No-hint route, clue cards, object logic, endings, and achievement cleanup
Strange Antiquities looks calm from behind the counter, but a clean completion run is easy to spoil: one hint click can block Master Thaumaturge, a few customer choices can lock achievement routes, and the late-game plinth puzzles expect you to connect books, maps, object properties, and symbols across many days. This guide is written as a practical walkthrough and puzzle reference for players who want to finish the story without hints, solve every clue card, keep the major achievement choices alive, and clean up the epilogue without replaying half the game.
This is not a word-for-word script. Instead, it gives you the route logic, the clue card answers, the dangerous choices, and the late-game object sets that matter most. If you are playing blind, read the first two sections only; the tables after that are full of location and ending spoilers.
Completion Rules Before Day 1
- Never press the hint button. The no-hint achievement checks the whole run. The settings gear is close enough to the hint control that it is worth using keyboard/menu shortcuts carefully.
- Use manual saves at the start of important days. Make separate saves before Day 8, Day 12, Day 13, and Day 18. Those are the main achievement-sensitive points.
- Label objects as soon as you prove them. Many late puzzles assume you can find named artifacts quickly, and several ending routes reuse objects from earlier days.
- Use the index, not only the table of contents. Customers often ask by a symptom, folk name, or concept. The index can reveal that “Moon Heart” points to Selenic Totem, or that a request about strength should send you toward Fortinance.
- Check every new tool. The scales, senses, Hermetic Symbology, curse booklet, gemstones, Thaumic Lens, and maps are not flavor. They are the game’s grammar.
- Pet Jupiter as you go. Petting Jupiter 30 times unlocks Feline Priorities, and placing Holgen Grimm on Jupiter while he is sitting unlocks Mask of Jupiter.
How The Daily Loop Works
Most days follow the same rhythm. Start by solving the clue card from the previous night, then serve customers, read letters, collect new objects on the map, and end the day only after checking whether a new book, drawer, plinth, vault, or hidden location has opened. The game rarely asks you to rush, so the safest completion habit is to pause after every visitor and ask what changed: a new entry, a new tool, a map clue, or a new consequence.
The main story has 18 regular days and a Day 19 epilogue. You can unlock an ending on Day 18, then use the epilogue to identify remaining objects for Ascendant Thaumaturge. The ending branches can be replayed from a Day 18 save, so do not overwrite that save until you have seen the routes you care about.
No-Hint Route Checkpoints
| Point | Do this | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Take Strange Objects from Eli, serve Thomas Pope with Hunter’s Boon, and learn how to use sense clues, shelves, drawers, and the map. | Handling the first customer unlocks Business as Unusual. You can also deliberately lose sanity and win the dice game for Sanity Restored. |
| Day 2 | Solve the first clue card at the Old Jail area, receive Hermetic Symbology, and pay attention to index-based requests like Moon Heart. | The first clue card gives Explorer. Symbology becomes essential for charms, imbuements, and later vaults. |
| Day 8 | When Bonnie Robertson needs calming, give her Grey’s Grace. Find the curse booklet when the hidden drawer becomes relevant. | Grey’s Grace sets up Catnapped, Not Forgotten. The curse booklet unlocks Burning Blood and future curse logic. |
| Day 9 | After the Bonnie/Jupiter sequence, visit Mary Bell at location 23 before ending the day. | This completes the Jupiter rescue route and awards Catnapped, Not Forgotten. |
| Day 12 | Give Fortinance to Audrey Bell. | This keeps the The Bleak Stones achievement route alive later. |
| Day 13 | Give Babellia to Barton Potter when the dangerous gate problem appears. | This preserves the route toward The Skull of Blencathra. |
| Day 18 | Save before choosing The Pit, Blencathra’s skull in the Catacombs, or The Bleak Stones ritual site. | These branches award Pillar of Calaris, The Skull of Blencathra, and The Bleak Stones. |
| Day 19 | Use the epilogue customers to identify every remaining artifact. | Completing the catalogue unlocks Ascendant Thaumaturge. |
Clue Card Quick Reference
Each clue card is normally solved at the start of the next day. The table below keeps the wording brief so it works as a cleanup reference rather than a replacement for the puzzle. If a card involves a castle floor or Catacombs grave, zoom in and compare shapes before clicking.
| Day solved | Where to look | Answer logic | Reward note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | Undermere, Old Jail | The escaped prisoner clue points from the Old Jail to the first nearby building to the north-west; the clickable answer is the building directly above it. | First clue card; unlocks Explorer. |
| Day 3 | Undermere, below Prince’s Street | Match the drawn block outline to the buildings below the words Prince’s Street, then choose the highlighted building in that block. | Two objects. |
| Day 4 | Behind Locke and Key | Read the phrase as Locke House plus Keystone Manor, then click the large lot behind them to the south. | One object. |
| Day 5 | Gleaston Castle | Overlay the clue’s room shape on the castle map; the target is the lower-right room below the library area. | Important castle-map practice. |
| Day 6 | Gleaston Castle | Follow the path clue to the room near the upper-left side, close to the spiral stair/tower area. | Leads into the first major plinth/vault chain. |
| Day 7 | Mossy Wood | Use Galfrey’s Tower as the anchor and travel east to Mossy Wood. | Map-location clue. |
| Day 8 | Gleaston Castle tower | The sunset-facing tower clue points to the lower-right tower area. | Gives objects and part of a note. |
| Day 9 | Catacombs | Use the grave date clue; the target is in the top row, second grave from the left, marked 1688. | Pairs with the Jupiter rescue day. |
| Day 10 | Catacombs | Find the unmarked grave next to the 1755 grave and below the moon/cross relationship implied by the card. | Another grave-grid clue. |
| Day 11 | King Edward Street | Match the triangle/building symbol to the lot just under the word Edward. | Same day you can open the locked section with Ethereal Key. |
| Day 12 | Catacombs | The cross-between-sun-and-moon clue resolves to the grave associated with the moon grave dated 1781. | Leads into a major vault day. |
| Day 13 | Gleaston Castle | Use the Jupiter symbol from Hermetic Symbology, then match the castle room south of the Ballroom. | Completes the torn-note chain. |
| Day 14 | Catacombs | The Knight of Thorns clue points to the 1356 grave in the upper-right area. | Progresses late-game object collection. |
| Day 15 | Undermere, Woodcutter’s Lane and Pine Road | Use the intersection and building numbers; click the lot to the right of 8 and above 9. | Important before the gemstone vault. |
| Day 16 | Catacombs | Match the path shape to the middle-right tomb with five holes. | Late-game collection route. |
| Day 17 | Catacombs | Solve the small clock/moon clue, then use the matching lower-right grave just left of the skull. | Final prep before ending day. |
| Day 18 | Gleaston Castle library area | Use the Esoterica and Arcana section as the anchor, rotate the room clue mentally, then click the second room from the left in the group above the Grand Hallway. | Solving all clue cards unlocks Tarot Reader. |
Object Identification Logic
The most reliable way to solve customer requests is to combine three kinds of evidence: the object’s physical properties, the book entry’s hidden nouns, and the tool that confirms the property. Guessing from the shape alone works early, then becomes dangerous when the shelves fill up.
| Tool or book | Use it for | Example logic |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Objects | Primary entries and index clues. | Hunter’s Boon is a beast trophy with predatory power; Moon Heart points through the index to Selenic Totem. |
| Hermetic Symbology | Imbuements, gods, animals, elements, and symbols. | Shield Charm is best proven by the protection symbol rather than by shape alone. |
| Scales | Exact or comparative weight. | Evocant is stone and exactly one pound; Manus is lighter than an Evocant by half. |
| Colour and Composition | Material, gemstone, paint, clay, metal, wood, and hidden construction clues. | Weaving Edge is confirmed through its oak handle; Corvan’s Might and Holgen Grimm matter in gemstone puzzles. |
| Scent and Sound | Hissing, chanting, hums, voices, and other subtle tells. | Ossic Ring hisses; Blood-Beck has death-leaning sound clues. |
| Inner Perception | Emotional or spiritual effects. | Selenic Totem gives a warm feeling; Silent Breath heightens senses. |
| Thaumic Lens | Fields and elemental/noctic/draedic confirmation. | Late-game objects often need field proof before they make sense in a ritual or vault. |
| Maps and letters | Finding new items or translating a vague request into a location. | Royston Farm, Naylor Island, Wordsworth Library, the Catacombs, and Gleaston Castle all hide object progress behind letters. |
Major Puzzle And Item Checkpoints
These are the places where players most often stall during a no-hint run. Keep a manual save before experimenting with late-game plinths or endings.
| When | Puzzle or route | Clean solution | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 6 | First secret alcove / Simone plinth note | Use Horned Shackle, Evocant, and the moon-related object requested by the clue logic. | A hidden alcove with objects you will need later. |
| Day 8 | Curse research | Find the hidden curse booklet after the story points you toward curses. | Burning Blood and the ability to reason through curse cures. |
| Day 9 | Jupiter rescue | If you gave Bonnie Grey’s Grace on Day 8, visit Mary Bell at location 23 after the Bonnie event. | Catnapped, Not Forgotten. |
| Day 10 | Table tile / lens progress | Follow the table-tile logic until you obtain or activate the Thaumic Lens path. | Second Sight and better proof for field-based artifacts. |
| Day 11 | Locked shelf | Use Ethereal Key on the locked section. | Breaking in and a large batch of important objects. |
| Day 12 | Resonant plinth and moon vault | Use Ambra, Elva Stone, and Corvan’s Might, then set the moon-door buttons to 4, 6, 11. | A Hidden Sanctum. |
| Day 13 | Wandering Shroud | Use the Spirit Vault at The Barrows when the shroud route opens. | Ethereal Encounter. |
| Day 13 | Bishop’s Square hidden knowledge | Use the relevant seasonal/symbol clue at Gleaston Castle. The verified route uses the Mars/winter-to-summer logic. | Hidden Knowledge. |
| Day 15 | Gemstone moon vault | Use Corvan’s Might for Bloodstone, Eye of Cernunnos for Jade, and Holgen Grimm for Vivanite. Set the moon-door buttons to 12, 3, 9. | Late-game vault progress and ending setup. |
| Day 18 | Nalean Casket plinth | Use Carrick’s Candle, Shadow Anchor, and Witch’s Finger. Set the moon-door buttons to 2, 7, 9. | The Nalean Casket, required for the main ending achievements. |
| Day 13 or later | Heart of the Shop | Use the three book pages marked with small x symbols, then solve the deeper vault. The confirmed object set includes Babellia, Orford Spire, and Thaumic Needle for the first step. | Heart of the Shop. Because details vary by how much you have identified, save before attempting it. |
Ending Routes On Day 18
Make a save at the start of Day 18, before committing to a location. Once you enter one of the final routes, reload that save to see the other achievement endings. Your first completed ending also awards This is the End; if you never used hints, it should also award Master Thaumaturge.
| Route | Location | Required steps | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eli / Pillar route | The Pit | Build the Pillar of Calaris: use Witherance and Fortinance west/east, Sun Bond and Tenebran Cloak north/south, then place Light of Corchen in the middle. Give Eli the Nalean Casket. | Pillar of Calaris |
| Barton / skull route | Catacombs, Blencathra’s skull | Give Barton the Nalean Casket, then follow the object chain with Daedalus Link and Cyrene Ward. Some community comments note an additional Griss step in certain routes; if the scene asks for another object, use the game’s index clue about the Broken Path to confirm it. | The Skull of Blencathra |
| Audrey / ritual route | The Bleak Stones | Arrange the Sacrament with Sithean Charm left for Spring, Sun Bond top for Summer, Vessager bottom for Winter, and Weaving Edge right for Autumn. Use the Nalean Casket, then finish with a valid power object such as St. Cedric’s Thunder or Corvan’s Might. | The Bleak Stones |
| Secret shop route | Hidden shop/vault chain | Follow the marked-page vault chain and the deeper Heart of the Shop object set. Because this is a hidden ending, use a separate save before spending time on it. | Heart of the Shop |
Achievement Cleanup
| Achievement | How to get it | Missable risk |
|---|---|---|
| Business as Unusual | Handle your first customer correctly. | Low. |
| Explorer | Solve your first clue card. | Low. |
| Apprentice | Identify 10 items. | Low. |
| Sanity Restored | Let sanity drop to zero, then win the dice game. | Optional; easiest early while mistakes are harmless. |
| Burning Blood | Find the booklet on curses. | Low if you inspect opened drawers and hidden sections. |
| Unbound | Lift a curse from a customer. | Low. |
| Second Sight | Find or activate the Thaumic Lens route. | Low, but do not ignore the table-tile puzzle. |
| Breaking in | Open the locked section with Ethereal Key. | Low once you know the key is usable. |
| A Hidden Sanctum | Open a vault through a plinth and moon-door puzzle. | Low if you follow the Day 12 vault route. |
| Ethereal Encounter | Catch a Wandering Shroud with Spirit Vault. | Moderate; watch for the The Barrows opportunity. |
| Hidden Knowledge | Use Bishop’s Square correctly at Gleaston Castle. | Moderate; save before experimenting. |
| Catnapped, Not Forgotten | Give Bonnie Grey’s Grace on Day 8, then visit Mary Bell at location 23 on Day 9. | High; both steps matter. |
| This is the End | Reach any ending. | Low. |
| Tarot Reader | Solve every clue card. | Moderate; use the clue card table for cleanup. |
| Pillar of Calaris | Complete the Eli route at The Pit and give him the Nalean Casket. | Day 18 branch. |
| Feline Priorities | Pet Jupiter 30 times. | Low; can be done deliberately. |
| Ascendant Thaumaturge | Identify every item, usually finished in the epilogue. | Moderate; depends on clean catalogue work. |
| Mask of Jupiter | Place Holgen Grimm on Jupiter while he is sitting. | Low, but Jupiter must be sitting rather than lying down. |
| Master Thaumaturge | Complete the game without using hints. | Very high; any hint use can block it. |
| The Skull of Blencathra | Preserve Barton’s route, then complete the Catacombs skull ending. | High; give Barton Babellia on Day 13. |
| Heart of the Shop | Complete the secret shop/vault ending chain. | Moderate; easiest with a separate save. |
| The Bleak Stones | Preserve Audrey’s route, then complete the Bleak Stones ritual ending. | High; give Audrey Fortinance on Day 12. |
Common Mistakes
- Using a hint “just once.” It is the one mistake that directly threatens the no-hint achievement. Reload immediately if it happens.
- Ending Day 8 or Day 9 too quickly. The Jupiter route needs the right Bonnie choice and a follow-up trip to Mary Bell.
- Treating customer choices as flavor. Many are flavor, but Audrey on Day 12 and Barton on Day 13 matter for achievements.
- Forgetting old objects after new shelves open. Late puzzles reuse early objects such as Evocant, Horned Shackle, Sun Bond, and Witch’s Finger.
- Ignoring exact wording in books. “Weight,” “oak,” “moon,” “jade,” “noctic,” “fear,” and similar words are usually puzzle instructions.
- Clicking the wrong castle floor. Gleaston Castle clues often require comparing rotated room shapes. Check whether the map labels say Ground Floor or First Floor before clicking.
- Overwriting the Day 18 save. Keep it until you have collected the ending achievements you want.
Sources And Credits
This guide was built from the official Strange Antiquities Steam page, Steam achievement metadata, and cross-checked community walkthrough references. Official screenshots are credited to Bad Viking, Iceberg Interactive, and Steam. Some third-party pages were blocked by access protection during research, so they were not treated as verified sources for the route details above.