Day 1 of Servant of the Lake walks you through the Vanderboom estate as a new servant, and each duty hides a puzzle you must clear before the game lets you continue. The solutions below are exact, from the tin cups outside the front door to the golden animal case in the attic.
Quick answer: Key codes for Day 1 are the box code 243 (from the paintings), the suitcase code 374 (under the baby), and the wine box code 1753 (from the card). Every other puzzle is solved by the ordered steps listed under its heading.
Tin cup puzzle at the front door
Before you can enter the house, you need a coin, and the coin is locked inside the tin cups. Grab both loose cups first, then sort all five on the windowsill.
Pay the carriage driver with the coin. Once he leaves, grab the iron bar, use it on the loose plank in front of the flower bed, pull it down, and take the key. Use the key on the front door to head inside.
Preparing breakfast: cooking the porridge
After signing the contract with the quill, the maid asks you to make Aldous his porridge. This is a fetch sequence rather than a logic puzzle, but the order matters.
Speak to the maid again, then take the door on her right. Aldous’ room is now open.
Aldous’ silver box (razor puzzle)
Inside Aldous’ room, collect the bowl, both slippers, the spoon from the middle drawer, and open the bed curtains first. The silver box in front of the bed holds the razor. Click it twice to open the puzzle, then match each colored block to its pattern by feeding blocks into the central wheel and rotating them.
- Put the block on the left into the wheel, rotate clockwise one quarter.
- Move the bottom block in the wheel, rotate clockwise one quarter.
- Move the block now on the left beside its pattern, rotate clockwise one quarter.
- Move the top square into the wheel, rotate clockwise one half.
- Move the block now on top beside its pattern, rotate clockwise one quarter.
- Move the block on the right into the wheel, rotate clockwise one half.
- Move the block now on the right beside its pattern, rotate anti-clockwise one quarter.
- Move the block on the bottom next to its pattern.
Take the razor. Grab the clock hand from the soldier on the drawers, place it on the clock, and set the time to seven o’clock to wake Aldous.
Porridge bug puzzle and feeding Aldous
Once Aldous is awake, put on his slippers, shave his stubble with the razor, collect the ear piece that falls, and clean the blood with the cloth (found by moving the trousers on the clothes rack). Open the window, feed the earlobe to the crow, then take the key from the nest and unlock the top drawer for the berries.
Give Aldous the bowl, add the porridge and the berries, then click the bowl. Move a berry and a bug crawls out of a hole. Keep dropping a berry on top of the hole the bug just disappeared into. Once it slows and stops, click to kill it.
Put the spoon in the bowl and feed Aldous until he says he has had enough.
Exercise sequence with Aldous
Click the soldier on the drawers to make it dance and note its movement, then repeat the same pattern on Aldous by clicking his body. The order is Left, Right, Down, Right, Right, Down.
Drag each piece of clothing onto Aldous to dress him, click him to talk, then click the window and the carriage to move on.
Painting numbers and the 243 box code
Clean the three dirt spots (hallway, Servant’s Room, and the room to the right of the maid) with the cloth, pick up the candle, and take the duster from the maid. Dusting each portrait reveals a number you need for the cupboard box.
| Portrait | Action | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Alexandra | Moves twice | 2 |
| Aldous | Shakes watch four times | 4 |
| William | Blinks three times | 3 |
Open the cupboard box and set the dials to 243, then take the candle inside.
Chandelier candle order
Take the last candle from the maid, click the chandelier, and place the remaining candles in the empty sconces. Light them following the arrow, from the start to the pointed end.
- Third candle from the left
- Far left candle
- Third candle from the right
- Second candle from the left
- Far right candle
- Second candle from the right
Flower pot bouquet puzzle
In the garden, pick up the jug and pan right to the flower pot. Arrange the flowers so each column builds up cleanly by leaf count.
- On the lowest tier, move the second flower from the right to the top position.
- On the next tier up, swap the far-left flower with the one to its right on the tier above.
- Swap that green four-leaf top with the flower on the opposite end of this tier.
- Swap the same green four-leaf top with the headless green stem in the middle of the bouquet.
- Swap the headless green stem with the pink ball flower on the lowest tier.
- Swap the lowest pink ball flower with the second-from-top pink ball flower.
The finished bouquet has all white flowers on the left and pink ball flowers on the right, each increasing in leaf number upward, with three green stems in the center. Take the bouquet and the stone tablet.
Cockroach puzzle
Milk the goat with the jug, take the key from the hole it kicks up, and use it on the letter box to grab a stone tablet. Then click the sticks and stones pile to start the roach puzzle. The goal is to move every cockroach into the hole by placing the arrow token next to it, pushing it one space away. If one gets stuck, reset with the arrow on the right.
- Place the token two squares above where it starts to move the top cockroach.
- Move the token down one square to move the next cockroach.
- Move it to the left of the top-left cockroach to move it.
- Place it directly below the top-left cockroach twice to send it into the hole.
- Move the token below the bottom-most left cockroach, then again to push it forward.
- Move the token to the left of that cockroach (now top-left) to send it right.
- Move the token below it twice to drop it into the hole.
- Move the token to the left of the leftmost cockroach, then below it twice to line it with the log.
- Move the token to the left of the same cockroach, then below it twice into the hole.
- Move the token right of the upper cockroach on the right, then below the bottom-right cockroach twice.
- Move the token to the right of that cockroach twice until in line with the hole, then below it to push it up.
- Move the token right of the upper cockroach, then below the lowest cockroach twice beside the log.
- Move the token right of the same cockroach in line with the hole, then up into it.
- Move the token below the remaining cockroach, then right of it twice in line with the hole, then up into it.
Collect the final stone tablet when the log stack falls.
Stone tablet box puzzle
Click the box in front of the pillar and place all three stone tablets inside. Order them from biggest container to smallest, like nesting dolls.
| Row | Order (left to right) |
|---|---|
| Top | House, Cupboard, Vial, Droplet |
| Bottom | Tree, Nest, Egg, Bird |
Take the flag, attach it to the flagpole, and pull the rope to raise it. The carriage arrives.
Suitcase code 374 and packing puzzle
Help Alexandra out of the carriage, take the luggage, and give her the flowers. Click the basket and move it around to read the number under the baby, which is 374.
Serving tea and fixing the cup
Take the tea from the maid’s table and the kettle from the stove, then collect the teacup from the cupboard area. Click the cat until it throws up and collect the sticky substance. Give Alexandra the cup and add sugar, hot water, tea, and milk. She drops it.
Fix the teacup by piecing it back together and using the sticky substance on it. Hand it back, then pour milk, add sugar twice, add tea, and click her to drink. The door on the left opens.
Wine box code 1753
Light the fireplace with logs and matches, take the glass from the cabinet, and click the box on the top shelf. The card beside it gives the date, so move the cubes to spell 1753.
- Top left cube twice
- Bottom left cube three times
- Second cube from the left on the top twice
- Second cube from the left on the bottom three times
- Second cube from the right on the top three times
- Second cube from the left on the bottom twice
- Top right cube three times
- Bottom right cube twice
Take the wine, give Aldous the glass, and pour it.
Cigar box (nine buttons) and William’s cigar
Open the window for William, give him the wine, then rebuild the broken wine bottle on the floor. The pattern it reveals is the clue for the nine-button box. Click the buttons in this order: top left, top middle, middle middle, right middle, bottom middle, bottom right.
Take the cigar, give it to William, light it, and push it right until he swallows it. Click his mouth and use the saliva droplet from the middle tooth to put out the flame. The left and right teeth move the droplet in their direction.
- Middle, Left, Middle, Left, Middle
- Right three times, Middle
- Right, Middle, Right, Middle, Right, Middle
Collect the spoon from his mouth.
Fish painting and protein plant puzzles
Click the painting above the fireplace and select the items in the order the caption names them: Timepiece, Book, Elixir, Fish. Then use the fish on the fireplace and retrieve it once cooked.
For the protein plant, make every bud bloom by setting the arrows and clicking the tree after each flower. The arrows dictate the turns the fly takes.
| Flower | Arrow order |
|---|---|
| First | Left, Left, Left, Right |
| Second | Left, Left, Right, Left |
| Third | Left, Right, Left |
| Fourth | Right, Left, Left, Left |
| Fifth | Left, Left, Right, Right |
| Sixth | Right, Right, Right, Right |
Collect the fly eggs, add the fish and eggs to the toast board on the right table, and feed each sibling a slice. Use the spoon on Aldous’ glass and click him to start his toast.
Baby puzzle and waking William
Do what Alexandra says right after she says it. Clicking too early restarts the sequence.
- Click the baby’s eyes
- Drag the moon up in the window
- Click her hand
- Click her gold wedding ring
- Click the gem in her necklace
- Click Alexandra’s mouth
- Drag the cloud in the window to the left
- Click Alexandra’s eye
Then rouse William by clicking him and clicking where he indicates: when he looks up, click his hat; when he looks right, click his ear; when he looks down, click his shirt. Click Aldous to finish the speech.
The Night Watch checks
The maid asks for a final round. If something is strange, return and ring the bell. If everything is normal all the way to the cupboard, blow out a candle instead. Any mistake restarts the round, and the events appear in random order.
| What you see | Action |
|---|---|
| Cat with blood in the crate | Ring the bell |
| Silhouette and ajar door at the top of the stairs | Ring the bell |
| Alexandra’s portrait face obscured | Ring the bell |
| William’s portrait slipped down | Ring the bell |
| Door closing near the cupboard | Ring the bell |
| Nothing unusual to the cupboard | Blow out a candle |
After the maid sends you to bed, find William, click him, and take the walking stick. Use it on the hatch in the ceiling near the cupboard, then climb the ladder.
Attic collection box puzzle
Take the rung from the middle drawer and a small statue from the bottom drawer, then click the box on the table. Sort the items by type into segments without overlapping.
- Fingers go in the bottom-right segment (longest on top, shortest on bottom).
- Leaves and twigs go in the bottom-middle segment (leaves on the bottom left).
- Bones, muscle sinews, and eye go in the top-right segment (largest muscle top left, longest bone bottom left, skull bottom right with the eye above the beak).
- Remaining fragments go in the far-left segment (gold circle center, faded pink left, large light grey bottom right, darkest grey bottom left, green top right).
Take the candle, add it to the hanging lantern, and light it to reveal the left side of the room.
Poem puzzle
Move items onto the page in the order the poem names them. Each completed line greys out.
- Drag one soldier onto the page.
- Add the woman to join him.
- Remove the woman, then add the cube and the triangle.
- Remove the cube and triangle, then add the other soldier and woman.
- Remove one soldier and the woman, then add the horse.
- Remove the horse, then add the soldier with the rifle.
- Remove both soldiers, then add the woman and the triangle beneath her.
- Remove the triangle and add the cube.
Click the cube for the key, then use it on the purse beside the window for another small statue.
Window constellation box
The window gives the constellation clues for the house, moon, and water symbols. Drag the clouds right until the house lights up, then left until the lake turns black, then further left until the moon goes red to read each pane pattern. The final dial solution is below.
- Move the house dial down twice.
- Move the moon dial down three times.
- Move the water dial up once.
Take the small statue from the box.
Golden case animal order
Click the golden case atop the drawers and match each statue to its symbol. Place them left to right in this order: Butterfly, Bird, Monkey, Fish, Ibex. Open the case and take the scroll and the rung.
Place the rungs in the ladder, climb up, and slide the door open. That clears every Day 1 puzzle and ends your first day at the Vanderboom estate.
