The Cave Guide – The Island Guide

The Cave, a game made by Ron Gilbert and Double Fine Productions is a 2D side scrolling puzzle quagmire. We will document our journey through The Cave and will be posting up stopping points along the way for anyone that may need some help. If you do need any The Cave help, or if we skip a part that you would like to see, make sure to hit us up in the comments. Do you know an easier way to do a puzzle? Hit us up in the comments as well and help your fellow gamers. If you need any other The Cave Guides make sure to check out our The Cave Walkthrough that has links for every single puzzle. Let’s get started.

The Island Puzzle Guide

The Island puzzle in The Cave is all about the Island Hermit. This old hermit thinks that you are going to be his salvation of the island. What he doesn’t know is that you are just trying to get from one side to the other. Most of the puzzles in this section are strait forward, but can be tricky if you don’t use adventure game logic. Let’s go through all of the steps.

Laying the Pipe

The first thing you should do when you get to the island puzzle in The Cave is lay the different pieces of pipe in the correct slots. The strait pipe is the first pipe you will come across. This pipe is right by the beginning starting area of the island. Grab this piece of pipe and head to the underside island to put it in the strait pipe socket. You will need to push the box from above the water mill to make a step so that you can go to the right side of the island. Once on this side, push the box from the right side coast to make a path to get to the underside of the island.

The cross pipe is pretty easy to miss if you are not paying really close attention. There is a waterfall that is spinning a water mill that you already pushed a box off of to get to the right side of the island. On a little platform above the Hermit and the dog there will be the cross pipe. Take the cross pipe to the underside of the island with that character and place it in the cross pipe shaped socket.

The L shaped pipe is already in the underside of the island. Directly to the right of the cross shaped slot for the cross shaped pipe there is a ladder with a special story piece as well as the L shaped pipe. Grab that piece and head left. There will be a couple of gaps, but if you just keep going left you will eventually run into the L shaped pipe socket. After you pop the final pipe in the puzzles actually start getting hard.

Moving the Boat

Moving the boat on the underside of the island can be done easily once the pipes are set in place. Directly to the right of the L shaped pipe socket there is a ladder that goes down. Head down that ladder and hit the action button on the water valve. This will fill up this little moat area with water. Make sure to hold the action button down a couple times to fill it up all the way.

Head outside and grab the boat. Push it over the waterway and into the underbelly of the island. Eventually you will reach a door that can not be moved that is holding the water back. To finish this part of the puzzle you have to drain the water from this little dam area.

To get rid of the water in this area you have to use the pirate flags. Take two characters to the top side of the island and put one character on the furthest bottom part of the underside. The first flag is near the starting area, just after meeting the parrot. The second pirate flag is to the right of the water mill, just after jumping over the box. The third pirate flag is on the underside next to some skeletons. Hit all three of these flags at the same time and a door will open up.

These powder kegs will blow up the rocks underneath the dam area. Roll them out and space them evenly out like the picture just above. The first one you can put by the ladder until you have to use it. The second keg goes just to the left of the four rocks in the background (one is on top of three). Then the third one goes just to the right of the wooden grate that is on the ground.

Grab the first barrel and pull it over to the right. When you get close to the lava the fuse will light. Push it to the left and down the incline. This will blow the rocks under the water and drain the dam. Now you can take the character that was on the first pirate flag around and hit the lever to lower the dam wall. Push your boat to the right until you get to an area over the lava. Hit the water pipe and steam will raise the boat on to the top side of the island. Move your character from the second pirate flag and have him/her push the boat to the right side of the island. Now all we have to do is figure out how to get everyone in the boat.

Getting the Hermit Out of the Boat

To get the Hermit out of the boat what you need to do is grab a femur bone from the same area that had the powder kegs. Take this bone to the top side of the island and drop it to the left of the water mill before the pond. Then with that same character, run back to where the boat now is. You will notice a box of crackers. Pick that up and head back to the bone.

To the left of this spot a parrot will be perched on a rock. Hit the action button when you get close to the parrot and you will give him a cracker. This makes the parrot sit on your shoulder and become your best friend. With the parrot on your shoulder head back up to the mill.

Pick up the bone and go up the ladder. Press the action button when you get close to the dog and you will tease him. The dog will bark and the parrot will then begin to imitate the sound. Carefully drop off of the platform. If you die, the parrot will stop barking and you will have to redo this section. Continue to the right and make your way to the boat.

When you finally get to the boat the parrot should still be barking. When the Hermit hears the barking he will remember that he has forgotten his beloved dog. The Hermit will run away to get him and you can get all of your characters in the boat. This will resault in the end of this section and the end of The Island Puzzles in The Cave.

I hope this guide helped you guys. If you do need any more help with this puzzle let us know and we will get on it! I will also post a few video guides here and there on posts that show some more details. For more The Cave Guides, check out our The Cave Walkthrough Guide Collection. Thank you for reading and keep it locked on Gamers Heroes for all of your gaming needs.

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