Rusty Lake Hotel

Rusty Lake Hotel is Rusty Lake’s second game, set at the lake in 1893. Mr. Owl greets five guests arriving by boat and tells his staff to make sure that each of them does not die for nothing. Over five chapters you serve five perfect dinners, and every dinner needs meat from one of the guests. This walkthrough covers all five chapters, both wine glasses and the epilogue.

How the game plays

• Controls: move between screens by clicking one of the side arrows; interact by clicking the object. Active areas are not marked in any way.
• Menu: the gear icon in the top right corner.
• Inventory: down the right side of the screen, always visible.
• Recipes: the open-book icon in the top right corner.
• The game starts windowed. For full screen, use View at the top of the screen and choose Full screen.

Prologue: the lobby

Go up to the reception desk and talk to Mr. Crow, who suggests serving the hotel’s guests with every hospitality. Take the five PRAWN COCKTAILS from the desk. Zoom out and turn left.

Speak to Mr. Rabbit, who invites you to call on him in his room in the evening to talk about magic. Give him a COCKTAIL.

Speak to Mrs. Pigeon, who says she needs a bath this evening. Give her a COCKTAIL. Zoom out and turn left.

Hand cocktails to the hungry Mr. Boar, to Miss Pheasant, who is getting ready for a photo session, and to Mr. Deer, who orders a Bloody Mary.

Mr. Rabbit announces that he is going to his room, and the guests follow him out. Night falls.

The guest who leads the others out of the lobby is whichever one you served first.

Chapter one: venison steaks

Go up to the reception desk and pick up the ringing telephone. Mr. Owl advises you to look at his portrait. Look into the kitchen, through the door at the back of the screen.

Talk to the cook, Mr. Toad, who asks you to bring him the ingredients for tomorrow morning’s dish. Open the recipe book and read the recipe for venison steaks with mushrooms and rosemary. Go back to the lobby.

Ingredient one: mushrooms

Turn right and zoom in on the portrait of Mr. Owl. Take the MUSHROOMS from his hand.

Ingredient two: rosemary

Zoom out and click the lift. Open the door of the car when it comes down, get in and press the button for the first floor. Open the door, go out into the corridor and knock at the first door on the left, Mr. Deer’s room.

Room 1: Mr. Deer

Zoom in on the deer’s head mounted on the wall on the right. Click the small point on the antler on the right; once an antler grows on that side, keep clicking the point so the left antler grows too. Click the point on the left antler and take the ROSEMARY.

Zoom in on the hotel plan hanging on the wall and note the shape of the seal on it. You will need all five seals in the epilogue.

Ingredient three: venison

Speak to Mr. Deer, who asks for a Bloody Mary. Turn to the table on the right and read the recipe: the cocktail needs blood, vodka, Tabasco and a special ingredient. Zoom out.

The vodka

Zoom in on the armchair Mr. Deer is sitting in and take the VODKA from the back of it.

The Tabasco

Turn to the table on the right and pour the VODKA into the glass standing on it, which leaves an EMPTY FLASK in your inventory.

Zoom in on the deer’s head again and press the antler on the right until blood runs from its nostril. Click the EMPTY FLASK in the inventory and you get the TABASCO. Put it into the glass on the table; the empty flask stays in the inventory.

The blood: the scales

Turn right and zoom in on the scales. The three lettered weights have to be identified against the numbered ones.

• Put the 1 gram weight on the right pan and the plus weight on the left: the plus weighs 1 gram. Take them off.
• Put the triangle weight and the 1 gram weight on the right pan, and the 4 gram weight on the left: the triangle weighs 3 grams. Take them off.
• Put the spiral weight on the right pan, and the 4 gram weight plus the plus weight on the left: the spiral weighs 5 grams. Take them off.

Zoom out, turn round and click the arrow on the left or the right twice. Zoom in on the safe. Click the windows above the symbols and enter the code you worked out, 3531. Turn the safe handle and take the KNIFE.

Zoom out and turn right. Use the KNIFE on Mr. Deer’s antlers, fill the EMPTY FLASK with BLOOD, and pour it into the glass on the table.

The special ingredient: the water jugs

Zoom in on the table on the left and take the KEY. Turn round and take the EMPTY BUCKET from the table on the left. Turn left and zoom in on the window on the left. Open the shutters and part the curtains.

Tie the EMPTY BUCKET to the winch in the left window. Click the pulley twice, then click the raised bucket, and you get the BUCKET OF WATER. Zoom out from the window and turn round. Zoom in on the cabinet on the table and unlock it with the KEY.

Pour the water from the bucket into the jugs in the cabinet. There are three of them: 10 measures on the left, 5 in the centre and 6 on the right, and the task is to get eight measures into the left jug. From the starting position, with 5 in the left and the right one full:

1. Pour 5 from the right jug into the left, which fills the left to 10 and leaves 1 on the right.
2. Pour that 1 from the right into the centre jug.
3. Pour 6 from the left jug into the right, leaving 4 in the left.
4. Pour 4 from the right into the centre, which fills the centre to 5 and leaves 2 on the right.
5. Pour the centre jug’s 5 into the left, which now holds 9.
6. Pour the right jug’s remaining 2 into the centre.
7. Pour 6 from the left into the right, leaving 3 in the left.
8. Pour from the right into the centre until the centre holds 5.
9. Pour the centre jug’s 5 into the left, which now holds 8.

Take the 8 DL OF WATER.

The butterflies

Zoom out from the table and zoom in on the frame on the wall. Look at the picture of butterfly silhouettes and remember the order. Zoom out and turn right. Zoom in on the grinder on the wall and take the GLASS. Zoom out and turn right.

Zoom in on the window on the right, open the shutters and part the curtains. Catch a BUTTERFLY with the GLASS. Zoom out and turn left. Zoom in on the frame holding two pinned butterflies and add the one you have just caught.

Press the butterflies in the order shown in the frame above the table, and take the SEEDS out of the butterfly’s body.

The plant

Zoom out from the frame and zoom in on the cabinet on the right. Open the bottom drawer and take the MATCHES. Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the table on the left. Lift the glass dome off the pot and put the SEEDS in. Light the lamp with the MATCHES. Water the seeds from the bucket, and put the glass dome back down.

Click the seeds and a plant grows out of them. Take the POISONOUS SEEDS and zoom out.

Making the poison

Turn round and zoom in on the grinder. Put the GLASS back in place, tip in the POISONOUS SEEDS, turn the grinder handle and take the POISON POWDER. Zoom out, turn left and zoom in on the Bunsen burner.

Put the powder into the flask, pour the 8 DL OF WATER into the lower flask, and light the burner with the MATCHES. Take the POISON. Zoom out, turn left and zoom in on the glass on the table. Add the POISON to the cocktail and take the GLASS.

Give the poisoned cocktail to Mr. Deer by clicking the glass in his hand, then zoom out. Mr. Deer starts to choke. Go up to him, zoom out and zoom back in, then cut a piece of VENISON from the body with the KNIFE.

Chapter two: rabbit stew

A new dawn

Go to the lobby and into the kitchen. Click Mr. Toad and answer Yes to the question about cooking the dish. He makes the steaks, the guests eat the first dinner, and you get your first three stars for a perfect dinner.

Night

Go to the lobby and into the kitchen. Speak to Mr. Toad, who says fresh meat will be needed for tomorrow. Go out to the lobby.

Go to Mr. Crow, drawn by his cawing. He offers to show you what he has in his pocket. Click the flap of his jacket three times and take the CARROT from the pocket.

The recipe for rabbit stew with carrots and white beans opens automatically. That is the first ingredient.

Ingredient two: white beans

Zoom out from the desk and move right. Call the lift, get in and go up to the second floor. Open the car door, go out into the corridor and go through the first door on the left, Mr. Rabbit’s room.

Room 4: Mr. Rabbit

Zoom in on the chest of drawers. Open the bottom drawer and take the KNIFE. Zoom out and turn round.

Zoom in on the portrait of Mr. Owl and note the symbol beside it. Use the KNIFE on it to cut the canvas, pull the edge of the cut aside, and take the WHITE BEANS.

Ingredient three: rabbit meat

The cards: the first key

Zoom out and turn left. Go up to Mr. Rabbit, who invites you to watch what he does closely. Click him twice and take the FIVE OF CLUBS he pulls out of his ear. Zoom out.

Zoom in on the drawing of a hand in a frame and take the TWO OF HEARTS. Note the drawing on the hand. Zoom out.

Turn left. Note the symbols in the frame on the wall. Then zoom in on the lamp in the alcove, click it and take the ACE OF CLUBS. Zoom out and turn left.

Zoom in on the picture of swords and take the FOUR OF DIAMONDS. Zoom out and turn left. Zoom in on the picture with the symbols and add the cards you have collected to the two already on it.

Look carefully at the symbols: each one matches an object where you found a card. Lay each card on the symbol it belongs to. After the chime, move the five of clubs aside and take the KEY. That is the first of three keys for the wardrobe.

The flowers: the second key

Zoom out from the picture and turn left. Take the HAT from the top of the wardrobe. Zoom in on the drawing of coloured patches and remember their arrangement. Zoom out.

Go to Mr. Rabbit and give him the HAT. He puts it on his head. Click the hat and he takes it off and holds it. Click the hat again and four flowers come out of it. Click the flowers and zoom in.

Arrange the flowers in the order the coloured patches gave: violet, red, white, orange. Click the flowers and they go back into the hat. Click the hat again and Mr. Rabbit’s own head comes out of it. Keep clicking the hat until a key appears in the rabbit’s mouth, and take the second KEY. Put Mr. Rabbit’s head back and zoom out.

The ring: the third key

Turn right and zoom in on the box on the table. Turn the switch, use the KNIFE on the hand reaching out of the box, and take the RING off it. Zoom out.

Turn left and zoom in on the bedside cabinet. Fit the RING into the slot and take the third KEY. Zoom out.

The rabbit in the wardrobe

Zoom in on the wardrobe with its three locks. Use the KEYS on the locks, take the chains off and open it: Mr. Rabbit is inside. Close the door and zoom out.

Zoom in on the bedside cabinet again and take the TRIANGULAR STONE from behind it. Zoom out.

Go to the wardrobe, open it, and fit the TRIANGULAR STONE into the slot on the inside of the door. Close the door and open it again: Mr. Rabbit now has a skull instead of a head. Close the door and zoom out.

Zoom in on the table with the thimble game. Click the leftmost thimble and you see a pearl. Click that thimble twice and follow where it goes; guess right and you find a shell under it. Click twice again, follow, and guess right for a thimble. Click twice again and guess right for a beetle. Click twice more, follow, guess right, and take the EYE. Zoom out.

Open the wardrobe and put the EYE into the skull’s socket. Close and open the door, and Mr. Rabbit is standing there. Close and open it once more, and take the SWORDS.

Zoom out and turn left twice; you catch sight of a rabbit floating past the window. Zoom in on the poster and note the seal drawn on it. Zoom out and zoom in on the picture of swords: remember the arrangement. Move to the safe.

Arrange the SWORDS as the picture showed. Click Mr. Rabbit’s head and take the RABBIT MEAT.

A new dawn

Do as before: go to the kitchen and have the rabbit stew with carrots and white beans cooked. Three more stars for a second perfect dinner.

Night

Hurry to the lobby and turn left twice. A meteorite draws its course past the window and the lobby goes dark.

Click the dark patch in the top left corner, where a bat’s two eyes glinted, twice. The bat shrieks and flies to another screen. Follow it and click it twice again. Keep doing that until the bat lift-boy takes up his post by the lift. Go up to it, click it, and take the POTATOES.

The recipe for pigeon in blackberry sauce with potatoes opens automatically. That is the first ingredient.

Chapter three: pigeon in blackberry sauce

Ingredient two: blackberries

Zoom out. Call the lift, get in, go up to the second floor and out into the corridor. Open the door on the right.

Room 5: Mrs. Pigeon

Turn round and zoom in on the windows on the power switchboard. Note the symbols drawn under them. Zoom out and turn right.

Look at the two drawings on the wall and match up the equations written with geometric shapes:

• triangle + square = 4
• square + two triangles = 5

Cancel the common terms and the triangle = 1, therefore the square = 3. From square + spiral = 9, the spiral = 6. Substituting 6 for the spiral in the last expression gives S = 8.

Turn to the switchboard and enter the values, 8613. Zoom out and pull the switchboard lever. Inside you find a chick chained up.

Click the switchboard lever six times, raising and lowering it, and take the BLACKBERRIES.

Freeing the chick: two keys

The corn: the first key

Zoom out from the switchboard and turn right. Zoom in on the projector and take the KEY from behind it. Zoom out.

Zoom in on the safe with the radio set on it, unlock it with the KEY and take the CORN. Zoom out.

Turn right and go to Mrs. Pigeon. Give her the CORN and click the plate of corn until she has pecked up every grain, then take the first KEY.

The radio: the second key

Zoom out from Mrs. Pigeon and look right. Zoom in on the drawing on the wall and note the hint. Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the radio set and, following the hint, turn the tuning dials to the stations in turn:

90, 100, 110, 100, 110, 100, 90, 80

Take the second KEY. Zoom out, turn to the switchboard, unlock the locks with the two keys and free the chick. It flies to the switchboard on the left.

Ingredient three: pigeon meat

Getting the power on

Zoom out from the switchboard and turn right. Zoom in on the drawing on the right and take the PIECE OF PAPER from behind the frame. Note the seal drawn on the sheet. Zoom out and zoom in on the radio set, and take the second PIECE OF PAPER from behind it. Zoom out and zoom in on the projector, then click it.

Fit the PIECES OF PAPER into the empty slots. Put the disc into the projector and click the lever, and the bulb above the projector lights. Zoom out and zoom in on the table.

Solve the puzzle of surrounding the beetle with pebbles so that it cannot get off the board, and take the STAG BEETLE. Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the electromagnet.

Put the BEETLE into the wheel and the second bulb lights. Zoom out and click the chick, which pulls the switchboard lever down. Turn left and press the button.

The electric discharge kills the bird. Go up and take the piece of PIGEON MEAT.

Chapter four: pheasant breast in white wine

A new dawn

Go to the lobby. Go left twice and take the glass of WHITE WINE Mrs. Pigeon left behind.

The recipe for pheasant in white sauce with thyme opens automatically. That is the first ingredient for the fourth dinner. Take the white wine before giving the pigeon meat to Mr. Toad; otherwise you cannot pick the glass up until the next day.

Go to the kitchen and give the PIGEON MEAT to Mr. Toad. Three more stars for a third perfect dinner.

Night

Go into the lobby, up to the first floor, and into room 3, at the back of the screen.

Room 3: Miss Pheasant

Turn right and zoom in on the wall clock. Click the shoot on the right and take the second ingredient, the THYME.

Ingredient three: pheasant meat

The photographic plates

Take the PHOTOGRAPHIC FLUID from the cabinet and zoom in on the table. Open the drawer on the right and take the dry glass PLATES. Pour the FLUID into the tray on the table and put the PLATES in, then take the wet glass PLATES.

The photo session: the backdrops

Read the letter lying on the table. It says Miss Pheasant played three roles, the lady in blue, Mr. Crow and Mr. Owl, and the session has to be shot in each of those characters.

Zoom out and zoom in on the three framed drawings on the wall, noting that each one corresponds to a particular character. Zoom out and turn round.

Brush and paint

Zoom in on the chest of drawers, open the bottom drawer and take the BRUSH. Zoom out.

Zoom in on the window. Raise the sash and, as soon as a hand reaches in, drop the sash. Click the sash once more and dip the BRUSH in the blood on the sill; you get the BLOODY BRUSH.

The lady in blue

Zoom out and turn left. Zoom in on the empty frame on the wall and take the KEY. Zoom out and turn left. Unlock the right-hand cabinet door with the KEY and take out the HAT with the blue ribbon.

Turn left, go to Miss Pheasant and put the HAT on her. Zoom out, pull the cord and lower the backdrop screen. Zoom in on it and paint the symbol for the lady in blue with the BLOODY BRUSH.

If you draw it wrong, click the rag on the right to wipe it off.

Zoom out, turn round, get behind the camera on the tripod and click it. Load a PLATE into the camera and press the shutter, then take the PHOTOGRAPH and zoom out.

Mr. Crow

Zoom in on the empty frame and put the photograph in. Study it and note the three symbols on the ends of the cross. Zoom out and turn right. Zoom in on the chest of drawers, open the second drawer down and take the MAGNIFYING GLASS. Zoom out and go back to the photograph, and look at the symbols through the MAGNIFYING GLASS.

Zoom out, turn right and zoom in on the safe. Set the symbols you saw on the cross in the windows, open the door and take the CROW MASK.

Zoom out, turn to Miss Pheasant and put the CROW MASK on her. Paint the symbol for Mr. Crow on the screen. Zoom out, get behind the camera, load a PLATE and take the shot. Take the PHOTOGRAPH and zoom out. Turn right and put it into the frame on the wall on the left.

Mr. Owl

With the MAGNIFYING GLASS, look at the drawing of a clock face in the bottom left corner of the photograph: the hands are set to 3:30. Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the wall clock and set it to 3:30, then take the small ROLLING PIN. Zoom out and turn round.

Zoom in on the chest of drawers, open the top drawer and take the MATCHES. Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the puppet theatre stage, open the curtain and click the screen.

Put the ROLLING PIN into the hands of the figure on the left and click it until an axe comes down from above. Take the AXE and put it into the hands of the figure on the right, then click that figure until the left-hand figure has a candle where its head was. Click the left-hand figure and you get the LARGE TORCH. Put it into the left-hand figure’s hands and light it with the MATCHES.

Click the figure on the right and take the KEY. Zoom out. Unlock the left-hand cabinet door with that KEY and take the OWL MASK.

Zoom out, turn to Miss Pheasant and put the OWL MASK on her. Paint the symbol for Mr. Owl on the screen. Go to the camera, load a PLATE and take the shot. Take the PHOTOGRAPH, zoom out, turn right and put it into the frame on the wall on the right.

The music box

With the MAGNIFYING GLASS, look at the buttons on Mr. Owl’s shirt and note the hint. Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the music box on the table, open it and take out the punched sheet.

Mark the holes according to the hint, put the sheet back into the box and turn the handle. Take the KEY from the compartment that opens. Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the box on the cabinet, unlock it with the KEY and take out the PISTOL.

Zoom out, turn to Miss Pheasant and give her the PISTOL. Zoom out, get behind the camera, load a PLATE and take the shot. Zoom out, turn round and go up to Miss Pheasant, and take the piece of PHEASANT MEAT.

Chapter five: wild boar ribs

A new dawn

Go to the lobby. From the lift, turn right and take the glass of RED WINE from the windowsill.

The recipe for wild boar ribs in red wine with tomatoes opens automatically. That is the first ingredient. As with the white wine, take it before giving the pheasant meat to Mr. Toad, or you will have to wait until the next day.

Go to the kitchen and hand over the ingredients for the fourth dinner. Three more stars.

Night: ingredient two, tomatoes

Go to the lobby, take the lift up to the first floor, and out into the corridor. Knock at the door on the right.

Room 2: Mr. Boar

Speak to Mr. Boar, who asks for a sandwich.

Zoom out and turn right. Open the curtain and take the BOAR DROPPINGS out of the toilet. Zoom out and zoom in on the cabinet on the right.

Open the top drawer and take the LETTUCE. Put a slice of bread on the chopping board, add the LETTUCE and the DROPPINGS, cover with the second slice, and take the SANDWICH.

Zoom out, turn left, go to Mr. Boar and give him the SANDWICH. Click him; he eats it and runs off to the toilet.

Turn round and take the TOILET PAPER from the cabinet. Turn left and give it to Mr. Boar, and he lies back down on the sofa.

Turn left and speak to him again; he asks for another sandwich. Make one the same way and give it to him, and he heads for the toilet again. Take the TOILET PAPER and give it to him again, then make and feed him a third sandwich.

When Mr. Boar lies back down on the sofa, open the toilet curtain and click the toilet. Take the TOMATOES out of the water that has risen, mixed with blood.

Ingredient three: boar ribs

The coded cabinet: the opium pipe

Look at the drawing of coloured patches on the wall above the cabinet. Zoom out and turn right. Zoom in on the cabinet with the combination lock.

Turn the discs to set the pattern you saw in the picture above the bread cabinet, and take the OPIUM PIPE. Zoom out and turn right.

The opium

Zoom in on the letter pinned to the wall and note the seal drawn on it. Zoom out. Zoom in on the poppy flower, tear the petals off and take the OPIUM.

The vision

Zoom out and turn round. Zoom in on the cabinet, open the bottom drawer and take the MATCHES. Zoom out and turn left. Give Mr. Boar the PIPE, put the OPIUM in it and light it with the MATCHES.

Zoom out and look around until the room fills with smoke, and you find yourself in a strange forest.

Find the crow sitting on a branch and click it. Find the bird again and follow it until you make out the dim outline of Mr. Crow. Click him twice and take the KNIFE. Click Mr. Crow twice more and you are back in the room.

Preparing the kill

Turn to the entrance door and zoom in on the three monkey figurines. Press them in the order 1 2 3 2 1 3 3 1 2 3 and take the KEY.

Zoom out and turn to Mr. Boar, and take the CANDLE hanging above his head. Turn left and zoom in on the metal box, unlock it with the KEY, and use the CANDLE to make out a new combination of coloured patches. Zoom out and turn left. Zoom in on the cabinet with the combination lock.

Set the pattern from the box and take the HAMMER. Zoom out.

Killing Mr. Boar

Take the TOILET PAPER and turn left. Make a fourth sandwich and feed it to Mr. Boar. While he is on the toilet, zoom in on the axe on the wall and knock the clamps off with the HAMMER, so the axe falls to the floor.

Turn the winch handle to lower the rope. Tie the AXE to it and turn the handle again to raise it. Turn right and give Mr. Boar the TOILET PAPER. Turn left and use the KNIFE on the rope the axe hangs from.

Take the BOAR RIBS.

A new dawn

Go to the lobby, hand the boar ribs to Mr. Toad, and watch the film of the fifth dinner.

Epilogue

Night: the lobby

Go up to the reception desk and speak to Mr. Crow, who advises you to see what Mr. Owl needs in his room.

Look at the key rack behind Mr. Crow and take the ROOM KEYS. Zoom out and go left.

Zoom in on the safe and fit the room keys into the keyholes, each of which has a symbol drawn beneath it. Put each room’s key into the hole above the symbol you saw in that room. This is what the seals noted along the way were for: the hotel plan in Mr. Deer’s room, the mark beside Mr. Owl’s portrait and the poster in Mr. Rabbit’s room, the sheet behind the frame in Mrs. Pigeon’s room, and the letter pinned to the wall in Mr. Boar’s room.

Take the RUSTY LAKE CIGARS. Get into the lift, go up to the second floor and out into the corridor. Knock at the door at the end of the corridor.

Room 6: Mr. Owl

Speak to Mr. Owl, who thanks you for the memories you have given him and invites you to look at the black cubes.

Zoom out. Look around and click the black cubes turning in the cabinets to see the souls of the hotel’s guests. Speak to Mr. Owl again.

Take the cover off the plate on the table and click the white cube. You find yourself in a forest; move between the screens clicking the black cubes, and you end up in a lift, rising.

To be continued.