see which rows or columns would need to be shifted to achiev it. It is not difficult.

Solution:
First, your goal is:
8 1 6
3 5 7
4 9 2
With that in mind, you start with:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Click Top Row Right:
3 1 2
4 5 6
7 8 9
Click Bottom Row Left:
3 1 2
4 5 6
8 9 7
Click Left Column Down:
8 1 2
3 5 6
4 9 7
Click Right Column Up:
8 1 6
3 5 7
4 9 2

Collect:
Door in Games Room opens.

You now have access to the Library off of the Games Room and the Violet room off of the East Corridor. Let's go unlock the Violet room next.

Violet Room – Music Box Safe

This safe only needs the key from your inventory.

Collect:
· Small Iron Key
· Screen and Kepad Reader

You now have access to a Puzzle Safe and the items needed to activate two others.

Library – Call Sarah

Subtle Hints:
· What device do we usually use to "call" someone?
· Did you notice something strange in the Menu screen?
· How many digits are in this combination?
· How many letters are in the name "Sarah"?

Strategy:
Dial "SARAH" on the phone and notice which numbers you use.

Solution:
8 6 2 6 5

Collect:
One Steering Wheel.

You now have the pieces to activiate three Puzzle Safes.

Library – Broken Digits Safe

Subtle Hints:
· You will need the Display from your Inventory.
· Hmm, what digits could it be trying to display?
· For each correct digit, one bar will cycle.

Strategy:
· Make a list of all the possible digits for each clue. For example, the first digit could be a 2, 3 or 8.
· Try each possible digit in turn with all the other places being "1" (which is obviously wrong). This way, you will be able to tell when you have that digit correct.
· Lather, rinse, repeat.

Solution:
8 7 9 6

Collect:
One Triple Key

You now have the pieces needed to activate two Puzzle Safes.

Blue Room – Mastermind

Subtle Hints:
· You need the key in your inventory to activate this one.
· Turn it on.
· Make sure the volume is turned up so that you can hear yourself dial.
· You're playang an Adventure Game and you don't recognise a game of Mastermind?
· The light positions actually line up with the corresponding digit. First light for first digit, etc.
· A flashing light means right number, but in wrong place.
· A solid light means right number in the right place.

Strategy:
· 1 2 3 4 – and note the result.
· 5 6 7 8 – and note the result.
· You should now have enough information to make a good guess.
· Which should allow you to make an even better guess.
· If it can't be solved, just try another. Eventually, one will be simple enough to solve within the number of guesses you have.

Solution:
Sorry, always in motion is the future.

Collect:
· Chip Card
· Letter from Margaret.

You now have the pieces and clues you need to solve two Puzzle safes.

Workroom – Door Safe

Subtle Hints:
· Guess what needs to be done first to activate the safe.
· Hmm, six dials to six letters...
· What did the letter form Margaret say the big secret was?

Solution:
L T R
A W E

Collect:
Access to the "Boudoir."

Boudoir – Parking Safe

Subtle Hints:
· Ahh, the classic Parking Lot Puzzle.
· You need the Magnet to move things.
· Use the <Right-Click> to return the Magnet when you are done with it.
· Just take the key when you are done. The Puzzle will then agree that you solved it.

Goal:
Move the blocks around so that the block with the key can come straight out.

Strategy:
Work backwards from each block which is in the way.. You need to move this block to move forward, so what must you do to get that block out of the way? Do it and then go on to the next.

Solution:

Collect:
One Triple Key.

Congradulations! You have solved all of the puzzles on the ground floor.

You now have the piece you need to solve one Puzzle Safe.

East Corridor – Steering Wheel Safe

Subtle Hints:
· First, replace the missing Steering Wheel.
· Turn one wheel a few times and note what it does. Notice how it alternates between two sets of bars.
· Notice that the bars go in, then come back out, no matter which wheel is turning them.

Goal:
Move all six bars completely in.

Strategy:
Try each wheel a few times and note which sets of bars it manipulates. Then figure out which wheels you would have to turn to manipulate each bar exactly two times.

Solution:
If you number the wheels from top to bottom as 1-5, then the solution is...
1 1 3 3 4 5

Collect:
Access to the Washroom and the Loft.

You now have access to one Puzzle Safe and the piece you need for a second.

Loft – Pipes Safe

Subtle Hints:
Nothing subtle about this game of Pipes.

Goal:
Connect the pipes so that they form one continuous loop and are all lit up.

Strategy:
· The Center piece is the source of the power, so you must be able to connect to both of its ends. If you can't, then you had an incorrect position.
· There is one straight piece of pipe on the board and it can only be placed on one position. Start by connecting it back to the center.
· Start at the end of a lit section and try to continue it.
· The narrow angle and wide angle pipes can only go one way.
· The right angle pipes can connect two ways. So they are where you must make decisions.
· If things don't work out, rotate the center and try again.

Solution:

Collect:
One Carved Stone Block

You now have the pieces you need to access two Puzzle Safes.

Loft – Six Queens Puzzle

Subtle Hints:
· You need a piece from your inventory to open the grate.
· Notice the chess symbol for the Queen on the left.
· Notice the number "6" on the right.
· There is a classic puzzle called "The Eight Queens Puzzle" where you must place eight queens on a standard chess board so that none of them share the same row, column or diagonal.

Goal:
Press six squares such that there is only one square pressed in each row, column and diagonal.

Strategy:
There are fancy computer programs for solving this class of puzzle, but no intuitive strategy. I would suggest using the Internet to find the solution.

Solution:
Going from left to right, press a square on row 2 4 6 1 3 5.

Collect:
One Triple Key

You now have the piece you need to solve the last Puzzle Safe.

West Corridor – Dressing Room

Subtle Hints:
· You have something in your inventory which would fit quite nicely there.
· Hmm, each row and each column apper to be numbered.
· Who said the number groupings meant anything?

Strategy:
Each pair of numbers represents a row and column.

Solution:
ONET WOSI XFIV E

Collect:
One Triple Key

Congradulations! There is only one lock left in the game, and you have the key.

Violet Room – Secret Room

Just use your keys. Then save the game here so that you can see the different endings.

Secret Room – Final Safe

Subtle Hints:
· You need four more digits.
· Notice anything unusual while you were looking around?
· Something on the doors, perhaps?
· The most common image can look strange if you see only a part of it. But once reassembled, it is easily identified.
· Dressing Room
· Main Hall Toilet
· Violet Bathroom
· Yellow Bathroom

And that's all you're getting from me :-)

Hope you enjoyed the game.