Solution and Map for Delphina’s House

Welcome to the official solution and map for my game Delphina's House! I've updated this page to go with Release 3 of the game.

If you’re looking for hints, I suggest you use the in-game hint system. Type "hint" at the “>” prompt, and you can choose a hint topic and look at hints one at a time.

Spoilers ahead!

Paths through the game

It is not possible to solve every puzzle in this game in a single playthrough. The game has three realms, and for most of the game, there will be three parallel obstacles, one in each realm, at any given time. Getting past an obstacle in one realm will automatically bypass the parallel obstacles in the other two realms.

You can either stay in a single realm for most of the game (though you’ll probably have to travel between realms at least a little, to get the items you need or to find out information) or you can solve one puzzle in one realm and the next puzzle in another.

To solve the game, you’ll need to complete these steps:

  1. Learn how the transporter works.
  2. Learn how the magic rug works.
  3. Do one of these three puzzles:
    • Bridging the hole in the floor in the Home Realm, or
    • Bridging the river of glass in the Realm of Glass, or
    • Bridging the starry chasm in the Realm of Stars.
  4. Then, do one of these three puzzles:
    • Leonard and the window seat in the Home Realm (there are two possible solutions), or
    • Opening the music box in the Realm of Glass, or
    • The mysterious tile in the Realm of Stars.
  5. Then, do one of these three puzzles:
    • Opening the treasure box in the Home Realm (there are two possible solutions), or
    • Opening the stained-glass box in the Realm of Glass, or
    • Opening the starry box (a.k.a. the planets puzzle) in the Realm of Stars.
  6. Ending.

I suggest doing the puzzles that interest you. My favorite puzzles are opening the music box, the mysterious tile, opening the treasure box, and opening the stained-glass box.

Walkthrough from beginning to end

This walkthrough gives you the commands for one possible path from the beginning to the end of the game, including these parts:

  1. Learning how the transporter works
  2. Learning how the magic rug works
  3. Bridging the starry chasm in the Realm of Stars
  4. Opening the music box in the Realm of Glass
  5. Unlocking the treasure box in the Home Realm (Main solution)
  6. Ending

For solutions to other puzzles, see “Individual puzzle solutions.”

If you want to use these walkthrough commands as written, I suggest that you not move any objects in the game unless the walkthrough says so. Picking up or dropping other things may have unintended side effects.

Part 1: Learning how the transporter works

Aside from information about the game, the menu also has options to turn screen reader mode on or off, to turn sound puzzles on or off, to show different kinds of captions for sounds (or hide the captions), and more. Later, if you'd like to return to the menu, you can type "menu."

Landing

x me.
take map.
i.
x map.
x transporter. (For more detail: "x propeller. spin propeller. x side stripes.")
x dial. (For more detail: "x house. x glass. x star.")
x hole. (You could also try “n.”)
s. (You can also try “w.” and "e.”)
x magic rug.
set dial to glass.

Before the River of Glass

x woven rug. (For more detail: "x sky. x cave. x river.")
s. (You can also try "w." and "e.")
set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

x sky.
s.
x delicate rug. (For more detail: "x landscape. smell landscape. x garden. x arbor.")
set dial to house.

Part 2: Learning how the magic rug works

Landing

out.
out.
x magic rug.
take cape.
take Margery Rabbit.
take frog flute.
take hamster ball.
i.
x fish crackers. (You can also “eat crackers.”)
x cape. (You can also “wear cape.”)
x Margery Rabbit.
x frog flute. (You can also “play flute.”)
x hamster ball. (You can also “open ball” and “close ball.”)
talk to Margery. (You can also “hug Margery.”)
listen to Margery.
put Margery Rabbit on rug.
put hamster ball on rug.
put frog flute on rug.
(Make sure you’re not in the transporter when you drop these objects:)
drop fish crackers.
drop cape.
set dial to glass.

Before the River of Glass

x glass rabbit.
x glass globe.
x frog chimes.
x fish chimes.
x orange cape.
(If you play or listen to the frog chimes or fish chimes, please put them down afterwards–on the floor or on the rug, but not in the transporter–or the next part won’t work as expected.)
set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

(The stone rabbit hops away.)
x round lantern.
x night frog.
x sky fish.
x silver cape.

Part 3: Bridging the Starry Chasm

Before the Starry Chasm

x chasm.
touch dark space.
take lantern.
look.
n.

Part 4: Opening the music box

This puzzle can only be done in an interpreter that supports sound. If your interpreter doesn’t, you can save your game (type “save”), switch interpreters, and load your saved game (type “restore”). Or you can do a different puzzle instead: the “Mysterious tile” puzzle in the Realm of Stars, or the “Leonard and the window seat” puzzle in the Home Realm.

When Delphina crossed the mirrored bridge, more locations opened up. Let’s visit them.

Garden of Stars

(Feel free to examine things and listen.)
n.

Garden Grotto

(Feel free to examine things.)
s.

Garden of Stars

s.

Before the Starry Chasm

set dial to house.

Landing

n.

Attic Room

(Feel free to examine things.)
take cardboard harp.
x harp. (You can also “play harp”.)
n.

Alcove in the Attic

(Feel free to spin the mobile and examine things.)
s.

Attic Room

s.

Landing

put cardboard harp on magic rug.
set dial to glass.

Before the River of Glass

take fish chimes.
take harp chimes.
take frog chimes.
n.

Sandstone Cave

(Feel free to examine things and listen.)
x collection.
n.

Small Sandstone Chamber

(Feel free to examine things.)
x music box.
open music box.
x hooks.
turn crank.
play fish chimes.
play harp chimes.
play frog chimes.
put harp chimes on west hook.
put frog chimes on north hook.
put fish chimes on east hook.
turn crank. (Then wait for the music to stop.)
open music box

Part 5: Opening the treasure box (Main solution)

Small Sandstone Chamber

take orange paper.
x orange paper.
put orange paper on map.
s.

Sandstone Cave

s.

Before the River of Glass

set dial to house

Landing

n.

Attic Room

take marbles.
n.

Alcove in the Attic

take frog flute. (You’ll see a message about the frog chimes being taken from a hook, which is a clue that your action is affecting the frog chimes as well, but this is not a problem. You don’t need the chimes now.)
x treasure box.
x lock.
s.

Attic Room

s.

Landing

put orange paper on rug.
set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

x silver paper.
put silver paper on map.
put silver paper on rug.
set dial to house.

Landing

take white paper.
x white paper.
put white paper on map.
x map.
x drawings.
put frog flute on magic rug.
set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

take night frog.
n.

Garden of Stars

Put night frog in fountain.
x night frog. (This is the clue to the first digit in the lock combination.)
s.

Before the Starry Chasm

set dial to glass.

Before the River of Glass

jump on woven rug. (This is the clue to the second digit in the lock combination.)
x marble.
enter marble.

Spherical Chamber

x swirls. (This is the clue to the third digit in the lock combination.)
out.

Before the River of Glass

set dial to house

Landing

n.

Attic Room

n.

Alcove in the Attic

set lock to 648.
open box.

Part 6: Ending

Alcove in the Attic

(You can examine the objects in the treasure box and, if you would like, leave something behind.)
x photo.
x boat.
x pine cone.
x mitten.
x kaleidoscope.
x guitar pick.
x seashell.
x compass.
(When you’re ready to go:)
take treasure box. (You may need to do this a second time if the first time doesn’t end the game.)

Working with objects

How transformation works

Most portable objects in the game have three forms, corresponding to the three realms.

To transform an object:

  1. Put the object on a rug, or drop it anywhere except in the transporter.
  2. Turn the transporter dial to the setting that corresponds to the form you want.

For example, if you have Margery Rabbit, then in "Landing" or in the "Before the Starry Chasm" location, you can type "put Margery Rabbit on rug," and then "set dial to glass." Or, instead of "set dial to glass," you can type just "glass" as a shortcut. Your surroundings will then be transformed into the Realm of Glass, and the plush rabbit will be transformed into a glass rabbit. If the dial is already set to that setting, you’ll have to set it to another setting first.

Portable objects in other rooms will be transformed as well.

To keep an object in its current form when you travel in the transporter, take the object with you.

Table of Objects

Items in the same row can be transformed into one another.

Home Realm Realm of Glass Realm of Stars Where the object first appears
fish crackers fish chimes sky fish in your inventory
adventurer’s cape orange cape silver cape in the transporter
Margery Rabbit glass rabbit stone rabbit in the transporter
hamster ball glass globe round lantern in the transporter
frog flute frog chimes night frog in the transporter
cardboard harp harp chimes elegant harp Attic Room or Sandstone Cave or Garden of Stars
marbles tiny bells glowing stones Attic Room or Sandstone Cave or Garden of Stars
white strip of paper orange strip of paper silver strip of paper Alcove in the Attic (in the window seat) or Small Sandstone Chamber (in the music box) or Garden Grotto (in the marble planter)

Solutions to individual puzzles

For help with finding any objects you need, see the “Working with objects” section.

Learning how the transporter works

For a possible list of commands you could use for this, see part 1 of the "Walkthrough from beginning to end" section.

If you examine the transporter and the dial (for instance, by typing "x transporter" and "x dial"), and if you experiment by setting the dial to different settings (for instance, by typing "set dial to glass," or just "glass" for short), you’ll learn that you can travel between three realms. The three realms have a similar layout–rug, stairs to the south, obstacle to the north—and you’ll see more similarities as the game continues.

When you "travel" in the transporter, you are transforming your surroundings with your imagination into alternate versions of the attic.

Learning how the magic rug works

This puzzle is solved by examining the magic rug and experimenting.

For a possible list of commands you could use to do this, see part 2 of the "Walkthrough from beginning to end" section.

When you examine the magic rug, you learn that magical things sometimes happen when you leave things on the rug, or even in other places. When you leave an item on a rug (or anywhere outside the transporter) and then travel in the transporter, the item is transformed along with your surroundings. Portable objects in other rooms get transformed as well.

Most portable objects in the game have three forms, corresponding to the three realms.

To transform an object:

  1. Put the object on a rug, or drop it anywhere except in the transporter.
  2. Turn the transporter dial to the setting that corresponds to the form you want.

For example, if you have Margery Rabbit, then in "Landing" or in the "Before the Starry Chasm" location, you can type "put Margery Rabbit on rug," and then "set dial to glass." Or, instead of "set dial to glass," you can type just "glass" as a shortcut. Your surroundings will then be transformed into the Realm of Glass, and the plush rabbit will be transformed into a glass rabbit. If the dial is already set to that setting, you’ll have to set it to another setting first.

To keep an object in its current form when you travel in the transporter, take the object with you.

For a table of portable objects and their three forms, see the "Working with objects" section.

Bridging the hole in the floor

You’ll need the plywood board, which won’t be available until after you’ve visited all three realms and returned home. The cape is optional.

Landing

set dial to glass.

Before the River of Glass

set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

set dial to house.

Landing

out.
out.
(The plywood board is here.)
put board on hole.
put board on cape. (Or “put board on rug.”)
drag board to hole.
n.

Bridging the river of glass

You’ll need the frog flute, which is in the transporter when the game begins.

Landing

take frog flute.
set dial to glass.

Before the River of Glass

(If you're in this location for the first time, a clue will appear in a few turns, so feel free to examine or try things in the meantime.)
play frog flute.
n.

Bridging the starry chasm

You’ll need the round lantern. As shown below, one way of getting it is to put the hamster ball on a rug and set the dial to star.

Landing

put hamster ball on magic rug.
set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

x chasm.
touch dark space.
take lantern.
look.
n.

Leonard and the window seat (Main solution)

You’ll need the hamster ball and the sky fish. As shown below, one way to find the sky fish is to put the fish crackers on a rug and set the dial to star.

Landing

put fish crackers on magic rug.
take hamster ball.
set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

x sky fish.
catch sky fish in hamster ball.
set dial to house.

Landing

n.

Attic Room

n.

Alcove in the Attic

show fish to cat.
pet cat.
take cat.
open window seat.

Leonard and the window seat (Alternate solution)

Alcove in the Attic

open dormer window.
again.
again.
open window seat.

Opening the music box

This puzzle is only available if your interpreter supports sound.

Options to show different kinds of captions for sounds, or to hide the captions, are available from the menu (type "menu"). For this puzzle, captions with images are among the options available.

You’ll need the fish chimes, the frog chimes, and the harp chimes.

Small Sandstone Chamber

turn crank.
play frog chimes.
play fish chimes.
play harp chimes.
put harp chimes on west hook.
put frog chimes on north hook.
put fish chimes on east hook.
turn crank. (Then wait until all the music is finished playing and the music box is unlocked.)
open music box.

Where did the chimes go?

If you hang a set of chimes on a hook in the Small Sandstone Chamber, and then later pick up an equivalent object in the Alcove in the Attic or in the Garden Grotto, you may see a message about the chimes being taken from a hook. If you then go back to the Small Sandstone Chamber, you'll see that the set of chimes is no longer on the hook. This is a consequence of the way objects and realms work in this game.

When you travel between realms, the realm itself and all portable objects (except the ones in the transporter) are transformed. So when you leave a set of chimes in one realm and travel to a different realm, the chimes are transformed into an equivalent object in the new realm. When you pick up that equivalent object, the chimes (in a different form) are now moved into your inventory.

If you've moved the chimes by accident and you want them back on the hook, you may be able to use the "undo" command to undo your action. Otherwise, you'll need to transform the equivalent object back into chimes, go back to the Small Sandstone Chamber, and hang up the chimes again.

The mysterious tile in the garden grotto

You’ll need three glowing stones.

In order for your character to recognize the pattern on the tile, you need to examine the constellation decals in the Attic Room:

Attic Room

x stars.
x Leo.
s.

Landing

set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

n.

Garden of Stars

n.

Garden Grotto

x tile.
put stone in mane.
put stone in heart.
put stone in tail.
s.

Garden of Stars

(Assuming you have at least three softly glowing stones:)
put two softly stones in top basin.
put one softly stone in bottom basin.
n.

Garden Grotto

put brightly in tail.
put brightly in heart.
put faintly in mane.

Opening the treasure box (Main solution)

You’ll need the white strip of paper, the night frog, and a marble.

Alcove in the Attic

x treasure box.
x lock.
x white paper.
x drawings.
s.

Attic Room

s.

Landing

set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm

n

Garden of Stars

Put night frog in fountain
x night frog. (This is the clue to the first digit in the lock combination.)
s.

Before the Starry Chasm

set dial to glass

Before the River of Glass

jump on woven rug. (This is the clue to the second digit in the lock combination.)
x marble.
enter marble.

Spherical Chamber

x swirls. (This is the clue to the third digit in the lock combination.)
out.

Before the River of Glass

set dial to house

Landing

n.

Attic Room

n.

Alcove in the Attic

set lock to 648.
open box.

Opening the treasure box (Alternate solution)

You’ll need the stone rabbit.

Alcove in the Attic

Show lock to stone rabbit
open treasure box

Opening the stained-glass box

You’ll need the glass rabbit. Optional objects are the glass globe, the frog chimes, the fish chimes, and the harp chimes.

Small Sandstone Chamber

x stained glass box.
touch stained glass box.
open stained glass box.
(You can learn more by putting different objects on the ledge–for example, the glass globe and the sets of chimes–and then touching the stained glass box.)
s.

Sandstone Cave

put glass rabbit on turquoise light.
take turquoise rabbit.
n.

Small Sandstone Chamber

put turquoise rabbit on ledge.
touch stained glass box.
open stained glass box.

Opening the starry box, also known as the planets puzzle

This puzzle is only available if your interpreter supports sound.

Options to show different kinds of captions for sounds, or to hide the captions, are available from the menu (type "menu"). For this puzzle, detailed captions will not include any images.

To begin with, you’ll need the elegant harp. The steps below assume you’ve just found the elegant harp in the Garden of Stars.

Garden of Stars:

take elegant harp.
x elegant harp. (One of the strings is loose.)
play elegant harp.
fix elegant harp.
s.

Before the Starry Chasm:

put elegant harp on rug.
set dial to house.

Landing:

take cardboard harp.
play cardboard harp.
x cardboard harp.
tie strand to cardboard harp.
put cardboard harp on rug.
set dial to star.

Before the Starry Chasm:

take elegant harp.
n.

Garden of Stars:

n.

Garden Grotto:

x starry box.
take starry box.
x sphere.
touch sphere.
put elegant harp on stand.
play harp.
open rose. (The violet planet appears.)
listen.
x harp.
play harp.
(The three notes played by the harp are the same three notes coming from this planet.)
open rose. (The blue planet appears.)
listen.
x harp.
play harp.
(The three notes played by the harp are the same three notes coming from this planet.)
open rose. (The green planet appears.)
listen.
x harp.
(As with the other planets, there are three harp strings that match the three notes coming from the green planet. If you play a correct string, that string turns green, and the planet echoes the note. If you play a wrong string, the green planets drift, and any strings that have turned green lose their color. You need to play the three correct strings, in any order, with no wrong strings in between.)
play string 2. (Then wait for the sounds to finish playing.)
play string 4. (Then wait for the sounds to finish playing.)
play string 7. (Then wait for the sounds to finish playing.)
play harp.
(When the sounds are finished playing:)
move vine.
open starry box.

What is each object used for?

Details for those who are curious:

Adventurer’s cape, orange cape, and silver cape
These can optionally be used in the “Bridging the hole in the floor” puzzle. For fun, they can also be worn, and the glass rabbit can be put on them to change its color.
Cardboard harp
Used in the “Opening the starry box” puzzle.
Elegant harp
Used in the “Opening the starry box” puzzle.
Fish chimes, frog chimes, and harp chimes
Used in the “Opening the music box” puzzle. The chimes can also be put on the glass ledge during the “Opening the stained-glass box” puzzle as part of learning how the stained glass box works.
Fish crackers
It’s possible to eat some. Otherwise, they are used only for transforming into other things.
Frog flute
Used in the “Bridging the river of glass” puzzle.
Glass globe
This can be put on the ledge during the “Opening the stained glass box” puzzle as part of learning how the stained-glass box works.
Glass rabbit
Used in the “Opening the stained-glass box” puzzle.
Glowing stones
Used in the “Mysterious tile” puzzle.
Hamster ball
Used in the “Leonard and the window seat” puzzle (main solution).
Magic rug, woven rug, and delicate rug
The magic rug can optionally be used in the “Bridging the hole in the floor” puzzle. All three rugs are useful spots for transforming objects. (By typing “put thing on rug” instead of “drop thing,” you can avoid accidentally dropping an object inside the transporter when you meant to drop it outside.)
Map
Shows the player where to look for the treasure box, and hints at the nature of the world, especially if you’ve put each of the three strips of paper against it and then tried “x map” again.
Marbles
Used in the “Opening the treasure box” puzzle (main solution).
Margery Rabbit
If you listen to her, she encourages an experiment with the magic rug. You can also hug her, talk to her, and show her something that you find by typing XYZZY.
Night frog
Used in the “Opening the treasure box” puzzle (main solution).
Plywood board
Used in the “Bridging the hole in the floor” puzzle.
Round lantern
Used in the “Bridging the starry chasm” puzzle.
Sky fish
Used in the “Leonard and the window seat” puzzle (main solution). The sky fish can also provide a clue in the “Bridging the starry chasm” puzzle if you “x chasm” while they are present.
Stone rabbit
Used in the “Opening the treasure box” puzzle (alternate solution).
Storybook
You can read it and show it to Margery Rabbit.
Tiny bells
If you are carrying the tiny bells and the stone rabbit at the same time, you may encounter a clue for the alternate solution to the “Opening the treasure box” puzzle. The bells can also be jingled. Otherwise, they are used for transforming into other things.
White strip of paper, orange strip of paper, silver strip of paper
The white strip of paper is used in the “Opening the treasure box” puzzle (main solution). All three strips of paper fit against the map (“put paper on map”), providing a clue that the map is a map of all three realms. If you “x map” after fitting all three strips of paper to the map, there’s a clue that all three places are really one place.

Game map and description

Game map.

Description of the map

The map shows three realms, each containing three rooms.

The rooms in the Home Realm are, from north to south, "Alcove in the Attic," "Attic Room," and "Landing."

The rooms in the Realm of Glass are, from north to south, "Small Sandstone Chamber," Sandstone Cave," and "Before the River of Glass."

The rooms in the Realm of Stars are, from north to south, "Garden Grotto," "Garden of Stars," and "Before the Starry Chasm."

Arrows show that it's possible to travel between the three southernmost rooms--"Landing," "Before the River of Glass," and "Before the Starry Chasm"--using the commands "house," "glass," and "star."

Separate from all of the realms is a room by itself, labeled "Spherical Chamber."