Last Update: 7/21/2021
Rules you should know
If you’re reading this, you’ll definitely have cleared through Solitary Island, and I will also assume you’ve cleared Temple Ruins. You should know everything from previous posts, including the following:
Weak (Ruins 01, 05, and 09)
Has (Ruins 02-06)
Forest of Fall
Don’t forget about this one to the southeast.
The Initial Map.
Clearing the first three worlds was probably not all that difficult for you. That ends now. At this point you will have some difficulty even clearing worlds without being forced to get through a brain-bender or two.
The good news is you only need to clear 7 of the 20 levels in Forest of Fall. Try to solve levels in each of the three areas, red, pink, and yellow. The red areas deal with the properties Tele and Pull, the pink ones with special use of Text, and the yellow with the word Not.
If you can only get through 7 levels for now, I suggest the following: 01, Extra 1, 02, either 03 or 05, 04, 10, and 12. Except for either 03 or 05, these are the easiest ones and you’ll learn the basics of the important concepts. But if you can swing it, try to solve all the red levels (with the possible exception of 08), yellow levels 10, 12, and the extra, and pink levels A, C, and E.
Remember that hints are invisible until the text is highlighted. Bold text discusses the rules. Italic text discusses all objects of the named type. Regular text discusses the actual instances. Text “in quotes” refers to the actual text in the level.
Stuck elsewhere? Navigate using the following pictures:
Fall 01: Hop
Difficulty: *
About the Level
New material: noun Fence, property Tele
Walk Baba onto the Love. What happens to Baba? What if you wait (stand still for a turn)? Does Tele work on things that aren’t Baba?
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Could there be another reason for Love aside from getting you across the river?
Fall 02: Grand Stream
Difficulty: *
About the Level
New material: property Pull
You’ve probably worked out that Pull is the opposite of Push. What differences are there with a Push object and a Pull object? What similarities are there?
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Flag is Win, but there's no Flag. How will you create one?
Bigger Nudge: The Key will in fact cross over the river.
Fall 03: Rocky Road
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Love has two properties. Which one takes precendence, if Baba walks onto Love?
Bigger Nudge: When you're on the left side, you need Love to not be Push. But when you're on the right side, you need it to be Push. How is this possible?
Fall 04: Telephone
Difficulty: *
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Tele works so long as there are at least two instances of the object which is Tele. What objects have more than one instance?
Fall 05: Haunt
Difficulty: ***
About the Level
New material: nouns Leaf and Foliage
Leaf is the singular, yellow leaf. Foliage is the group of three brown leaves.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: The only way to make the win condition is to get a stray "Is" into the space between "Love" and "Win." Which of the two "Is" words can you safely move?
Bigger Nudge: There's a suspicious amount of space next to "Leaf is Defeat."
Fall 06: Crate Square
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge: It's only possible to make two adjustments to the rules. You'll need to do both of those.
Bigger Nudge: How many spaces exist between "Win" and the Flag? How many objects do you have access to?
Fall 07: Ghost Friend
Difficulty: ***
About the Level
This level went through multiple changes in the first year or so of this game’s existence. Hopefully this is the final version.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Who is going to fish out the "Flag" from the right chamber? Baba or Ghost?
Bigger Nudge: Does the Flag move every time Baba moves, or every time you make a movement input?
Specific Hint: Baba is Move and *Ghost is Pull seems like a good idea, but it won't work. It's close, though...
Fall 08: Ghost Guard
Difficulty: ***
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Which is more likely? You getting the Ghost down to where the Key is, or you getting the Key up to the Ghost?
Bigger Nudge: Your solution to Fall 03 will help you here.
Fall 09: Leaf Chamber
Difficulty: **
About the Level
New material: noun Fungus. Just a mushroom. If you can’t find it among all the other brown, it is at the top center-ish of the level.
Perhaps I lucked into the solution for this because this level seemed far easier than the previous few. But it’s the execution that’s the real trouble, and it can be tedious if you’re not certain of the setup. I’d suggest working out the solution in your head first and then doing the motions.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: If there were no Foliage, how would you solve this level?
Bigger Nudge: Remember that Defeat only destroys objects which are You.
Fall 10: Not There
Difficulty: *
About the Level
New material: connecting word Not
The word Not negates a sentence in English. How does it work here? What happens when you put “Not” in front of a noun? How about in front of a property?
Also, this level is so simple for this point in the game that it’s hard to give hints without spoiling the whole thing. I will try.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Have you tried literally the only two moves you can make?
Fall 11: Catch
Difficulty: ***
About the Level
The word Not can make for some very confusing statements. Anytime you make one, really look to see what has happened - don’t just assume you know!
Hints
Gentle Nudge: The only way to win this level is indeed to push "Baba is" to the right. But this ends the level - why?
Bigger Nudge: You will need to sink two patches of water. Which ones and why?
Specific Hint: Literally everything that isn't a Rock is Not Rock.
Fall 12: Dead End
Difficulty: **
About the Level
New material: noun Me. Me is not always You. Me is the purple guy in the center of the pond. Got it? Good.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Lots of rules! Which ones can you push around? Which ones can't be pushed around but can still be amended?
Fall A: Literacy
Difficulty: ***
About the Level
Levels Fall A-E don’t teach any new words, but they do teach you that you can and should mess with “Text.”
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Wall is not Stop.
Bigger Nudge: It's curious how most rules outside the pen are so far away from you... except for Wall is Wall.
Fall B: Broken Playground
Difficulty: *****
About the Level
It’s okay to leave this level for later. It features a couple of pretty tricky moves that don’t get used for a while. Knowing what to do is only half the battle - the other half is figuring out the movements required to pull it off.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: How will you get another piece of Text into the compartment in the upper right? Is there a way besides teleporting Text?
Bigger Nudge: Do you really need Keke, Box, and Flag all at the same time?
Specific Hint: Make a list of all the [X] is You statements that are possible in this level. Can you find more than three?
Fall C: Fetching
Difficulty: ***
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Why do you normally never push any Text into a corner or wall?
Bigger Nudge: Is there a way you can retreive text from a corner or a wall?
Fall D: Scenic Pond
Difficulty: *****
About the Level
Enjoy this level. You’ll see it a lot!
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Is there any way to actually produce a Keke? Why do you have that piece of text?
Bigger Nudge: Isn't it strange that there's an "Is Float" just hanging out there? And that there's one square of Water right where the noun would go?
Specific Hint: Text is Not Float.
Fall E: Skeletal Door
Difficulty: ****
Hints
Gentle Nudge: There are only two possible pairs of rules. What are they? How are they made?
Bigger Nudge: Can Baba be on the Skulls without dying? How?
Specific Hint: If Baba crosses the Skulls, you will lose at least one piece of Text. Is there any piece you can safely lose?
Fall Extra 1: Jump
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge: What is the river really preventing you from doing this time?
Bigger Nudge: Why is Water Defeat and not Sink?
Fall Extra 2: Even Less There
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Come on, there's only a couple moves you can even try.
Fall Extra 3: Deep Pond
Difficulty: *****
About the Level
This is the second iteration of “Scenic Pond,” and it won’t be the last. I hope you keep track of this solution.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: You no longer have access to the lower right pen or the rule Float. But one other rule was removed, and another was changed. Why do you think that is?
Bigger Nudge: In the previous version of this level you made two Babas. What uses can you have for two Babas?
Specific Hint: What rule would allow Baba to cross the Skull?
World Complete!
Clearing Forest of Fall opens nothing new, but does give you a much needed flower. You should have already cleared the Ruins as well, so I recommend going to the Deep Forest next. If this is the third world you clear, then you’ll also unlock the final level, which I don’t recommend going to yet.
In the meantime, do these hints work? Anything spoil too much? Do the hints actually help or are they too vague? Maybe you thought of a really good hint yourself? Send them to me. (Don’t comment them below.) You can find me @keyofw on Twitter or keyofw on Reddit. DM me anytime.