Rules you should know
Land of Oddities is opened up once you finish Level 02 of the Hubworld. There are no new rules from any preceding worlds that you need to know.
Stuck elsewhere? Navigate using the following pictures:
The Land of Oddities
This world actually features some new rules and ideas. The first set of blue levels in the center feature the rule Safe. Below, the red levels teach Fear. At the top, the darker blue levels feature Idle. And finally, the purple levels are about Mimic. Even though this levelpack generally can be played out of order, some of these rules are used in later worlds so it’s a good idea to learn them now, in particular Fear and Mimic.
You only need to clear 7 of the 27 (!) levels to finish this world. So it’s pretty easy to clear. If you want to only play 7 levels while learning all four rules, here’s the levels to play:
1: I’m Invincible!
2: Guarding Triplet
3: Safety Box
5: Safety Vest
6: Unsettling
13: Dream Secret
16: Mimicry
Of course, I recommend tackling a few more as this list only gives you one level apiece for Idle, Fear, and Mimic.
Reminder: Bold text refers to rules themselves. Italics refer to the objects affected by rules - every one of them in the level. Regular text only refers to specific instances of those objects. “Quoted text” refers to the actual noun, property, and connecting word text you can interact with on the level. All hints are invisible until you highlight text.
Oddities-1: I’m Invincible!
Difficulty: *
About the Level
New stuff:
Property Safe
Try walking on the Skulls. What happens? What does that tell you about the rule Safe? How about if Baba walks on the Water? What if Baba walks on the Ghosts? What are the limits of Safe?
Hints
Gentle Nudge:How many spaces are there between the Ghosts and "Is"?
Oddities-2: Guarding Triplet
Difficulty: *
Hints
Gentle Nudge:What is the purpose of Ice? How about "Ice"?
Oddities-3: Safety Box
Difficulty: ***
About the Level
Dunno, something about this level totally stumped me even though I feel the solution shouldn’t be that hard. It definitely requires thinking outside the Box. Get it, Box? (I worked very hard on this pun.)
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Transformations can go in either direction. What rules apply to transformations in this level?
Bigger Nudge:Can you find a way to lose your Baba and get them back?
Oddities-4: Warehouse
Difficulty: *****
About the Level
I dunno why this levelpack seems to have the hardest levels so early in their respective worlds... this one got me really good too!
Hints
Gentle Nudge:What rule do you need to get Baba onto the Skull safely? To make that rule, what other rule do you need?
Bigger Nudge:Why didn't that solution immediately work? Is there a way to break one of the rules you set up earlier while Baba is at the top?
Specific Hint:Once you have Baba safely across the Skull, there are only two things you can do - break/reform Baba is Safe, or break Flag is Push. Can one of those moves be useful to you?
Oddities-5: Safety Vest
Difficulty: ****
About the Level
Oh, another one of those puzzles where you get access to “Level.” Good news for those who struggled with the Meta world - you never have to change Level into anything in this entire levelpack. And you can’t do it anyway, as the rule Level is Level and not You prevents that.
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Can you cross the Water without losing any Flags or pieces of Text?
Bigger Nudge:Is there any way you can possibly win by putting Baba on a Flag? What else could the Flags be for? Why do you have three of them?
Specific Hint:One way to prevent something from Sink is to make it Safe. What is one other way to do protect something from Sink?
Oddities-6: Unsettling
Difficulty: *
About the Level
New stuff:
Verb Fear
Move Baba around the Key for a while. What does this tell you about Fear? For fun, try moving the Key through a Wall this way. Does it work? Why not?
Hints
Gentle Nudge:What other method do you have of getting past the second Door if you don't have anything to Open it?
Oddities-7: Shelter
Difficulty: *
About the Level
The typical solution in this level requires you to use every single object and piece of Text. It’s possible to solve it without using two of the Rocks. There is no reason to do so as the setup would take longer, but I just wanted you to know.
Hints
Gentle Nudge:If you were to draw a path from the Robot to the "Door is" "Melt" section, what is the fewest number of turns the Robot would have to make?
Oddities-8: Magician’s Trick
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Why is there a 2x2 block of Walls next to "Flag," but no 2x2 block anywhere else?
Oddities-9: Haunted Spa
Difficulty: ****
About the Level
When I first played this level, I tried to implement a particular solution that ended up being hopeless. Then it turns out the extra level 4 wants you to do that solution. So if you’re floundering around you might be on the right track... for the other level. Try something else - something completely different.
Hints
Gentle Nudge:How can you get access to the "Ghost," "Fear," and "Text" pieces?
Bigger Nudge:What is the purpose of the upper Ghost?
Specific Hint:In order to win the level, you are going to need to break either Rock is Push or Rock is Safe. Which one would actually help you win?
Oddities-10: Supply Route
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge:How many things need to be sunk into the Water in total? What are those things and where do they come from?
Bigger Nudge:Why do you have four Cogs?
Oddities-11: Antique Halls
Difficulty: **
About the Level
The solution is divided into two parts and the second part is a bit fussy, but you probably will have the right idea. Just keep trying different arrangements until it works.
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Can Baba be scared onto something that is Stop or Push?
Bigger Nudge:Once Text is not Push, can you move Text around?
Oddities-12: Hidden in the Thicket
Difficulty: ****
About the Level
This one is annoying. It’s very fussy and even if you know what you need to be doing it requires a buttload of trial and error to get all the placement/timing right. If you’re close, you have the right idea.
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Imagine there are no Vines. What are the steps to forming Flag is Win? So if Jiji cannot move them on her own, what should?
Bigger Nudge:Which word needs to be pushed up first, "Flag" or "Is"?
Specific Hint:A successful push is dependent on where you place two objects at the very beginning. After that you should only have to adjust rules without moving any other objects again.
Oddities-13: Dream Secret
Difficulty: *
About the Level
New stuff:
Prefix Idle
So there are obviously hidden rules here. Break up Text on Tile is Hide to see the new rule featuring Idle. What do you think that means?
Hints
There's not much I can do to help you here. Either you know what Idle means or you don't. If you do, you already won this level. If you don't, then just think about it for a second.
Oddities-14: Waiting For You
Difficulty: **
About the Level
For the life of me I can’t think of a reason to include the Ufo in this level except to give it some semblance of a challenge by adding a couple unnecessary steps. Is there something else that Ufo is doing? I don’t know.
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Where should you move the Bird? How are you going to move it?
Oddities-15: Abduction!
Difficulty: **
About the Level
New stuff:
Noun Triangle
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Are you going to break up Baba is Fall by pulling, or by pushing?
Oddities-16: Mimicry
Difficulty: *
About the Level
New stuff:
Verb Mimic
Ah, Mimic. This one can be tricky to understand. Pay attention to how the rules are set up here. Notice how there are no Rocks, yet Rock is Push is a rule. Move Baba onto the Key. What happens? Why? Key is only Open and Defeat. Why does the Key move? What does this tell you about Mimic?
Hints
Gentle Nudge:The first Door is easy to open. The second is trickier. What rule do you need to move the Bird around?
Oddities-17: Pay Attention
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge: When something Mimics another thing, are only Properties mimicked?
Oddities-18: No Duplicates
Difficulty: *
About the Level
Are there multiple solutions I don’t know about in this level? It feels like at least one of these pieces of text is never used. Did you all use it? Is it just there as a red herring?
Hints
Gentle Nudge: How many things can one object Mimic? How do the properties carry over?
Oddities-19: Deep Doors
Difficulty: ****
About the Level
A huge difficulty spike here. You have the basics of Mimic by this point, so if you can’t get much further that’s ok. You can still clear the rest of the game without it.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: This level will be a nuisance, if not impossible, if you don't open up the passage through the middle chamber. How, generally, can you do that? Which pieces are superfluous that you can sacrifice?
Bigger Nudge: You're never going to break up the rule Text Near Ice is Rock. What is one surefire way to cancel out transformations? Was there a level in Familiar Land with a similar idea?
Oddities-20: Cellar Access
Difficulty: ***
Hints
Gentle Nudge: First, think of how Me will cross the Ice. This requires only one easy rule. What is it? Without an "Is," what is the way to write that rule?
Bigger Nudge: Now think of how Me will push a Key across the Ice. This requires a second rule. What is it? What is the arrangement you need to form in the text?
Specific Hint: You'll notice this only gets you as far as the Skulls. What change can you make to one of your rules to allow it to only activate in certain circumstances? This will involve using the Text you did not need to create the rules in the above hints.
Oddities-21: Under the Floor
Difficulty: *****
About the Level
I dunno. Maybe this was easy for some of you. For the life of me I could not figure this one out. It turns out there are multiple solutions, too, none of which came to my mind. Good luck!
Hints
Gentle Nudge: Is it possible to push any piece of Text to the left of "Is Flag"?
Bigger Nudge: Can you get something to the left of "Is Flag" anyway?
Specific Hint: Whichever character creates Flag is Win is going to be locked in that chamber. Who can you sacrifice? Me and Baba are needed elsewhere. Can you control anyone else?
Oddities-22: Fertile Ground
Difficulty: ****
About the Level
New stuff:
Noun Sprout, the little green leaves
Personally, I found this one annoying due to the incredibly finicky nature of the setup. Also I’m unsure why Jiji Mimic Baba and Baba is You instead of just having Jiji is You in there.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: How are you going to activate Flag is Win and Sprout is Tree? With Jiji, or something else?
Bigger Nudge: Do you have enough time to make it from "Move" to the Sprout before the Foot makes its journey? Why not? How many spaces short are you?
Specific Hint: Why do you have access to three Belts instead of one? For that matter, why do you have the word "Belt" twice?
Oddities-23: Baba is Empty
Difficulty: *****
About the Level
New stuff:
Noun Lock
I have solved this level multiple times and still don’t know how it works. It’s on another entire level that my brain has not achieved. Bon appetit!
Hints
Gentle Nudge:Why do you have two Babas?
Bigger Nudge:Think back to your solution to Oddities-19. Is there a similar type of sentence you could make in this level?
Specific Hint:You need to create a sort of stable equilibrium where Empty is You, but only under certain circumstances. The correct arrangment will allow you to move "Lock," create Flag is Win, and move "Flag is Flag" in different ways without changing any more rules.
Oddities-Extra 1: Where’s the Box?
Difficulty: ***
Hints
Gentle Nudge: "Lava is Sink" is all the way over the pool of Lava... but there are no Cliffs surrounding it. Why is that?
Bigger Nudge: You only have one thing which is You in this level. Does that mean you can only Sink it once? If not, what rule would allow you to Sink it infinitely?
Oddities-Extra 2: Bunker
Difficulty: *****
About the Level
This level is officially the worst.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: What exactly has changed in this level? What is different about the Rocks? How about the Robot?
Bigger Nudge: Is Rock is Rock useful at all? How about the extra "Rock" text?
Specific Hint:You probably figured out very quickly where to arrange all three pieces, but one of the Rocks refuses to go into the slot next to "Melt." What rule is causing trouble for you? If only you had two Robots and one Rock!
Oddities-Extra 3: Psychokinesis
Difficulty: **
Hints
Gentle Nudge: What exactly has changed in this level? There are two things. Can you find them both?
Bigger Nudge: It's clear one of these changes is meant to stop you from using the original solution in this level. Why has the other change appeared?
Oddities-Extra 4: Cursed Spa
Difficulty: ***
About the Level
Funny thing - the solution for this level is what I tried in the original, so I ended up solving this one pretty quick.
Hints
Gentle Nudge: There are two changes here. What are they exactly?
Bigger Nudge: Will you ever get rid of the Rock? What is another way to pass by it?
World Complete!
Upon clearing Land of Oddities, you gain access to Starry Land, which is easily the hardest world of them all. If you haven’t yet done the Land of Delicacies, I recommend trying that one first.
In the meantime, do these hints work? Any hints too spoilery? Too vague? Let me know. Or, if you’ve though of better hints or alternate solutions, you can reach out to me. Don’t comment anything spoilery below. You can find me @keyofw on pretty much everything, like Twitter or Reddit. DM me anytime.