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Hi! I'm Bart Bonte, a Belgian independent game designer and bontegames.com is where I blog about new interesting browser and mobile games. My own games are all in the left column (or at the bottom of this page on mobile). More info about me and my games on bartbonte.com.
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December 11, 2020

lost in firefly forest [browser]

After a hike you find yourself lost in a mysterious dark forest. Solve its many riddles and puzzle your way out or wander for all eternity in the latest game by Ferociter: Lost in Firefly Forest.

104 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice game so far, I can't find the clue for the lake.

Anonymous said...

The clue for the lake is on the paper with the wise men clue, just walk a circle in the opposite direction. The center statue is what the outer ones need to face towards or away from, not you.

That's as far as I've gotten.

Anonymous said...

Great game, but I'm stuck at the gravestones. Any tips?

Anonymous said...

this game is 2 hard

Anonymous said...

For the gravestones, you need to read them in a particular order. Look at the information they give, and then the hint at the main gravestone, to get an idea.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a great game!

Hello said...

Ok but what abou”find the moon” clue?

Anonymous said...

So far I've found the well, the lake, the three wise men statue, an outhouse, a doorway with a gate in front of it, a clearing with a spiral pattern on the ground, and a clearing with two trees. I tried using the hint offered by the tree with a clock but it never went anywhere. For the spiral pattern I noticed there are either 1, 2, 3, or 4 fireflies at each entrance/exit (which direction has each number appears to be random). From the beginning if you take the path with 3, 1, 3, 2, 2 and then 3 fireflies in that order the spiral pattern reappears, but then the path just seems to end there and no matter which direction you go you're back in the forest and have to start over.

Anonymous said...

For solving the spiral pattern you need to find another paper with a clue.
To Hello: I tried to find the moon for some time and then stumbled over it at some place I were rather in the beginning and just forgot...

Anonymous said...

for the moon its the outhouse the left blind man leads you to, stuck on the metal box and the spiral

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 19:28: For solving the tree with the moving branches you need to read the hint at the clock.

Anonymous said...

the clock: move the branches into the right places and then follow the directions given by the hint at the clock

Anonymous said...

For the metal box: you need to find a clue that you read *while navigating the cart

Anonymous said...

I only found the well and are able to return to that place. Further only running running running. Nothing to find :(.

Xpets said...

I don't understand the clue "the forth wise woman started at the lake".

Anonymous said...

After finding the clue behind the three wise men statue I cannot go back. I'm stucking in front of the statue and cannot go anywhere. Is it a bug? I can only throw stones to the statue.

Frobisher said...

Okay, I'm out!

@Xpets: You've seen the statue with the three women? Each of them opens up a new area if you follow the instruction on the statue, but because there's only three of them, one of the cardinal directions isn't used..

.. The clue is saying you should do the same thing as for the 3-women statue, but starting at the lake and going in the final direction you haven't gone yet

Frobisher said...

@Anonymous, if you read the sign in that area, it says something to the effect of 'the hero threw a stone at the statue when we were all watching and then again when none of us were watching'.

Try rotating the three statues to match the first condition and throwing a stone and then rotating them again to match the second condition and throwing another stone.

Xpets said...

@Frobisher thank you!

Anonymous said...

This mine cart puzzle is killing me. Is there any kind of hint for this?

Frobisher said...

The mine cart puzzle effectively requires finding a clue, which makes it trivial to solve. If you're trying to brute force it, stop because it would take even longer than you imagine!

I'd suggest looking through the clues you have (and the areas you've accessed to a lesser extent) and asking if you've done something with them yet

Anonymous said...

Thanks! I guess I was trying to brute force it. You should see my graph paper... Anywho, I got frustrated and tried some other stuff, and I just found the clue with holes in it. So I think I'm about to solve it. Thanks again!

Frobisher said...

Ha, I did the same with an excel sheet, but it's convoluted enought to develop a useful air of 'I'm-not-really-supposed-to-brute-force-this-am-I?' ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm having trouble figuring out the first symbol of the tp clue, any hints?

Anonymous said...

The first symbol is a castle, where the fourth wise woman ended up after walking from the lake

Frobisher said...

i had that problem too — it's the tower (the one with the candles inside), which you reach by following the clue about the fourth wise woman.

(Just in case — the last TP symbol is the well)

Reese said...

What do you do with the shovel? Also what do I do for the spiral and tower? I have the clue about the well, the one with the lake and statue of the 3 women and the one that says start and the 4 compass directions.
This game is definitely interesting but also very confusing when you don't know what to do next.

Anonymous said...

WHOOO!!! Passed it. Hard game but actually really enjoyed it as well.

Anonymous said...

Loving this game. I think I've got the clue for the mine cart but how do I get to the mine cart?

Anonymous said...

Three circles with a line drawn around them in a certain pattern -- is this done at the three wise women place, or somewhere else? When I tried it there, nothing happened. Any help?

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous
If you follow the instructions on the hint with most of the locations (tower->wise-> and so on) You'll get to where the hint with the three circles is useful.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what to do with the spiral puzzle! I tried the clue but nothing happens. It leads to the forest again

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I did what I thought you were telling me to do, but no luck.

Walking in big circles across screens as we do to get to the lake, etc., criss-crossing as the clue shows, didn't do anything.

Also, the three small circles at the wise women's place doesn't do anything.

I feel like a child, and I'm sorry to trouble you, but what the heck am I supposed to do? I feel I've exhausted the other clues, unless I'm missing something.

Do I need to have done something specific first?

Are the three circles representative of big screen-crossing circles, which confusingly come in four corners, not in threes? Of the small circles at the wise women place? Or of some place new?

Sorry for being so dense, but if you can tell me any more, I'd really appreciate it. I feel like I've come so far, only to be stuck here.

12 December 2020 at 13:19

Anonymous said...

You should have a clue that's a long strip with a sequence of locations and N E N at the end.
You have to go to those locations in order and then N E N. If you do that and get to the new place you should know what to do with the "three circles" clue.

Anonymous said...

OK, well, I don't have that clue that's a long strip with a sequence of locations followed by N E N. So that's my problem.

Does it come at the mining cart? Or at the spiral? Because it's possible I failed at those locations.

Frobisher said...

@Anonymous What items do you have? You should have got something from down the well that can be put to work in a certain moon-doored outhouse

Frobisher said...

To anyone that's stuck on the spiral puzzle, if you don't have a clue that explicitly outlines how to solve it then you're trying to solve it soon. Even if it looks like you're solving it, there's an extra couple of steps outlined by the clue.

Anonymous said...

@Frobisher re: the moon-doored outhouse: You're right, I do have something I could use there. I feel stupid. Off to try it now. Thank you so much for your patient help!

Anonymous said...

@Frobisher: All right! That did the trick. Thank you, I'm out! Once again, I really appreciate your patient explanations. Thank you! And thanks to Casper van Dommelen and audioautix.com for this game, and to Bart Bonte for sharing it! A very creative and unique game. Call me "Anonymous C." Thanks again, Frobisher!

Anonymous said...

I can't get the tree / clock clue, please help !

Long Peter said...

Finally I'm out the forest.

Nice Game and concept.



Some Hints.
Spiral Puzzle:
--You need the clue you get at the tower.
The lighter in the tower is hidden in the mine/gave.
To find it move the mining to the exit and the metal box will open.
To move the car use the 2 pillars. (This I missed for a long time.)
To find a map of the maze: dig at the graveyard. there is a pile of dirt left up corner you can dig. (I missed this also for a time)

Frobisher said...

@Anonymous — re: the tree / clock

interact with the clock, and pay particular attention to the last piece of text, which tell you where to go after you've matched the tree to the clock time

Anonymous said...

thanks Frobisher, I was looking for something far more complex...

I'm now stuck with the lighter unused, did not find the spiral clue, and did not find the clue what to do when reaching the toilet paper path.

Rechecked everything else, can't find what to do next ?

Anonymous said...

Sorry got it, forgot I hadn't made the tower. Now out. Great game

Anonymous said...

I figured out two of the three paths in the well, the maze and the one with the hint to the upper left when you descend. Where can I find how to solve the other path?

Unknown said...

Okay... Following the Toilet Paper clue.

I go to the tower, the 3 wise women, to the tree (via the lake) and then the well and NEN. And nothing happens.

What am I missing?

Anonymous said...

Still trying to figure out what to do with the spiral. I got the clue with the
3-1-3-2-2-3-w-w and it leads me back to the forest i don't know what i'm missing. Is there any other clue? Please help!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

@Unknown, you have to go to the tree directly, not via the lake

Unknown said...

Firefly/Spiral

If you follow the amount of fireflies at the spiral and then go WW you get a new clue.

The number of fireflies changes on each spiral screen.

Long Peter said...

Hello UNKNOWN

You made the mistake you need to go to the lake to go to the tree.
Try going directly from the 3 wise woman.
The lake is breaking the cicle.


#Ano.
Follow the number of fireflies you keep the spiral every move.
end then go 2 times west and loose the spiral.

Long Peter said...

stuck at 19.

how does the egg crosses the river?

Reese said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marie said...

Like everyone I am stuck at the spiral. I have the (first, apparently?) clue, with the numbers and the -> W -> W but as I understand you guys, I need another clue before I attempt this? Does anyone remember where to find it?
(I have a full inventory and I have the well clue, the women/lake one, the moon, the forth woman, the mine cart and the toilet paper.)

Reese said...

I feel like a video walkthrough of this game would be very useful for anyone who is stuck at a specific part and just wants to know how to solve it. Also what do I use the clue with the word Start and arrows pointing to the 4 cardinal directions for?

Tea said...

@Reese
If you follow the directions going back and forth (from anywhere) in the given order, you will get to a new location

I need help with the final(?) clue ... what is the symbol before NEN?

Marie said...

@Reese

You walk it. :) Same way you get to the wise women or the lake.

Anonymous said...

@Marie
Once you have the clue with the numbers and WW, you can use that clue on the spiral with the fireflies (accessed East of the wise women totem). The numbers show you the path (count the fireflies), then walk west and west to access another clue. Good luck!

Reese said...

Thanks for the help Tea.

Marie said...

@Anon

Thank you for your reply! I must be doing something wrong because I've tried that half a dozen times now but there is nothing there after reaching WW. Idk. Do I need to return to the center of the spiral in between the numbers?

@Tea

Look through your clue collection. The symbol is a simplified version of a drawing you've already seen.

Tea said...

@Marie
Thank you! I thought it was some kind of pot. :D

Finally made it through. Great game!

Reese said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Reese said...

Where do I find the clue for the minecart?

Frobisher said...

@Reese
I think you've got to use the spade you got from outside the tower in the pile of dirt near the gravestones

Reese said...

@Frobisher
I have that, I was just wondering if there was something else I needed which I don't.

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
After finding the clue behind the three wise men statue I cannot go back. I'm stucking in front of the statue and cannot go anywhere. Is it a bug? I can only throw stones to the statue."

I'm stuck in the same place. I placed the statues and threw the stone twice, and the big statue let me in. I went up two rooms and got the hint, but now am stuck in a small area in front of the big statue. I can only go back to the hint or throw stones. I can't get out. Help!

Anonymous said...

Have you tried restarting the game and continuing?

Nat R. said...

When I saw this I said, "Oooh, a new Ferociter game!" I've loved pretty much everything of his, they're well-designed and generally well-coded. I found that every time I was stuck, there was some flaw in my logic on a certain puzzle or I was missing the meaning of a clue. I checked this comment section once, and then immediately left it because I saw a clue I hadn't found yet! Luckily it was the next clue I was about to find, once I figured out I was turning the wrong way like an idiot. (I never got the glitch outside the water temple area, so maybe he's fixed it.)

After I beat it, I went back to check whether it was clue-proofed (the game checks whether you've found a necessary clue before it allows you to reach a location), and while most puzzles are very effectively designed to be nearly impossible to brute-force (I was amused by the twist at the end of the firefly code that stumped the brute-forcer above), using notes allows for basically any skip. I started taking physical notes and figuring out the best route for a speedrun, which is almost ready and maybe I'll make a video!

It's just occurred to me that I've basically memorized how to beat the game normally (aka what all the clues mean), so I could create a text or video walkthrough fairly easily. For text, I'm not sure if writing a walkthrough here would be too much, or how to spoiler it effectively. So let me know if you want that! If I make a video, I'll post the link here.

Anonymous said...

Solved it: The reason I couldn't get out of the statues was the problem was my browser's privacy settings were on, evidently it uses cookies.

Nat R. said...

@Marie

I'm also confused because from how you described it, you should have found a clue. Make sure you're following the arrow order for the first six numbers, and check carefully that you counted the fireflies right. Then once you've done all those numbers, left and left again should take you there. It may look like you've exited the puzzle at the end, but you haven't.

Anonymous said...

I have the rope and plunger and the following clues: the one for the well, walk in a circle, the one that says Start with going all 4 directions and back, the find the moon one, and the 4 locations with NEN. I've used the rope at the well and the plunger at the outhouse, not sure where to go next.

Anonymous said...

Stuck!

Have rope & plunger, and clues up to the toilet paper clue

Have thrown the switch to open the mine

Can't solve the maze to the left when you go down the well, I end up at a 2x3 set of dots

Can't find the tower, or the shovel

Not sure what the sign means in the invisible maze "wait and the path appears" (or something to that effect, waited a few minutes, nothing appeared)

Halp!

jev said...

This was a great game! :) Just finished, thanks in part to some of the commenters here. I never did end up finding that fourth wise woman clue...

Also, I just realized that I'm not sure I got anything from that one maze in the well, the one with the dotted tiles? After following the path indicated by the sign (1 forward, 2 right, 3 left), it seems to lead to a small loop and nowhere else... Is there some kind of secret there?

**Spoiler:

@Reese, the clue for the minecart is in the area with the tombstones (it requires the shovel!)

Marie said...

@Anon
I noticed that the position of the fireflies is different each time I arrive at the spiral, but I did make sure to account for that. Sigh. Maybe it's some kind of glitch? I'll start a new game and see what happens. Thank you!

@Halp!-Anon (13 Dec 06:56)
• maze: Don't think, just walk. Follow the pattern.
• You get to the tower with the "The forth wise woman ..." clue. Do you have that?

@jev
There's no secret. Continue following the pattern and trust the game. It works out.

Marie said...

I figured out my mistake with the spiral: I always just stood on the patch of grass where the correct number of fireflies was instead of changing screens. I am an idiot.

This was a really great game!

Long Peter said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Stuck!

Hi Stuck, please use a name, replies a bit more personal.
SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!

Well, maze left:
There is a sign, next to the rope. tells you to turn and go strait at a number of dots.
1 dot is go straight. 2 and 3 are left or right.
It is turning, not north south etc.

Maze down: (invisible maze)
After not doing anything a layout appears.
If not, Go west. find an exit south, and re-enter on the west.

Tower:
Find the clue saying: the 4th witch/woman started at the lake.
3 witches goning N-W-E. so 4th is south. go to the lake and walk south till you find the tower.

Shovel.
Next to the tower.

Nat R. said...

Aight I'm gonna leave a text walkthrough here, but I'm gonna avoid directly quoting clues or explaining puzzles, just tell you where things are used. Hopefully that way I won't ruin anything for anyone...

SPOILERS

First: travel randomly until you encounter an interesting area, talk to the person if you'd like, then do that again. Collect the first clue.

Follow the instruction to get back to that first area, and talk to the person again. Collect the second clue.

That gives you two new locations. The lake has instructions to complete its puzzle on the sign. Collect the "Start" clue from inside the water temple.

Following the "Start" clue from any starting point, not just the lake, will bring you to the tree. This area also has instructions to complete it within the area. Collect the moon clue.

Now use the second clue to find the three women. You'll be returning here a lot, so I recommend memorizing where the paths lead. Find the moon (it's, uh, made of air) and follow the moon clue to reach the graveyard.

The graveyard has instructions to complete its puzzle on the headstone. When the ghost appears, follow it to find the crypt. Collect the rope.

Return to the well. You now have three puzzles, all with their own solutions contained within the area. I recommend doing the left and bottom puzzles first, to collect the fourth woman clue and the plunger. Then do the right puzzle to unlock the cave.

Following the fourth woman clue brings you to the tower. Collect the shovel, then return to the place you can use it to collect the hole clue. Along the way, you can use the plunger to collect the, um, very unsanitary clue. Go to the cave and use the hole clue to obtain the lighter.

Return to the tower and use the lighter to solve the puzzle there. Collect the firefly clue. Go to the spiral and solve the puzzle to collect the winding path clue.

Now you have everything you need to leave the forest: two end-game clues and the lighter. Find the tree stumps and exit!

(This is the logic flow. If you were trying to do something out of order here, other than the unsanitary clue, you needed to do something else first. If you're at a point where I said to collect something and you can't find it, you're not using the correct solution, but you can find it with what you have.)

Anonymous said...

I have done 2 out of 3 paths in the well and I have gotten the TP clue, but I have never been to the tower. What do I do? I have also found the metallic box.

Anonymous said...

Ever since I played the text game "Haunted House" (nearly 40 years ago.)
I have hated these type of cheater mazes. (cheater proof?)
However knowing that you can't force a puzzle lock, or maze changes it.
I actually found all the clues & escaped this map honestly.
Feels good, & my compliments to Casper van Dommelen A.k.a. Ferociter.

Unknown said...

I'm really struggling with the left maze puzzle that's down the well. I've followed the instructions on the sign, but I just end up back where I started and get no clue. Have I missed something?

Nat R. said...

A lot of people are struggling with the left side of the well. I got stuck there too, it's very intuitively difficult until you figure it out. If you end up back where you started, you're interpreting the dots wrong on the way back. Think carefully about which way to turn.

Long Peter said...

The left maze in the well has a classic turn around joke

If you follow the instructions.
You go true the maze from east to west.
Walk to the next "maze". This maze let you turn around and walk back to the first.

Now the last instruction was Turn Left <-- If I remember correctly.
If you turn left again, and you are going the first maze backwards you may made a left right mistake.

Going north and left is west.
Then turn around. ( going east )
Then turn left... and you should not go south

Nat R. said...

I made a video walkthrough! https://youtu.be/mCRQb03vZg4
I also explained the puzzles as I went, so hopefully you won't be left wondering why I did things a certain way.

Marie said...

@Anon 13 December 2020 at 19:46

You get to the tower by following the clue about the forth wise woman. Do you have that? Think about what the other three women did, and then what the forth did.

Stage name said...

Nice game. Challenging but with fair, clever clues. Only complaint was it was a bit hard to see at times. Going full screen helps. And yes, I brute forced the mine cart puzzle, but I've done that ever since I jumped the one in Hollywood Hijinx. If there's an apparent finite solution, I can't resist!

SasiSneak said...

Best game this year. I love it.

BreezeeP said...

This was suuuuper super fun! The clues were just hard enough to make you think a ton without getting too frustrated. Thanks for finding this!

Jade said...

Very nice, this one.

Olavo said...

I liked this one a LOT. Thanks for sharing.
My only complaint would be the final puzzle where the clue was covering the branches(?) at the top. I could hear a sound, but didn't realize what happened. So, I ran the pattern once again only to find out that I had solved it already :-)
Alvast een heel goed nieuwjaar gewenst Bart!

Richard T. Lynch said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Just finished the game. 10/10 Still wondering on what happened to the other guy in the forest though. Were they the ghost that guided you? Just something nagging at my brain.

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to do the toilet paper clue, and forgot how to get to the tree. Any pointers?

bobboy said...

on the clue i got with the stone guardian, i don't know what to do. the things I've found so far have been the first clue (obviously) the clue the traveler gave me, and the stone guardian. i did all the things on the clue, but i don't know how to get to whatever's next.

Unknown said...

What do I do with the start paper

Anonymous said...

I've gotten this far:

Found the well clue
Found the statue and women clue
Found the moon clue
Full inventory
Found minecart clue
Found 4th women clue
Found tree clue
Found the 3 tree stumps
Found the graveyard, tower, and spiral

But I'm stuck, what do I do with the unlit tower lights?

Joe said...

I lit all the candles but nothing happened

Joe said...

I lit all the candles but nothing happened

Joe said...

I lit all the candles but nothing happened

Anonymous said...

how to get to the spiral?
say @ppisbig if you have the answer

Anonymous said...

and @joe you have to light them in the pattern in the top corners

Anonymous said...

For the tree set look at what a clock looks like at 5 past 4 then spin the trees arms to look like 5 past 4 then go east then north, you should find your self in a grave yard

Anonymous said...

My guys goated with these replies

Anonymous said...

Go use the plunger on the toilet in the outhouse

 

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