During game play, items will appear and you will need a child to collect it for you. One way to keep track where the children are is by using the spot next to where the Gong Of Wonder is located. Place the children in between the large totem's mouth and the thorns. There is a small opening where you can move children or adults to, and they will stay there until you move them. Note: Sometimes they can get out by themselves.
Puzzle solutions
Puzzle #1: Building of the fire. When the game begins, one of your villagers is already a trainee builder. Drop them near the fire pit. The action will read "This looks like a good place to start a fire". Drag them to the woodpile near the bottom left of the village near the hut that needs repaired. They will gather firewood and place it in the fire pit. Next you must drag them to the upper left corner of the village, just behind the coconut trees. There is an area of dry grass that is used to start the fires. They will collect the dry grass and carry it to the fire. Last, but not least, pick up the trainee builder once more and drop them back by the fire. They will light it.
Puzzle #2: This puzzle is the completion of the dam in the pond on the shallow end.. You must purchase level 2 of Engineering. Drop your builder/builders in the pond, and they will begin building the dam.
Puzzle #3: Building of the scarecrow. "The Birds" will attack and destroy your crops after the first crop. You must get this scarecrow built as soon as possible. Level 2 of Engineering is required. You may use either an adept farmer or a master farmer. Just behind the research hut/table, you will see twisted vines. Drag your farmer to the vines. The building of the scarecrow requires two trips to this area. The farmer will pick up some of the vines. The action will read, "Building a scarecrow". The farmer will carry his vines to the crop, and erect it at the north end of the crops. Pick him up once again, and drag him back to the vines. He will again pick up vines. He will returns to the crops and complete the scarecrow. You are now safe from "The Birds".
Puzzle #4: The Cutting Tools. After purchasing level 2 of Exploration, several objects will appear that you could not see before. Only adults can see these objects. There is no action if you use a child. Back behind the research table just to the right of the blue rose/flower you will now see a whitish colored stone with three dark gray or black vertical lines on it. Select a master scientist and drag them to the area of the stone. They will bend down and pick something up. Action will read, "Building cutting tools". The scientist will return to the research area. Grab the same scientist and drag them back to the vines found in the same area behind the research table. They will pick vines to use for handles for the construction of the cutting tools. You will see the tools appear in the upper left hand corner of the hut, leaning against the hut.
Puzzle #5: Herb Mastery. This puzzle requires locating and understanding of each of the herbs on the island. Start at the far left behind the coconut trees. The first is a plant that resembles a Venus Flytrap. Moving to the location behind the research hut, you will see a blue rose, a single purple flower just to the right of the blue rose, and a long strand of dark purple or black colored flowers just behind the diving rock. Moving down towards the end of the narrow end of the pond, there is an orange colored lily type flower. Finally, there are two red flowers just below the dam. Keep your villager highlighted with the white circle around them. Stay with that villager until you see the message "Now your whole village understands this herb".
Puzzle #6: The Esteemed Elder Totem Pole. This is a totem pole that will appear in honor of any villager that becomes a Master in any three combination of skills. You can pick it up and place it anywhere desired in the village.
Puzzle #7: Discovery of the Algae Eating Fish: To solve this puzzle, you must have level 3 of Farming. Drag and drop a Master Farmer or Master Scientist in the pond and he or she will immediately locate the algae eating fish. They will walk to the ocean and put the fish in the ocean. Do not pick up the farmer as he or is walking. He or she will drop the fish if you do that. Try using several Master Farmers or Scientists if you have them. About twenty fish must be placed in the ocean. You will know when you have completed the puzzle as you will receive a message, and there will be a celebration.
Puzzle #8: This puzzle is the unveiling of the writing on the wall behind the dam, under the covered vines. You will need all levels of technology except level 3 of Science and level 3 of Exploration. You must have purchased Level 3 of Culture Tech and have completed Puzzle 4. Then just drag a villager or villagers to the vine-covered wall and they will begin cutting away the vines.
Puzzle #9: The Stew. To complete this puzzle, you will need to locate the cauldron which is hidden under the woodpile. You must purchase level 2 of Exploration. After the purchase, the cauldron will be visible to you under the woodpile. After the retrieval of the cauldron, you must have a villager make a stew. The villager who finds the cauldron will carry it to the fire pit. Pick the villager up and drop them again. Action will read "Making a stew". Then the villager just walks away. If you click on the cauldron, it will say "3 herbs needed for the stew". Drag a villager to three herbs, one at a time. Remember, do not pick up a villager when they are carrying anything of importance as they will drop it. You may pick any three combination of herbs, but the villager can only add one at a time. They will need to make three trips to the different herbs (any three of your choice, there are many recipes). After the villager has added the three herbs, drop them by the cauldron again. Action will read "Adding water to the stew". The villager will walk to the pond and return with a bowl of water. After they have added the water, pick them up and drop them again near the cauldron. Action will read "Adding food to the stew". After the vegetables are added, the stew is complete. You will receive a message regarding finding the stew.
Puzzle #10: Uncovering of the Ancient Ruins/Mosaic Floor. You must have level 3 of Engineering and Exploration. Drag your villagers to the floor located in the southeast corner of the village just below the dam. They will begin to uncover the floor. You may use as many villagers as you wish.
Puzzle # 11: The Hospital. After purchasing level 3 of both Engineering and Exploration, the foundation for the hospital floor will appear. To complete the puzzle, your builders must complete the construction of the hospital. Note: Your sick villagers will no longer sit in the center of the village. When they are not feeling well, they will now go to the hospital. Make sure you keep checking the hospital for sick villagers. It is located in the southeast corner of the village. This is the only building with no roof. Sick villagers will sit in front of the hospital.
Puzzle #12: The Sewing Hut. You must have both level 2 of both Science and Culture. After you have purchased both, the foundation for the sewing hut will appear. Get your builders busy. When the sewing hut is completely constructed, your villagers can purchase a new outfit for 5,000 tech points.
Puzzles #13-16: Completion of the Gong of Wonder: If you have cleared the briar patch, you have already found the first piece. Assuming you have not, piece number one will appear in the gong encasement as soon as you have cleared the briar patch located behind the research table and hut. There is a crate laying on the shore of the ocean. You will need three Master Builders to open the crate. The crate will reveal another piece of the gong. One of your builders will carry it back to the gong encasement and hang it. If they do not , drop them back by the piece and they will pick it up and do the above. To retrieve the piece deep in the pond, you will need to make a stew. The stew must contain the following three herbs: one sprig of the blackish/dark purple strand of flowers behind the diving rock and two sprigs of the orange/red lily located at the southeast corner of the village. You must make sure you have them follow the steps to make the stew, and they must eat it. Once they have eaten it, they will not feel the need to breathe (thus allowing them to go in deep water). Carry the villager to the top of the diving rock, and they will jump into the pond, disappear, and resurface with the gong piece. They will then hang it in the gong encasement. The final piece is located by dropping an Esteemed Elder Totem directly onto the middle of the ancient mosaic floor. You will need an Esteemed Elder totem to complete this step, and that is Puzzle #6. You must also have the ancient mosaic floor uncovered, which is Puzzle # 10. Once all 4 pieces of the Gong of Wonder are in the encasement, you may have a villager ring it once every twenty four hours. The ringing of the gong will produce different effects on your village/villagers.
Random shiny coin event
During a point in the game a random event will tell you that one of your villagers has found a shiny coin. You will get two options. You can either put it on your clothes (or something similar) or give it to scientist to study. If you keep the coin for yourself you will level up to Culture level 2 without using any tech points. If you give to the scientist to study you will only get a few Tech Points back.
Speed up time
You can speed up the in-game time by adjusting your the system clock while the game is running.
Stews
Use the following recipies to create the corresponding stew.
Burst Of Energy Stew: 3 red flowers. These are the flowers just below the dam.
Jumpy Stew : 3 blue roses. These are the flowers behind the research hut.
Rainbow Stew: 3 purple flowers. These are just right of the blue roses.