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 support in our personal sport experiences. They’ll additionally improve enjoyment of a sport. Our workers has created assassination bullet journals and argued that taking notes could make video games extra enjoyable. Now, Blue Prince — the most popular puzzle sport 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 sequence of randomized blueprints. There’s a roguelike aspect, too: The home’s flooring plan resets day-after-day (or run). Step by step, you’ll be able to piece collectively data and objects from varied rooms to resolve puzzles. As you play, your notes change into an indispensable device for piecing collectively the numerous mysteries of the mansion. Nevertheless, it’s not at all times clear what one of the simplest ways to take notes is.
We spoke to our personal workers and dozens of Blue Prince gamers with a view to resolve the puzzle of how one can take good notes whereas taking part in the sport. As you learn, don’t consider this as a “greatest” record, however enable these suggestions to spark concepts of what you assume would give you the results you want 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?
Picture: Dogubomb/Uncooked Fury through Polygon
In Blue Prince, it may be powerful 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 you must notice in a room would possibly change relying on the actual puzzle you are attempting to resolve. Due to this, you don’t have to get caught up capturing each single element of each room, however slightly be open to visiting and revisiting. Don’t sweat getting every little thing you want on the primary go!
- As you’re 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.
- If you happen to 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 selected occasion or position, notice that data as properly.
- Each time you hit some form of block, like a machine you don’t know how one can use or a bizarre room that looks like it has no use, write that down. It may also be useful to jot down down every time you see a notice or anything in the home that references one thing you haven’t seen but or that confuses you.
How one can take notes for Blue Prince
For some folks, writing one thing down can assist them recall data extra simply than in the event that they kind it. If you happen to’re this type of individual — 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 start out, think about using a devoted pocket book for this sport. As you play, you’ll add so much to the notes, and it’ll doubtless develop past the confines of some pages or so. You need to use any previous pocket book you’ve gotten 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 undoubtedly not a should, however I used a multicolored pen that may swap 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 beloved this strategy 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 gotten a whole lot of choices for how one can manage your notes. Nevertheless, there was a prevailing pattern amongst commenters. Manage your notes by room and go away loads of house everytime you begin a brand new part for a room. Some folks we spoke to allotted a complete web page per room, though not each room will want that a lot house.
Simply make one part per room. From there, you would possibly wish to think about creating extra sections for characters you find out about, particular puzzles, and instruments, and even maintain a little bit of house for normal observations or ongoing questions.
If this seems like so much, there’s one technique to deal with it. You possibly can break up the work! Charles Harte advised Polygon that he and his accomplice performed collectively. Charles performed as his accomplice took notes. Their pocket book has a color-coded part for every room the 2 have discovered thus far and comprises just a few pages within the entrance for miscellaneous clues.
How one can take notes digitally for Blue Prince
Picture: Dogubomb/Uncooked Fury through Polygon
You may not get as a lot tactile satisfaction as you’ll writing one thing down, however there are a bunch of advantages to utilizing digital notes whereas taking part in Blue Prince. You possibly can manage and reorganize notes as you go alongside and also you don’t have to 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 below 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 which you could simply write up notes as you go alongside and embrace screenshots. If you happen to’re taking part in on Home windows PC or Steam Deck, now could be 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 individual advised us they beat Blue Prince utilizing it.
Different folks, like Bluesky person 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 vital data. (Equally, CJ M on Bluesky used OneNote and arranged every little thing alphabetically by room and added screenshots, tables, and notes.)
Some folks used packages like Freeform, Miro, and Notion to prepare data and lend a corkboard-like really feel to the notes. We had been significantly impressed by the way in which Liz England used Miro to prepare screenshots and notes. England advised Polygon she organized them by coloration and mixed textual content and screenshots. You possibly can view her board beneath, however know there are late-game spoilers in it.
If you happen to don’t wish to make a grand previous digital Pepe Silvia-esque notes board or use fancy tables, you may as well simply maintain a doc. Polygon’s personal Ryan Gilliam used Google Docs, as did a complete bunch of individuals we spoke to on-line. Bluesky person Jambatt described a easy and streamlined strategy to organizing a Google Doc for notes. Jambatt made 46 traces 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 stuffed it in as they found extra data.
1/3Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Supply picture: Dogubomb/Uncooked Fury through Polygon
Screenshots might be good (particularly when you’re taking part in on PC), however that’s not at all times excellent for console customers. A number of folks I spoke to who took digital notes opted for taking photographs of the sport slightly than screenshots. My colleague Matthew Reynolds advised me he took photographs of the sport as an alternative of screenshots as a result of it was the simplest technique to import photographs 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 can help you take pleasure in and progress the sport can function “good” notes. You don’t have to have every little thing 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 in search of hints? See our Blue Prince newbie’s suggestions, or our guides on how one can resolve the darts puzzle, how one can unlock all everlasting additions, and a full walkthrough on how one can attain Room 46.
Why it issuesThe purpose of Blue Prince is so simple as it’s paradoxical: Discover the forty sixth room in a house with 45 rooms. Convey a notepad and a pen. Create a display screen 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
