Right here at Polygon, we aren’t strangers to the online game pocket book. Handwritten notes can create a bodily place that may function a information and help in our personal recreation experiences. They will additionally improve enjoyment of a recreation. Our employees has created assassination bullet journals and argued that taking notes could make video games extra enjoyable. Now, Blue Prince — the most well liked puzzle recreation of 2025 — has taken that inclination and set it on fireplace.
In Blue Prince, you discover and assemble a sprawling mansion property room by room utilizing a collection of randomized blueprints. There’s a roguelike factor, too: The home’s ground plan resets day-after-day (or run). Progressively, you’ll be able to piece collectively data and gadgets from varied rooms to resolve puzzles. As you play, your notes turn out to be an indispensable instrument for piecing collectively the various mysteries of the mansion. Nonetheless, it’s not all the time clear what one of the best ways to take notes is.
We spoke to our personal employees and dozens of Blue Prince gamers to be able to remedy the puzzle of tips on how to take good notes whereas taking part in the sport. As you learn, don’t consider this as a “finest” record, however permit these suggestions to spark concepts of what you suppose would be just right for you and the way in which you play.
[Ed. note: Some of the images of notes below contain spoilers for puzzle solutions in Blue Prince. We hid some of them behind spoiler images, but click through the image galleries at your own risk.]
How do I even know what I ought to write down?
In Blue Prince, it may be robust to determine what’s value noting and what’s not. Listed here are some suggestions we discovered helpful that helped information our methodology for taking notes.
- The related data can change. What it is advisable to observe in a room may change relying on the actual puzzle you are attempting to resolve. Due to this, you don’t must get caught up capturing each single element of each room, however quite be open to visiting and revisiting. Don’t sweat getting every part you want on the primary go!
- As you are taking notes, you’ll be able to simply ask your self: What stands proud to me on this room proper now? Go searching after which jot down a few notes.
- When you can’t instantly discern what’s helpful, you can begin by writing down each quantity, title, city, and occasion you come throughout. If an individual is tied to a specific occasion or function, observe that data as properly.
- Each time you hit some type of block, like a machine you don’t know tips on how to use or a bizarre room that looks like it has no use, write that down. It will also be useful to write down down every time you see a observe or the rest in the home that references one thing you haven’t seen but or that confuses you.
How you can take notes for Blue Prince
For some folks, writing one thing down will help them recall data extra simply than in the event that they kind it. When you’re this sort of particular person — and also you don’t thoughts writing as you play — listed below are a few of our favourite suggestions for taking notes for Blue Prince.
1/4Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Supply picture: Dogubomb/Uncooked Fury through Polygon
To begin, think about using a devoted pocket book for this recreation. As you play, you’ll add quite a bit to the notes, and it’ll possible develop past the confines of some pages or so. You should use any outdated pocket book you’ve mendacity round, however Polygon’s personal Susana Polo suggested utilizing a dotted pocket book, since you need to use the grid construction to attract diagrams along with taking common notes.
That is positively not a should, however I used a multicolored pen that may change between black, blue, and crimson ink. I underlined names, dates, and story data in blue and marked puzzle data and room data in crimson. This helped me discover sure varieties of data extra simply. (I additionally liked this method as properly as a result of it was in keeping with the general red-and-blue visible themes of Blue Prince.)
When you get settled with a pocket book and pen, you’ve a whole lot of choices for tips on how to arrange your notes. Nonetheless, there was a prevailing pattern amongst commenters. Arrange your notes by room and depart loads of area everytime you begin a brand new part for a room. Some folks we spoke to allotted a whole web page per room, though not each room will want that a lot area.
Simply make one part per room. From there, you may need to take into account creating extra sections for characters you study, particular puzzles, and instruments, and even hold a little bit of area for normal observations or ongoing questions.
If this feels like quite a bit, there may be one method to deal with it. You’ll be able to break up the work! Charles Harte advised Polygon that he and his associate performed collectively. Charles performed as his associate took notes. Their pocket book has a color-coded part for every room the 2 have discovered to this point and incorporates a number of pages within the entrance for miscellaneous clues.
How you can take notes digitally for Blue Prince
Picture: Dogubomb/Uncooked Fury through Polygon
You won’t get as a lot tactile satisfaction as you’d writing one thing down, however there are a bunch of advantages to utilizing digital notes whereas taking part in Blue Prince. You’ll be able to arrange and reorganize notes as you go alongside and also you don’t must allot pocket book pages for an unknown quantity of data. Additionally, you’ll be able to embrace screenshots and search your paperwork with Ctrl+F.
We heard from gamers who used each note-taking software program underneath the solar — just like the Notes app on iOS, Freeform, Obsidian, spreadsheets, and even Google Slides.
The perk of taking part in on a pc is that you could simply write up notes as you go alongside and embrace screenshots. When you’re taking part in on Home windows PC or Steam Deck, now’s nearly as good a time as any to lastly use Steam’s built-in notes app. Our personal Cameron Faulkner has vouched for its performance prior to now, and at least one particular person advised us they beat Blue Prince utilizing it.
Different folks, like Bluesky consumer Severe Bichon, performed the sport utilizing two screens. One monitor confirmed the sport, whereas the opposite monitor displayed OneNote, which Severe Bichon used to create a bunch of tables to trace mandatory data. (Equally, CJ M on Bluesky used OneNote and arranged every part alphabetically by room and added screenshots, tables, and notes.)
Some folks used packages like Freeform, Miro, and Notion to arrange data and lend a corkboard-like really feel to the notes. We had been notably impressed by the way in which Liz England used Miro to arrange screenshots and notes. England advised Polygon she organized them by colour and mixed textual content and screenshots. You’ll be able to view her board beneath, however know there are late-game spoilers in it.
When you don’t need to make a grand outdated digital Pepe Silvia-esque notes board or use fancy tables, you may also simply hold a doc. Polygon’s personal Ryan Gilliam used Google Docs, as did an entire bunch of individuals we spoke to on-line. Bluesky consumer Jambatt described a easy and streamlined method to organizing a Google Doc for notes. Jambatt made 46 strains for the room previous to beginning the sport and added notes and screenshots whereas taking part in. Moreover, they created a headline for every character title and crammed it in as they found extra data.
1/3Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Supply picture: Dogubomb/Uncooked Fury through Polygon
Screenshots may be good (particularly for those who’re taking part in on PC), however that’s not all the time superb for console customers. A number of folks I spoke to who took digital notes opted for taking photographs of the sport quite than screenshots. My colleague Matthew Reynolds advised me he took photographs of the sport as a substitute of screenshots as a result of it was the simplest method to import photos whereas taking part in the sport throughout a number of platforms.
On the finish of the day, it’s about what works for you and what’s in keeping with the expertise you need of the sport. No matter notes will assist you to take pleasure in and progress the sport can function “good” notes. You don’t must have every part completely organized on a regular basis — so mess around with strategies till you discover one thing that works for you.
Diving into Blue Prince and searching for hints? See our Blue Prince newbie’s suggestions, or our guides on tips on how to remedy the darts puzzle, tips on how to unlock all everlasting additions, and a full walkthrough on tips on how to attain Room 46.
Why it issuesThe objective of Blue Prince is so simple as it’s paradoxical: Discover the forty sixth room in a house with 45 rooms. Carry a notepad and a pen. Create a display seize folder, since you’ll be spamming F12. And completely discover a buddy to play alongside you, so somebody understands what you’re on about.
— Chris Plante, Editor-in-chief
