Essential Blue Prince Tips That’ll Save Your Sanity

So, you're about to dive into Blue Prince. First of all, good luck. You’ll need it. Second, don’t panic. It’s a roguelike, sure, but it’s more of a haunted house Rubik’s Cube than a dungeon crawler. You play as a kid on a mission to reach Room 46 and claim his inheritance, but of course, there’s a catch: the whole mansion resets every day. The layout changes, your items vanish, and puzzles reconfigure themselves. But you keep your knowledge, and trust me, that’s your most valuable weapon.

After throwing myself into the game and resetting more times than I can count (seriously, my dreams now include blueprints), I’ve put together 20 absolutely essential tips that’ll help you get your bearings, stay efficient, and—maybe—eventually crack the mystery of Room 46.

The material is based on the GameSpot text, which reveals a beginner's guide from the perspective of 20 tips!

1. Don’t Rush to the Antechamber

The temptation is real: make a beeline for the bottom-center tile on the grid, the supposed location of the Antechamber. But here’s the deal: rushing down to row 9 is a rookie mistake. Higher-ranked rooms are often locked or need gems to place, and if you haven’t gathered enough resources or planned your layout, you’ll hit a brick wall. Use the early ranks to stockpile gear, gold, and keys instead.

2. Use the Room Directory Religiously

Open your menu and check the Room Directory. This thing becomes your holy book. It categorizes rooms by layout, connection points, and special effects. Get familiar with it so you can make educated decisions when drafting rooms. The trick is to remember what you’ve seen before and understand what you’re hoping for when the game offers you random choices.

3. Steps Are Life

You start with 50 steps per day. Run out? That’s it—you’re booted back to the Entrance Hall and the day resets. So, avoid backtracking unless absolutely necessary. Seek out rooms, food, or buffs that increase your step count. Some perks also give you steps on the next day. Think ahead and ration like you’re in a survival sim.

4. You Need a Real Notebook

Blue Prince doesn’t have an in-game journal. Yep, really. That cryptic note you read about the cloister statue’s shadow? Gone if you don’t record it. Take screenshots, start a spreadsheet, or go old-school and use a physical notebook. You’ll thank yourself later when a puzzle hinges on some offhand phrase from five resets ago.

5. Puzzles Get Harder

Some puzzles (especially logic or math-based ones) become more complex each time you solve a version of them. Think of them as evolving entities. Others only need to be solved once. You’re essentially in a mansion-sized puzzle box, so treat every detail seriously—but also prepare to think harder as you progress.

6. Resources Are Everywhere (And You’ll Need Them)

There are three core resources:

• Gems (used to place certain special rooms)
• Keys (for locked doors and sometimes chests)
• Gold (for shops)

Dead-end rooms like Storerooms or Attics often contain these. Use them smartly and don’t place them in crucial connector areas—you’ll just waste steps circling around.

7. Ivory Dice = Second Chances

By default, you can’t control which rooms are offered when you open a door. But Ivory Dice let you reroll that selection. They’re rare, but powerful. Save them for make-or-break moments or when you're hunting specific room types like the Coat Check or Workshop.

8. Scavenge, Buy, Dig—Repeat

Draft the Commissary and Locksmith early and often. They’re your best shot at gems, keys, and powerful tools. Tools like the Shovel, Sledge Hammer, and Metal Detector help you uncover hidden loot or smash open locked trunks. Never walk past a shop room without checking inventory.

9. Treasure Maps Are Worth the Hunt

Once you get a Treasure Map and a Shovel, check the grid and hunt down that X. Treasure could be buried under existing rooms or require a path to an unbuilt area. Either way, it’s usually worth it. That loot might be the push you need to unlock Room 46—or just survive another day.

10. Workshop = Game-Changer

The Workshop is where your tools go from decent to ridiculous. Combining basic items can lead to powerful results (like the Burning Glass or Power Hammer). Get creative. If you’re hoarding items and don’t know why—you probably just haven’t found the Workshop yet.

11. Stash Gear in the Coat Check

This room lets you store a single item for use in future runs. Think of it as insurance. If you crafted something rare or just really want a Shovel next time around, stash it here. It’s a lifesaver—if you’re lucky enough to redraft the Coat Check later.

12. Tweak the Mansion’s Security

Once you unlock the Security Room, you can mess with the Keycard System Settings. High security = more metal doors, but if you’ve disabled them or have a Keycard, that’s actually a good thing. You’ll be free to use your regular keys elsewhere and focus on looting.

13. Read Everything in the Library

The Library is the lore-dump and hint machine of Blue Prince. You can only check out one book per visit, but the book will appear again next time you re-enter. Many puzzle solutions and deeper story threads are tucked away here. Keep coming back.

14. Always Draft the Observatory

This is your main source of Stars, and Stars unlock constellations—i.e. permanent buffs. Some give more steps, some hand out free gems or keys, and others offer discounts. Hitting 50 Stars even gives you a reroll feature. Prioritize this room. No joke.

15. The Laundry Room is Sneaky Good

It lets you swap resource quantities 1:1—steps for gems, gold for keys, etc. It’s a lifesaver when you're sitting on 100 gold but desperately need gems to place a Workshop or Observatory.

16. Yes, You Can Enter the Cloister Statue Yard

You just need to press two hidden switches on the pillars next to the statue. The game won’t hold your hand—hover your cursor and look for the change in icon. Little secrets like this are everywhere.

17. Draft, Upgrade, Repeat

Progression in Blue Prince isn’t just about surviving longer—it’s about upgrading what you have access to. You can find Floorplans, use Upgrade Disks at computer terminals, or visit the Drafting Studio to expand your drafting pool. Slowly but surely, you’ll get access to better tools.

18. Paintings Aren’t Just Decorations

If you see a pair of weird paintings, stop and study them. Some are puzzle clues, others are literal keys to unlock secrets. They’re not just there for the creepy ambiance (though they nail that too). Trust your gut when something looks too symmetrical to be random.

19. Don’t Ignore the Outdoor Areas

There’s way more to Blue Prince than just the mansion interior. Check out the grounds—you’ll find hidden areas like the Apple Orchard, Gem Mine, and Campsite. Some contain story breadcrumbs, while others are critical to unlocking major game systems later.

20. Room 46 Isn’t the End

You’d think getting to Room 46 would be the finish line. Spoiler: it’s not. Blue Prince plays with your expectations, and what seems like the “goal” might just be a curtain pull for something deeper. The game’s layers go beyond your first big victory.

It’s Not About the Destination

Blue Prince is a weird, haunting, wonderfully cryptic experience. It’s one part escape room, one part roguelike, and one part puzzle RPG. The resets are frustrating at first, but once you realize that you are the progress bar—not your items or your map—it clicks.

If you go in expecting a game that’ll reward observation, patience, and note-taking, you’ll get the most out of it. If you want to brute force your way to Room 46, you’ll probably get stuck. The joy is in the little discoveries: a hidden drawer here, a painting that suddenly makes sense there, a room that connects to a memory from 10 runs ago.

Take your time. Dig in. You’ll be back tomorrow anyway.