Publisher: Artifex Mundi       Developer: Artifex Mundi       Release Year: 2014 Even though this is a remastered version of the first game in the Time Mysteries series, it really shows its age. It's a very oldschool HOG with little in the way of animation and it's painfully obvious it was originally designed for full screen monitors because some scenes look blown up and stretched, so they're blurry and difficult to scrutinize for the hidden items. Many scenes have a lighting effect that constantly brightens and dims, which I found headache-inducing. You don't even need to play this one to understand Time Mysteries 2 and 3 because they were a reboot of this storyline, not a continuation. The puzzles are mostly all quite simple, but if you decide to play it for some reason, you'll probably be glad since it means you'll finish the game sooner. I'll offer some help in meeting that goal. Type: Rotating Rings Maze Puzzle Comment: Line up the rings to form a path so the ball can travel from its starting point to the hole in the middle. Here it is solved. Type: Memory Match Comment: Flip over two tiles. If they match, they disappear. If they don't, they turn over and you can try again. Just keep doing this until all the tiles are gone, you cannot lose this game. Type: Chess Game Comment: Each time you move the chess knight, it will turn the square it lands on to red. Keep moving it around until every square on the board is red. Much like the previous game, you can't lose this. Type: Find the Differences Comment: Find all 7 differences between the two pictures. Unfortunately, the pictures are tiny and it's hard to make out details. If you have the game set to no misclick penatly, you're just as well off clicking everywhere until you find them all if you're having trouble. Here they all are: 1. The shield 2. The rat near the gloves 3. The red feathers on the helment 4. The flag on top of the yellow tent 5. The number of puppets in the theater 6. The birds in the sky 7. The first two banners leading to the castle Type: On/Off Puzzle Comment: When you click the buttons, they light up. Clicking a button turns on or off adjacent buttons. You have to get them all switched on. Type: Electricity Puzzle Comment: First turn all the fuses so they lock into place. Then turn the dials to the right combination of numbers which is spelled out right there on the damn wall. You still need me to show the solution? Fine. Type: Find the Differences Comment: Another one of these. Here are the answers: 1. Lightbulb on the table 2. Open cabinet drawers 3. Top of the potted plant 4. Bottom of the curtain 5. Bottle in the drawer 6. Peacock feather on the desk 7. Number of bars on the chair at the table Type: Other Comment: This is stupidly easy and I don't even know how to classify this. As the liquid moves through the vials, parts of the contraption will light up just before it reaches them. Simply click these parts so the liquid can keep moving along. Type: Gear Fitting Puzzle Comment: Place the gears on the pegs in such a way that they connect and start turning. Here it is solved. Type: Tower of Hanoi Comment: The parts of this puzzle have to be rearranged so that the largest piece is on the bottom, the smallest on top, and it spells out "Ambrose", like so. Pieces can only be placed on top of other pieces that are larger. I've given specific instructions for solving Tower of Hanoi puzzles in other hidden object games, but this one is too easy and I just don't feel like it. That makes me a lazy guide writer, I suppose, but when it takes way more time and effort to write a step-by-step guide than it does to solve it, I think maybe that's justified. Type: Find the Differences Comment: You have to do one of these before traveling to each new time period. The answers are: 1. The crack in the window. 2. The apple near the luggage box. 3. The second tennis racquet. 4. The color of the water in the lower right. 5. The small spheres surrounding the large sphere. 6. The circle on the middle of the grate thing. 7. The statue's broken arm. Type: Pattern Guessing Game Comment: There are six different-colored marbles that can be placed in the holes of the puzzle board. The right four colors need to be arranged on a line in the right order. If you get any right, numbers will appear to the left to tell you which ones are correct, like so. Keep trying until you get all four correct, like so. I'm not sure if this puzzle is randomized or not, so the color pattern in my screenshot may not be the correct one for every game. Type: Jigsaw Puzzle Comment: Simple jigsaw puzzle. Take the pieces out of the triangle and rearrange them in the square. Here it is solved. Type: Find the Differences Comment: Another time period, another puzzle like this. Here are the answers: 1. The semi-circles on the front of the table. 2. The picture on the table. 3. The flower on the left middle door panel. 4. The shield in the painting on the upper right wall. 5. The chalice on the table directly below the door handle. 6. The cracks on the left side of the door frame. 7. Missing "knob" on the right side of the door. Type: Jigsaw Puzzle Comment: Arrange the paper scraps to form a message. They lock into place when situated correctly. Here it is solved. Type: Pattern Guessing Game Comment: This is the same exact type of puzzle as the other Guessing Game you did before. This time there are five paint colors and you have to find the correct four and put them in order on the puzzle board. If you get any of them right, a white crown will indicate it. I don't know why wrong answers can produce either a black crown or a blank spot, though, but both mean that color is wrong. Keep trying until you get four white crowns. Type: Find the Differences Comment: The answers are: 1. The ram/deer head. 2. The color of the witch's hat. 3. The number of leaves on the left. 4. The position of the horn on the bench. 5. The apple between the two jugs in front. 6. The missing handle on the large pink jug. 7. The bowl of eggs directly below the witch's hat. Type: On/Off Puzzle Comment: Stupidly annoying On/Off Puzzle in which you have to get all the tiles to light up. Clicking a title turns on or off adjacent tiles. I don't have exact directions, but I had to reset it multiple times and try again until I got it right. Type: Object Matching Comment: For this puzzle, a flower, lizard, fang, or feather will appear on the four rocks in the corners of the screen. Similar objects will appear in the circle in the middle. Find the ones that match exactly the colors, shape, and patterns of those that appear on the rocks and click on them. Keep doing this until the puzzle is over. Type: Jigsaw Puzzle Comment: When Hidden Object Games start running out of ideas, they hit you with jigsaw puzzle after jigsaw puzzle. Assemble the stained glass window part. Pieces lock into place when arranged correctly. Here it is solved. Type: Object Matching Comment: An object will appear in the book to the left. Find the identical object on the shelves to the right and click on it. Repeat until all the right items have been found. Couldn't be any easier. Type: Find the Differences Comment: You know the drill: 1. The hanging red plant in the upper left. 2. The soup in the bowl on the bed. 3. The number of arches as seen through the window panes. 4. Jesus on the cross. 5. Extra pillow on the bed below the cross. 6. Pattern on the opened trunk lid. 7. Blanket near the soup bowl. Type: Rotating Rings Maze Puzzle Comment: Almost the same as the very first puzzle in the game. Here is what it looks like solved. Type: Sliding Key Comment: Usually this type of puzzle involves a key, but this one just wants you to move the largest block to the bottom. Again, I don't have a specific solution, but it's not too hard to do. Slide the tiles around until you can move the big one out. My screenshot should provide a clue if you're stuck. Type: Find the Differences Comment: This is the last one of these. The differences are: 1. Shape of the lamp in the upper right. 2. Drawing of the castle is missing a turret. 3. The chess piece on the shelf. 4. Number of cups on the shelf. 5. Candlestick on the counter. 6. Color of the wall trim directly above the mirror. 7. Size of the jar on the shelf above the camera. Type: Jigsaw Puzzle Comment: Told you there'd be more of these. Assemble the microchip. Pieces lock into place. Here is what it looks like solved. Type: Sliding Key Comment: Another variant on the sliding key puzzle, there's a circular pattern hidden underneath all the boxes, and you need to slide them around so that it's completely uncovered. Here it is mostly solved, but when I put the finishing touches on it, the screen instantly transitioned, so I couldn't get a completely solved screenshot. Like the one before, I don't have an exact solution to give, but it's not hard to do. Type: On/Off Puzzle Comment: Wouldn't you know it? The final puzzle is a simple on/off puzzle that's way easier than the one with the elemental symbols earlier. Clicking on a ring makes it start spewing magical dust. It will turn on/off adjacent rings. Get them all turned off to finish the game.