Virtual Villagers 2 – The Lost Children

Virtual Villagers 2 - The Lost Children

General puzzle strategy guide:
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Most of the puzzles are dependent upon some combination of Village Tech, 
villager skills, and other puzzles. Although some puzzles depend upon the 
completion of specific puzzles, the 16 puzzles are rarely completed in 
the order that you see them on the puzzle screen. Pay attention to the 
things that your villagers are curious about and the messages that you 
see when you take one of your villagers "exploring" around the island. 
These often provide clues that will help you solve the puzzles. Another
good strategy is to drag one of your adult villagers around the island 
after every tech purchase and look for new things that they can work on,
since many of the technologies open up new possibilities for your 
villagers. Most of the frustration related to solving the puzzles is 
brought on by impatience. It takes time for your villagers to gain the 
necessary skills and technology to work through all of the puzzles.

Hints for the 16 puzzles:
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You can safely browse these if you just need a gentle push in the right 
direction. Each puzzle is referred to by number. The puzzles are counted 
sequentially, with 1 being the leftmost puzzle in the top row, and 16 
being the rightmost puzzle in the bottom row.

Puzzle 1 - is something that will provide warmth, protection, and 
technological advantage to your tribe. It can be solved at the beginning 
of the game.

Puzzle 2 - requires a certain level of technology and will allow your 
villagers to enjoy a regular, if limited, source of food. 

Puzzle 3 - requires the completion of Puzzle 2 and a skilled villager to 
fashion something that will protect one of the sources of food.

Puzzle 4 - requires a certain level of technology and a highly skilled 
villager who will fashion something that your villagers will need in 
order to completely explore some areas of the village. 

Puzzle 5 - involves the flowers and herbs located in various parts of the 
village. This puzzle can be completed at the beginning of the game. 

Puzzle 6 - requires a villager with well-rounded skills.

Puzzle 7  - will open up an unlimited food supply by restoring the ocean 
to its former condition. You will need to have highly skilled villagers 
and a certain level of technology. 

Puzzle 8  - reveals ancient writings. Your villagers will need a certain 
level of technology, as well as the completion of Puzzle 4. 

Puzzle 9  - requires the completion of Puzzle 1, a certain level of 
technology, a hidden item, and the flowers and herbs that your villagers 
can find in various parts of the village. 

Puzzle 10  - requires a certain level of two different technologies. Drag 
a villager to the southeast part of the village. 

Puzzle 11  - is a special building that requires a certain level of 
technology. You will see a foundation appear, which your villagers can 
work on. 

Puzzle 12  - is another special building that requires a certain level of 
technology. You will see a foundation appear, which your villagers can 
work on. 

Puzzles 13-16  - involve the recovery of pieces of the Gong of Wonder, 
which can be retrieved only after meeting the necessary requirements. 
Retrieving the pieces will variously involve teamwork among skilled 
villagers, purchasing of required levels of Village Tech, and completion 
of Puzzles 6, 9, and 10. Your villagers will reveal some clues as you try
various things in the game, and there will be more specific clues that 
you can study when you complete Puzzle 8.


Detailed spoilers for the 16 puzzles:
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Don't read these unless you want to know EXACTLY how to solve each of 
the puzzles.

Puzzle 1 involves building a fire in the fire pit. Drag one of your 
villagers to the pile of dry wood in the southwest part of the village 
to gather firewood. After the wood is placed in the fire pit, take a 
villager to the very dry grass that can be found to the west of the 
coconut trees. Once the firewood and dry grass have been placed in the 
fire pit, drag a villager there to light the fire. You will need to 
replenish the firewood periodically to keep the fire from going out. 

Puzzle 2 is the construction of a dam that will divert water from the 
stream to an area that can be used for farming. After you purchase 
Level 2 of Engineering Tech, drag a villager to the rocks that are in 
the middle of the lower portion of the stream. You will see a message,
"He/she could probably build a dam here."

Puzzle 3 is a scarecrow that an adept farmer can construct in order to 
protect the crops from the birds. Drag an adept or master farmer to the
twisted pieces of wood and vines that are located in the northern portion
of the village. The scarecrow requires two trips to complete, so make 
sure that you finish the construction, or your crops will not be 
protected. 

Puzzle 4 is the fashioning of special cutting tools that will be needed 
to cut away vegetation in some parts of the village. After purchasing 
Level 2 of Exploration Tech, drag a master scientist to the northern 
part of the village where he will see something among the rocks near 
the twisted pieces of wood and vines. Your scientist will need to make
a second trip to finish the tools, so take him to the twisted wood and 
vines to get the necessary materials. 

Puzzle 5 is completed when your villagers learn mastery of six special 
plants located in various parts of the village. Drag a villager to each 
of them and watch for the message that each has been mastered. The plants
are (beginning in the northwest part of the village and moving clockwise):
the odd-looking plant immediately to the left of the very dry grass, the 
blue flower between the thorns and the rocks, the small lavender flower 
at the northern edge of the graveyard, the black flowers near the waterfall, 
the bright reddish flowers south of the dam site, and the large orange-red 
flower at the south edge of the village. 

Puzzle 6 is completed when you have sufficiently trained a villager to 
become master in three skills. That villager will become an Esteemed 
Elder, and a totem will be created to commemorate their new status in 
the village. 

Puzzle 7 is the elimination of the algae in the ocean that was caused by 
over fishing. After purchasing Level 3 of Farming Tech, take a master farmer 
or master scientist to the pond, where they will collect algae-eating fish 
that they can use to repopulate the ocean. Once sufficient fish have been 
placed in the ocean, the algae will once again be under control and the 
villagers will have unrestricted fishing. 

Puzzle 8 is the removal of the vines that cover the wall on the east side 
of the village. After you purchase Level 3 of Culture Tech and have 
completed Puzzle 4, drag a villager to the vine-covered wall and they 
will begin cutting away the vines. 

Puzzle 9 is the ability to make various stews for your villagers. To make 
stew, you will need to have purchased Level 2 of Exploration Tech, 
retrieved the cauldron from the wood pile, mastered at least one of the 
special plants, and started a fire in the fire pit. The steps to make a 
stew are: 1) Drop a villager on the cauldron to put the cauldron on the 
fire 2) Drop a villager on the cauldron again, and he or she will go 
get water for the stew 3) Drop a villager on any of the mastered plants,
and the villager will gather herbs for the stew. Each stew requires a 
total of 3 herbs, in any combination. 4) Drop a villager on the cauldron 
again, and he or she will go get food to add to the stew. When the stew 
is complete, the villager will move the cauldron off the fire. Some 
stews are good, some are bad, and some make your villagers do interesting 
things. Experiment and have fun with them. You can also find different 
"recipe books" that have been created for the game that contain all of 
the stew combinations. 

Puzzle 10 requires Level 3 of both Engineering Tech and Exploration Tech. 
Drag a villager to the ancient covered floor in the southeast part of the 
village and they will begin uncovering the site. 

Puzzle 11 is the construction of a hospital. After you purchase both Level 
3 of Engineering Tech and Medicine Tech, a foundation will appear that 
your villagers can work on. 

Puzzle 12 is the construction of a sewing hut, which will allow you to 
change the clothing that your villagers are wearing. After you purchase 
Level 2 of Culture Tech, a foundation will appear that your villagers 
can work on. 

Puzzles 13-16 are the pieces of the Gong of Wonder. The four pieces can 
be retrieved in the following ways:  A team of 3 Master Builders can open 
the crate on the beach, where one of the pieces has been hidden. 
After purchasing Level 2 of Exploration, your villagers can clear the 
thorns blocking access to the gong encasement, which will also reveal a 
piece of the gong. 

Prepare a magic stew that will allow one of your villagers to dive for 
the sunken gong piece in the pond. The herbs needed for that magic stew 
are: one of the black flower near the waterfall and two of the red-orange 
flower on the south side of the village. The pictures of the required herbs
can be seen in the drawings on the wall once the vines have been removed. 

After finishing Puzzles 6 and 10, drop a totem in the center of the uncovered 
mosaic to reveal a piece of the gong. Once the gong is assembled you can 
experiment with the effects that it has on your village. You can bang 
the gong once every 24 hours.