Boxes: Lost Fragments Walkthrough
Boxes: Lost Fragments is Big Loop Studios’ puzzle-box game: five chapters, each a set of intricate mechanical boxes that open piece by piece until they surrender a fragment, and a hub room where those fragments unlock the way onward. This walkthrough describes the logic of every puzzle in order. Many puzzles are visual (sliding tiles, matching symbols) and are described by their goal; the game’s own hint button, bottom left, can skip almost any puzzle you find tedious.
How the game plays
Left click acts, right click backs out of a zoom. The inventory sits on the right and is always open: drag an item onto its target; items can be rotated and examined, and many have their own small puzzles inside. The menu is top left (reset level, continue, main menu); the question mark bottom left gives hints and, for some puzzles, a skip. Progress saves automatically on exit. Saves: AppData\LocalLow\Big Loop Studios\Boxes Lost Fragments.
Tutorial
Follow the prompts. The mechanism puzzle wants each spiral half rotated and dragged to meet its partner in the centre. Take the token from the shelf, examine it, and set it into the centre of the control console with its five chapter panels. Achievement: Beginnings.
Chapter I: Initium
Room one
Zoom on the big cube. Turn it to the green handle, slide it right. Rotate the two rings until they meet in one slot, then slide the red handle left to right. Gold handle left, then drag the bottom flap up. Take the key, unlock the padlock on the other face, part the doors. Take the mechanical disc; in the inventory turn its two rings to form a star and it opens into a hollow disc. Disc onto the small box, which flips; slide the blue bolt right and take the metal ball. Ball into the hole on top of the cube; turn both green handles clockwise until the glowing ball drops. On the side with two rotating rings and ringed figures, turn the left mechanism then the right until the inner rings engage. Zoom on the doors: a green button and four zodiac petals; slide the petals out to the edge, turn the door to read the glowing signs as the key, then press the button to rotate the petals clockwise and slide each in as it matches. The statue’s locket: click the yellow flowers flat and take the strange compass. Find the globe face, fit the compass and move it over the globe until all its lights come on at the star. The first fragment is a bear.
Room two
Pull the handle up, pull out the box below, press the round button for a drawer. Watch the spinning gear and press the blue button when the wheel shows in the open sector: a wheel. Wheel onto the raised box’s lid, turn the small knob clockwise, take the handle from the drawer, read the letter. Click the books away, examine the last one: slide the latch, flip the catch, take a second small handle. On the far side lower the lever, unscrew the dome’s centre for a third handle. Fit two small handles to the sliding frame; move the vertical one down four pictures and the horizontal one left three; click the metal disc inside. Remove the hemispheres from the doors opposite, insert the disc in the lower slot, lower the lever, fit the handle in the lower hole and turn until the three lower discs’ holes line up: a little man in a hat appears; turn him and pull the winding key from his back. Wind the clock on the far side; the face flips; press the blue button to fill eight slots with glass. A magnifier appears on the tower clock (Dimensions): zoom and note the sign above the gear, the zodiac sign on the man’s head when he lifts his hat, and the time, 5:47. Set those on the tower clock and take the hourglass.
Room three
Two round levers on a wall: left up, right down until both sit in the centre holes and the discs form one vertical line. Pink-flower wall: lower the top flap, slide the round button right, work the levers and flaps, part the shutters, take the key. Key in the casket, anticlockwise; take the jewelled ball, and in the inventory slide the big gems up and down to the small ones so it opens into a flower-shaped tool. Tool into the flower’s centre, turn until it opens fully, then swap petals (one route: 7-8, 6-7, 5-6, 3-1, 2-4). Take the lily shield. Turn the casket’s marked black leg so the marks meet, slide the catch right, take the mechanical ladybird. Shield into the flower on top, press the pink button; press the lower-left circle’s button once, the lower-right pink button twice, then the big central pink button. Ladybird on the platform. Guide it: press the green-gem diamond to bring down a platform with cranks; turn the crank so the platform carries her across; press the top-right diamond to lower the masonry into steps; pull the bottom diamond up to raise the stair so she passes the arch; press the crane to load an owl figure into her; turn the wheel so she crosses the gap onto the round platform and turns; turn again, raise a block, then drag the green diamond’s column left with her on it. She delivers the owl.
Room four
Lift the catches, take the shell, fit it in its slot on the other side for a blue pearl, pearl opens the chest: set the levers to the second-last position, read the letter. Sea monster’s face: right button gives a seahorse; left button, fish the anchor from the water; use it as a wrench anticlockwise, open the glass door, take the model ship; in the inventory flip its latch right for a stand. Zoom on the channel map, press the blue button three times to clear the ship’s path; a glass case with a sailing ship appears. Seahorse into place, click it: the lighter fires the fuse, the toy cannons shatter the glass. Click the bowsprit for the forward cabin and the table puzzle: flip the pale pieces so the pink one can never leave the board (one route: 12, 4, 2, 3, 7, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 13, 14, 16, 17, 1). Take the ship’s wheel, fit it to its column, turn clockwise, the deck parts: take the prism.
Placing the fragments
Knight: turn the outer ring of the shield to open the clamps, bear in the centre. Open the breastplate, move the gear left, close: a portrait replaces the knight. Big clock: open the glass, pull the centre weight down, hourglass into the pendulum. Owl door: owl in the right slot; the bolt becomes a magnifier showing marks; move the left bar to each mark as you slide the glass upward. Pull the lever; a panel slides from the portrait wall; button to the left; prism into the blue beam; take the medallion from the portrait’s chest (Hidden gems), remove its token, console. Ride up, through the blue arch.
Chapter II: Nexus
Room one
Open the glass door: screwdriver and glasses; unscrew the left lens for an optical lens. Other side: lift catches, slide bolts, lower the lever, unscrew the cover, take the broken mechanism. Skull side: lift the skull’s top, big round button, set the skull’s mechanism so the outer ring turns. Broken mechanism on the platform, lens in the eyepiece, zoom: clear the wire bundles so LEDs connect to top and bottom terminals. Take the repaired mechanism. Turn one leg of the box until the blue catch pulls out and opens the glass door; remove the bottle, flip the switch. Other mechanism: slide the upper revolver left, raise the lower part into the slot, revolver back, lower the lever; pull the plug, it connects itself. Mechanism into the slot, toggles 1, 2 and 4 up, take the electric key.
Room two
Take the crystal globe; slide its base catch right for an intricate mechanism; read the letter. Square-button panel: press the left centre button, pull the drawer, take the tool. Lift the grille, take the battery; battery bay: pull the shutter down, part the doors, insert; the bay flips to a coloured-bulb puzzle: connect bulbs to sockets of their colour, green buttons shifting bulbs left (one route: 5, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 1). Illuminate. Green button, take the lever, open the round glass lid, fit and pull it up. Intricate mechanism in place: rotate so each geometric rod faces its matching notch, press the green centre. Unscrew the top screws both sides with the tool, doors open; swipe the blinds away twice for a key. Metal discs: hold the small knob and turn clockwise until every slot lies horizontal; key in, turn, take the mechanism part. Two-disc side: part into the lower disc; the goal is every disc showing the same pictures as the centre. Route: flip disc 2, flip disc 1, turn outer disc 4 to swap the upper halves, flip 2, flip 2, turn 4, flip 2, flip 1. Skip if stuck. Take the mechanical sphere.
Room three
Steam cart: pull the handle down, take the ornament fragment, fit it, take the mechanical item; front: pull the handle, take the red valve. In the inventory turn the item’s green button once: a gear. Gear into place, mesh it with both toothed parts. Free the lever by turning the top and middle discs right twice and the bottom once; pull, side panels drop: spanner. Red valve on, turn until the clear pipe meets the black one. Boiler: spanner on the nut, open, puzzle: each pipe wants clamps matching its bulb colour (one route: 1, 1, 2, 1, 4, 4, 2, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 2). Note the hint above and set the three gauges to 90, 60, 40. Lever; the cart moves and slows; unhook and open the side door; three gears flash past in the gap between boards: press the green grab button as each appears. Take the mechanical console.
Room four
Read the letter. Side panel: turn three discs to restore the petal diagrams; it flips to show two elements still needed. Top panel: turn the side elements; take the bulb from the risen container into the empty socket of the turning wheel. Bottom right panel: move both round knobs, connect the clamps to the charger. Slide the bar under the green icons: match the moving pieces to the fixed centre, swapping panels in the side slots. A plasma ball appears; fuse from the side niche into place; plug from the opposite niche, slide its square button right. Other side: open the small door, press the button for a hint, set the sliders to it. Plug into the device, handle left. Take the power source from the portal.
Placing the fragments
Giant disc: turn its centre clockwise to form the cradle, sphere in; press the round button for a hint. Right panel: electric key in the top socket, rotate the outer discs to show the hinted items. Tesla console: console in the centre, light every bulb (2, 1, 2, 1, 1). Power source right, lever. Sarcophagus. Open the lift doors, medallion, token, console.
Chapter III: Cognito
Room one
Letter; drawer for a gear. Suitcase: side levers reveal a hub, gear on it, lift the lid, screwdriver. Unscrew the panel, two levers; turn the top gear to lift the lower hook, slide the bolt right, turn again for the upper hook, bolt, open the glass door: small handle. Lift the catch, mechanical container: turn its gear, open, second handle. Both handles into the panel and turn them to the right heights. Take the elaborate key, click its base to set the notches. Safe dial: key in, turn; the round windows show machine parts; on the other face press the green button and watch the rotating disc show which part belongs in which slot, then set them. Turn the safe wheel: piggy bank. Top of the box: slide the centre bar right, red button, bar back, red button, bar left, red button, back, red button; lid slides. Bank into the press, handle right: coins fly, an intricate mechanism remains. Fortune.
Room two
Small door, slide the bolt, note the picture hint. Other side: turn the disc, remove the bolt, lid drops: antenna into the socket by the radio; tune each knob so the needle sits centred between the red lines. Set the screen pictures to the hint (1, 1, 1, 5, 5, 5, 2, 3), pull the lever for the jackpot: power on. Left circle: turn inner and outer discs until every bulb on the outer lights; it flips, connect the light cable; green button, music cylinder. Same on the right: mechanical flower. Cylinder: align its lid with the mark, two more sections extend. Flower into place, pull the petals in the correct order (a wrong petal resets). Cylinder into the panel below: arrange tiles so each drum shows one symbol all round, parking tiles in the side niches (skippable). The arch shows the melody’s notes. Take the piano key.
Room three
Bottom lever right twice: two small handles; slide the runner right. Red buttons: stop each disc as its notch reaches the top. Camera and loupe. Open the camera’s back for film; press the numbering lever, loupe on the print: 4218, into the combination lock below. Old key, letter. Handle in the side slot, hold until it drops; second handle in the corner slot likewise. Click the black boxes away, red handle; a fingerprint card lay in one box. Film and card onto the panel, lamp switch for UV, sort the photos by their frames, note the letters. Top: old key anticlockwise, part the bars; press the side discs’ centres to bring letters to the swap position, big button to swap, three rounds, then set the small petals to R, W, S, L. Take the film reel.
Room four
Place any four cards, blue button shows which are right; iterate until all lamps are green: ace of hearts. Other side: lower the path segments into one continuous track and move the arrow buttons along it. Card: slide the back holders, free the heart, into the disc slot. Cylinder opens: figurine; on the gear board, guide it so every gear centre shows a blue stone. Top: press the spearmen clockwise from bottom left until all face outward, pull out the cage with the trapped man; unhook, open, turn the jester’s head until a hidden crown appears. Crown on the floor pedestal: a king rises; push the throne fully back; the red-diamond circle flips: diamond. Column: look at its top, flip the toggle below, pull the finial for a power source. Container’s back: turn the disc so its notch meets the bolt, slide it in. Power source inside, diamond in the disc slot; turn the discs so every spotlight is lit. Take the remote from the cage.
Placing the fragments
Piano: fit the key; press the second-last key three times so the orange numeral stops at the orange stripe, then the first key four times to line up the other two. Projector rises: reel on. Stag’s head: open the plate, intricate mechanism in. Round table: turn the knobs for the hidden button; remote into the stand, play, note the pattern (Filmmaker), reproduce it on the cells over the fireplace. Medallion, token, console.
Chapter IV: Fractus
Room one
Turn the blue columns to join the picture; turn the right pillars by their bases to copy the left pillars’ symbols: door handle. Top of the box: handle in, turn the lock, pull the small knobs to free the bars, lift the doors; arrange the figures and slide the panel itself to complete the pictures. Next: turn the centre so the slots lie horizontal, push the square sliders in. Arena steps: slide the darker steps aside for a mechanism part; take the lyre, slide the runner on its base and pull out the key. Keyhole on the roof, turn left: crossbow. Blue door: part in, rotate, slide, open: a spinner maze, move the spinner left to right through appearing tiles, yellow circles change slot directions (skippable). A minotaur with a shield; crossbow on the stand, turn 90 degrees, the horse circles; fire the blue trigger when you are behind him. Take the wheeled horse. The Marksman.
Room two
Letter; slide the lid, press the button, screwdriver. Left disc then runner left; right disc, runner right: metal ring. Conductor’s cap holds a metal disc. Unscrew the locomotive plaque: badge; paperweight: crank in the side, clockwise, second badge. Turn the disc to each catch and open both; disc into the round lid; move elements into the disc’s two slots and turn to carry each to its picture. Front of the house: raise both windows, badges on them, open the doors, lever. Locomotive model: open, handle left; front: turn the discs to seat the cut sector. Rear: crane puzzle, park one part aside, move each into its home. Take the model.
Room three
Knife from the sand, oil lamp; knife’s button releases a key; padlock anticlockwise, open the lamp for a lit candle. Panel: catches down for the lower half, up for the upper; line up the symbols shown on the side using the grabs beside the blue buttons (one route: 6, 4, 5, 3, 9, 7, 5, 8, 10, 13, 12, 9, 6, 11, 9). Pick up the scorpion and coin; scorpion onto the casket lid, slide up, turn the wheel until the dome’s petals open: metal ring into its socket, the lens shutters open: move the hexagonal piece to the centre along the guide lines. Round container: rotate to expose two keyholes, coin on the boss; pour oil, light with the candle. A figure rises: click its blue face to advance, freeze when the disc shows red, continue on blue, several times. It becomes a tower model.
Room four
Letter. Turn the bottom disc so the runners drop into the slots: wheel into the circle, turn anticlockwise to clear the bolts. Fan puzzle: the Roman numerals say how many turns; set II-III-I, green; I-III-II, green; I-II-III, green; II-I-III, green. Slider right to left, then left to right for the glass barrier: ornament fragment; turret top, bolt right, second fragment; turn the other turret’s top for a crank; crank into the dome, turn until it opens: a golden egg. Gates: fragments on the bar ends, slide to centre; shields: turn the lower left disc until sun and dragon show, lower right the same, upper left and right until dragon heads show. Chair turns: dragon medallion onto the pediment. Dome base: slide the bar, gong mallet; strike the gong; take the dragon from the egg.
Placing the fragments
Model table: turn the big gear to bring the boat to the disc’s left, horse on the platform, move it onto the boat, gear right, horse through the gate. Model into the hoist gear; horse right. Dragon on the left pedestal: flames draw a pattern; click the points on the locked gate to copy it. Turn the round tower’s dome, set the tower model; turn the vanes to lift the horse, right through the arch. Conqueror. Medallion, token, console.
Chapter V: Aurora
Room one
Letter. Sealed horn: disc right, catch right, disc until the empty slot is on top: handle. Gates: clear the bolts, handle in, clockwise: a light-pipe fifteen-puzzle, slide tiles until the light path works (long route in the original; the skip is fine). Puzzle box: turn its base disc marks together for a Celtic knot. Short sword: turn the pommel ball left, knot in, release the catches, take the sword, into the lid slot. Under the dragon’s head: move the runner to the top through gaps you make with the square button; two runes; same on the opposite side, two more; runes to the four statues. Teamwork. Dragon token from a column top onto the risen pedestal, turn anticlockwise; turn the ice shards to restore the picture. Take the cryptex.
Room two
Aztec bowl, an arrowhead in its base; letter. Crystals puzzle: get all blue crystals into the small centre disc using the sliding bar and the three rings. Crystal skull. Lock: turn the dark stripe vertical, part the halves, press the shaped button to align the rings and slide the runner right: figurine into the next door’s centre, green button; round-tile picture puzzle, slide tiles along the lines (long; skippable). Aztec artefact. Turn the wheel over the owl, artefact in, turn the eye wheels to align red marks, skull on the pedestal. Column rises: rotate pipe cubes to complete the pipeline; arrowhead down then up to open: ancient key.
Room three
Hammer; eye medallion off the cat; smash three statuettes for a puzzle piece; slide the entrance stone for a scroll. Sliding-block puzzle: get the piece out. Doll with a scarab inside. Lift the disc lid, rotate the sphere until the eyes overlap. Remove the bolts; pull the hint from the scroll; grab-and-rotate the picture tiles into the hinted positions. Small pyramid; medallion into the circle; scarab on the platform, push up; pyramid on the big pyramid’s apex, scarab on top; a flower appears. Back: gold button moves the arrow, press Enter at each of three symbols: crystal onto the flower. DNA container from the sphinx’s paws.
Room four
Slide the roof bolt left, drag the picture around for numbers and their corners. Turn the upper right cocoon for a lever. Set the numbers with the plus tiles (1, 4, 4, 4, 5): brass handle into the keyhole under the blinds; buttons left, right, left: mechanical fragment, flip its left half twice for a shuriken. Turn the tree picture’s clamps, pull the half circles apart, shuriken in, pull its points in order 5, 6, 2, 4, 3, 1. Turn the outer disc clockwise for a portal; through it, turn the red cocoons for a bird, screw it in like a bulb, arrow-key maze, turn the pedestal, remove the pink corners: key. Back; turn the tile over the slab to the keyhole, key, turn until the table sides drop: energy source.
Finale
Glass container: turn the base disc, cryptex in, shutter left, runner right, ancient key anticlockwise, turn the disc handle to the blue mark. Last puzzle: press the two blue arrow buttons to build the ring (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2). The frozen woman is revealed: Aurora. Charger: plug left, green; plug right, red. Turn the statue, DNA container into her back slot, energy source in front. Watch the ending; Aurora has set a new trap. Game complete.