The Minims is a new point-and-click game set in a surreal fantasy world and which follows the adventures of Mii as he sets out to find his best friend, U. It’s a charming game, with an intriguing storyline and which is filled with unique characters. In this walkthrough I provide detailed solutions on the game’s puzzles in each of its five chapters.
The characters:
The Minims is populated with some strange characters, so let’s start by introducing the ones we will meet in the first chapters.
Mii: this is the player character, an odd looking fellow who resembles a bowling pin. He is clearly dedicated to his best friend as he is about to get involved in some strange adventures in order to save her from whatever mysterious fate has befallen her.
U: Not much can be said about U at this point, as we don’t even see her in the first five chapters. She must be something special though, for Mii to go through all these tasks!
Mr. Bush-waiter: a talking hedge, who is a professional musician but who doesn’t seem to enjoy his job that much. He’s a bit lazy, but comes in handy every now and then.
Mr. Birdy: a large blue bird who travels by balloon. He has the best idea about what has happened to U, but even he doesn’t know the full story.
The Settlement:
Let’s now have a quick look at the settlement, where we will spend most of our time in the first chapters. We start the game in Mii’s house and will later descend into its basement, which is hidden under the carpet. Here we find a book case with some drawers, a picture on the wall, Mii’s bed and a light switch, all of which can be interacted with in some way.
Leaving the house brings us onto a grassy area, with U’s purple house (which cannot be entered) in between Mii’s green house and a large red building, which holds the settlement’s energy generator. Drains from both Mii and U’s house can be interacted with, and there is a small patch of earth on the main lawn which is important. To the right of the red building (looking at the screen) is a tree, where you will find a bug walking around who is needed to complete one of the puzzles, and in the foreground there is a small lake. To the left of Mii’s house (again, looking at the screen) is a wooden area, with a storage box, a fence and a lift, all of which are vital to solving the puzzles.
Chapter One: The Picnic
Tasks: Find dress code; find a flower; find the colourful ball; get Ms. Fish
Following the game’s tutorial, we find ourselves in Mii’s house with four tasks to complete: find dress code; find a flower; find the colourful ball; get Ms. Fish. We’ll run through these in order, so let’s start with the dress code (you can however tackle them in any way you like). We don’t have to go far to find this, so simply tap on the picture in Mii’s room and you will notice he is wearing a bow tie. Tap this and the first task is complete.
Now we have the dress code, let’s look for the ball. This can be found in the left hand section of the storage box just outside Mii’s house. However, it isn’t colourful right now, so we need to find a way to make it so. To do this, throw it in the lake so that it floats on the surface. Tap on the tree to make a butterfly emerge, which then flies over the lake and drops some kind of magical dust. This brings colour to the ball, so tap on it to collect it and complete the second task.
The flower doesn’t exist yet, so we need to make one grow. The best place for this would be soft ground with access to water, so head to the drain on U’s house (not Mii’s). Tap on the area beneath it to set off the water and watch with joy as a flower grows in the patch of earth on the lawn. Beautiful!
To find Ms. Fish, who is as you might expect in the lake, we need some way to get her out of the water. What do fish like? Worms! In the grassy area around the tree you should find a worm poking his head up every now and then. Tap on him to collect him and then venture into the lake. Select the worm and combine him with Ms. Fish to start off their relationship. We’re not quite done however, so select the bowl you collected from the house in the tutorial and tap on Ms. Fish to get her inside. Voila! Chapter one is complete!
Chapter Two: The Awakening
Task: wake Mr Bush-waiter; find table-cloth; find corn; call U
This chapter introduces a curious fellow by the name of Mr. Bush-waiter who appears to be a hedge and who is asleep but needs to be woken up. Finding the table-cloth and the cloth will become available once you have woken up Mr. Bush-waiter. You’ll also notice here that some of the tasks are already becoming less specific, and now require several steps to complete, something which continues as the game progresses.
Mr Bush-waiter is like many of us who need our coffee to get started in the morning so head on over to the edge of the settlement by the tree and you will find a bug following his daily routine. On his back is a coffee bean so tap on it to collect it. In the red building with the energy machine you may have noticed a coffee machine, which requires both water and coffee to work. However, one bean isn’t enough so we need to find a way to get more, while we also need some water.
Head back to where we grew the flower earlier and place the bean in the earth and then start the water to grow a nice coffee tree. Collect this then head back into Mii’s house to find the bowl above the drawers. Go back outside to fill the bowl from the lake then head into the red building and examine the coffee machine. Fill up the water container using the bowl and place the coffee beans in the large container on the left. Without something to catch the coffee however, things could get messy so simply place the empty bowl underneath the machine then pull the lever to fill it with a lovely hot cup of java! Collect this then return to Mr. Bush-waiter and give it to him to wake him up.
After a short cut-scene, two new objectives become available: find the table-cloth and find the corn. The table-cloth is easily found the lower drawer in Mii’s room, but the corn is a little trickier, so let’s head back outside to start things off. If you look at the tree, you’ll notice some objects caught in its leaves. Tap on these to make to make them fall to the ground then look all the way up to the top of the chimney on the red building. Here you will see a multi-coloured cloud of smoke spiralling into the sky. Tap on this to make it move towards the tree where it will start raining down upon the objects which fell from the tree. These will then turn into delicious ears of corn!
A new objective is now added to the list: call U. This is done simply by tapping on her door but as Mii discovers after a long wait, she is not there. But where can she be? This is the mystery that leads us into Chapter Three.
Chapter Three: Talk to Mr. Birdy
Tasks: Find out about U; talk to Mr. Birdy
The chapter starts with the arrival of Mr. Birdy, a blue chap who travels by balloon, and who seems to know something about U’s disappearance but who isn’t particularly chatty at the moment. We need to find a way to make him open up and Mr. Bush-waiter is the one to help with his musical skills, but he needs some music and something to play it on.
The first thing you might notice is the magnet now lying on the grass so collect this then head into Mii’s room. If you examine under Mii’s bed, you will find something shiny there, so use the magnet to get it. It turns out to be a key, but where to use it? Roll back the carpet on the floor by tapping the end nearest the picture to reveal a secret entrance. Use the key on the lock then use the lift to descend into Mii’s basement. It’s a little dark down here so just tap on the generator next to the lift to shed some light on the situation then move over to the machine on the far side of the room.
Here you will two sets of three switches on either side of the central machine, with a red and white tube above each switch. Pressing the switches drops the tubes down and once the button on the machine is pressed music starts to play. However, we need it to produce some sheet music so on the left-hand set of switches, press the one nearest the machine and on the right-hand set, press the one furthest away, then hit the button on the machine. A sheet of music is spat out so collect it then move over to the boxes to the left of the machine. Here you will find a saw. Tap on it to add it to the inventory then head back to the lift and go outside.
Move to the back fence by the storage box and use the saw on the top left portion to chop it off and create a pan flute. Now that we have both the instrument and the music go back to Mr. Bush-waiter and give him the flute first, then the music. This then sets up Chapter Four.
Chapter Four: The conversation
Tasks: find out about U
Mr. Bush-waiter’s wonderful performance is enough to coax Mr. Birdy from his silence and a conversation now ensues, but where we have to choose the right approach to get the information we need. The quickest way is to select ‘small talk’ and then ‘curious’. This is enough for Mr. Birdy to reveal that he saw U being taken to the dump which leads us neatly into Chapter Five.
Chapter Five: To the dump
Tasks: go to the dump; fix energy
It’s now time to find a way out of the settlement and into the wider world. Mr. Bush-waiter is not going to be of much help any more, so we’re on our own. Head into the red building to discover that the energy machine has stopped working and which provides us with a new task. Fortunately there is a pile of glowing pink crystals behind it which just need to be placed inside to start it up again. Collect three crystals then return to the machine, open up the central hatch and put the crystals inside before closing the door. Examine the right-hand side of the machine for the next part of the puzzle.
Here you will find a clock with two switches above and below it, three switches at the top, one in the middle and two sets of lights. The lights need to be turned on and the central switch pressed to complete the puzzle. Pressing the switch above the clock advances the hands and pressing the one below turns them back. Move the hands forward until they are just after the number 2 so the first lights turns on. Hit the switch above it to turn on another light then move the hands back until they are just past the 10 and the second light turns on. Hit the second switch then advance the hands until they are just past the 4. Hit the third switch and then the central one to complete the task.
Head back outside and move over to the lift at the back by the fence where you cut off the pan pipe. Now the energy is back on it comes back up but don’t get in just yet. If you descend from its current position, you’ll run into problems once you hit the bottom. Instead, touch the brakes, the metal flaps sticking out the main body of the lift, so that they are up and then touch the lift itself to make it roll to the left. Tap on the brakes and then the basket to get in and descend into the desert.
Once here, you’ll see a switch. Simply tap it to open the doors which then reveal a well. Climb back into the basket and head back up to the settlement. Shift the lift back to the right and then get back in (don’t forget the brakes) and head down once more. You now find yourself in a rather spooky mine. Looking around reveals a magnet hanging from the ceiling and a cart to the side of some tracks so we need to get the cart back on the tracks in order to proceed. There is a set of switches and a lever next to Mii which control the magnet and which will allow us to pick up the cart and put it on the tracks. Hit the top left button first, then the central lever to grab the cart, followed by the top right button to move it back. The bottom right button positions the cart over the track and tapping the central level drops it back down. Tap the cart to hop in and continue on your journey.
Mii soon finds himself in the dump, but for now the journey is almost over, as there are no more puzzles until the next chapter is released. Continue watching though, as there is a fantastic cliffhanger which will leave you on the edge of your seat and wondering where things will go next.
Published: Oct 7, 2013 05:53 am