The central story of The Tartarus Key involves a group of unlucky captives trapped in a bizarre, puzzle-filled mansion. After rescuing herself and Detective Torres, Alex has two choices: staying on the ground floor to find the researcher Charles, or heading upstairs to locate billionaire William. Ultimately, both characters must be rescued in order to reach the Good or True Ending of the game. This guide will cover each puzzle that must be solved across three different rooms to find and save William and learn how he is connected to the strange events of The Tartarus Key.
All Master Bedroom Puzzle Solutions
From the Great Room where Torres is resting, head upstairs to the East Wing Wing on the first floor of the mansion. Only one door is open and unlocked – head through it and Alex will find herself in the Master Bedroom.
Examine the large cabinet to find a projector slide, which you can then insert into the projector in the center of the room. This causes a diagram to appear with four numbered locations around the room.
Close the cabinet door to learn the number 1592. There is an obvious keypad on the other door leading out of the room, but entering 1592 does not unlock anything. You will need to visit the four locations indicated on the projector diagram to find the proper order in which to enter these four numbers. The steps are as follows:
- In the bottom-left section of the cabinet, there is a diagram showing to switch the second and third numbers, giving you 1952
- In the bottom-right drawer of the dresser, there is a diagram showing to switch the first and third numbers, giving you 5912
- In the bottom corner of the locked door, there is a diagram showing to switch the third and fourth numbers, giving you 5921
- Next to the bed underneath the potted plant, there is a diagram showing to switch the first and last numbers, giving you 1925
Enter the code 1925 into the keypad to unlock a new room. Head into the Hidden Room and pick up the slide from the floor. Putting this slide into the projector will cause numbers and symbols to appear and a slider puzzle to show up beneath the mirror on the dresser.
Move the first column three notches – it will wind up on the 3rd row. Move the second column seven notches – it will once again end up on the 3rd row. Finally, move the third column ten notches – it will wind up on the 2nd row. This will cause a hidden compartment to open. Grab the slide in this compartment and place it on the projector. Also grab the three statues insider the compartment and put them into the board next to the projector.
Examine the board and then move the statues so that a shadowed outline of a door appears in the projected image. The correct placement is as follows:
- The tall, narrow statue goes in the middle column, bottom row
- The medium statue goes in the middle column, middle row
- The short, squat statue goes in the middle column, top row
Finally, return to the Hidden Room. After a cutscene, proceed through the new door that has appeared into the Planetarium.
All Planetarium Puzzle Solutions
Pick up the three notes – one on a chair, one on the bookshelf, and one inside the stack of boxes in the corner. Next, pick up the diagram sitting on the central console. Third, collect the registry – the open book on the table. Finally, pick up the binder hanging from the blackboard and interact with the blackboard. Examine all of the items one at a time in your inventory to learn the following information:
- The unicorn is associated with the north and the whale with the south (Binder)
- Aquila is the Bird, Lupus the Wolf, Monoceros the Unicorn, and Cetus the Whale (Blackboard Notes)
- Dates written in blue are written Day/Month, while dates in red are Month/Day (Back of Note)
- The diagram is referencing the Unicorn constellation, because it has a unicorn drawn on it (Diagram)
Head to the north side of the projector and hit “Change Date”. You will see two wheels, an inner one with zodiac symbols and an outer one with numbers. Line up the wheels to match the diagram – the symbols and numbers drawn on the diagram (Tauros and Virgo, 82 and 10) should be at the outer edges of your screen. The resulting date is 25/07. Once you have put in the correct date, an image of a unicorn will appear. Press Toggle Lock to lock in the date.
Now, move to the south side of the projector, which you know from the binder and blackboard is Cetus the Whale. Cetus was observed on both 12/7 and 10/9 by two different people. A note mentions “meeting in the middle” so look at 12/7 and 10/9 and instead choose the numbers in between – 11/8. Once again, lock in the south button once the whale image appears.
Check the note with the red handwriting. It observed Lupus – the Wolf – in the East on 3/8, but the person in red writes his dates backwards, so enter 8/3 on the east side of the projector and lock it in.
Aquila the bird is the only one left, so it must go in the west. The person in green, who writes his dates correctly, observed Aquila on 6/5.
Once all four dates are properly locked in, a cutscene will play. Alex will receive the Peacock Key. Leave the room, head back to the main hall, and open the door with the peacock on it to enter the Living Room.
All Living Room Puzzle Solutions
Once you enter the Living Room, Alex will encounter William locked in an explosive collar. While William claims he doesn’t want Alex’s help, you need to rescue him to earn the game’s true ending, so time to solve those puzzles regardless of his complaining.
First, examine the painting on the wall to trigger some dialogue with William. The portrait shows a puzzle beneath the rug on the floor, so move the rug to reveal it. Rotate the nine panels until all four lights on the outer edges of the puzzle are lit up green. When you do, the power in the room will come on and a white grid will appear. The solution to this puzzle is shown below:
Pick up the journal on the table and flip it over to find mysterious symbols on the back. The nine-by-nine grid indicates that you will once again need that grid on the floor, and the example diagram shows that you need to combine the patterns inside those squares to make numbers. (It may help to keep in mind that the numbers revealed will be in a digital “font,” like on a calculator or digital clock.)
First, position yourself so that the arrow in the center of the grid is pointing upwards, like so:
Then, label each square in the grid with a number from 1 to 9, with 1 in the top-left corner and 9 in the bottom left. Number the grid on the journal in the same way to figure out which square corresponds to which.
The four symbols on the cover of the journal are each made up of two to three parts from the grid on the other cover. In addition, each square will be used only once. Match the pieces of the symbols to the squares in the larger grid to make four numbers. You can also hit “Examine” on the glass grid to view the two grids and the four symbols on one single screen.
- The first symbol is made up of parts from squares 1, 4, and 8, making the number 5
- The second symbol is made up of parts from squares 2 and 9, making the number 4
- The third symbol is made up of parts from squares 3 and 6, making the number 2
- The fourth symbol is made up of parts from squares 5 and 7, making the number 3.
Enter the code 5423 into the safe behind the bar to receive several bottles of various drinks, a bag of coffee beans and one empty bottle. Now, it’s time to make William’s favorite cocktail to unlock his explosive collar.
Talk to William and then read the journal in your inventory to learn that his favorite cocktail is a Gumshoe. Next, pick up the recipe cards on the floor behind the bar. Read them in your inventory to learn that the recipe for a Gumshoe is as follows:
- Two parts High-quality Coffee
- One part Whiskey
- One part Cordial
- Serve the drink piping hot
First, you need to make coffee. Pick up the vase of flowers on the table to get Dirty Water. Run the water in the vase through the water filter to clean it. Then, click on the coffee maker and select “yes” if you want to make coffee. MAKE SURE that you filter the water first, as coffee made with Dirty Water will NOT be good enough to make a proper Gumshoe!!!
Interact with the cocktail shaker on top of the bar and add two parts coffee, one part whiskey, and one part apple liquer. Then, warm the Gumshoe at the fire to make it piping hot. Check carefully to make sure you performed every step properly – William’s life is on the line! Finally, give the hot Gumshoe to William. If made correctly, this will unlock his collar and William will join the other rescued survivors in the Great Room.
Although William may be a bit of an obnoxious character obsessed with himself, saving him is unfortunately necessary to unlock both the Good and True endings of this game. So, make sure to check out GameLuster’s other guides for The Tartarus Key to learn how to solve every puzzle and save every captive!
