There are some important points to keep in mind as you develop your own strategy for playing Virtual

Villagers:
The Lost Children.

 Some food supplies may be limited, so be alert for the opportunity to discover new sources of food.
 Clicking on the mask on the main game screen will reveal many different tips that will help you play the
game more effectively.
 Nursing mothers devote all of their time to caring for their baby and don't do any productive work in the
village for 2 years of game time.
 Babies eat as much as adults and making too many babies too soon can quickly create a food crisis.
 Any villager (even a sick one or a child) can heal another villager, but healing is only possible when a
villager's status is "Sick" (check the Details screen).
 Sometimes a villager will "resist" healing attempts by a specific doctor. If that happens, try to heal your
sick villager again with a different villager.
 Sick villagers need to be healed or they will weaken and die
 Villagers can become weakened by such things as prolonged disease, starvation, on-the-job injuries,
Island Events, or old age.
 Villagers who show a status of "Weakened" will generally improve in health over time unless they are
sick, elderly or continue to suffer injuries. Switching them to a less demanding job will help speed their
recovery.
 The villagers need to be taught to perform a job; they will not start working in a new job on their own.
It can be a good idea to monitor their learning progress until they reach Trainee status, so that they will
work more reliably on their own.
 You can view information about various technology advancements on the Village Tech screen by clicking
on the "?" button for that technology. This information will help you choose the order in which to
purchase new technology.
 The villagers' curiosity is often a clue to puzzles.
 The children can find and harvest mushrooms to augment the village food supply, but only if you make
them do it.
 Using the keyboard to zoom around the map is an easy way to search for those collectible items. There
are 9 sectors of the map, which correlate to the numbers 1-9 on the numeric keypad. You can also use
the row of numbers at the top of the keyboard, if your computer doesn't have a numeric keypad.
 Picking up a villager while they're working will interrupt them, and they will drop (and lose) the object
that they were carrying.

General puzzle strategy guide:

Most of the puzzles are dependent upon some combination of Village Tech, villager skills, and other puzzles.
Although some puzzles depend upon the completion of specific puzzles, the 16 puzzles are rarely completed in
the order that you see them on the puzzle screen. Pay attention to the things that your villagers are curious
about and the messages that you see when you take one of your villagers "exploring" around the island. These
often provide clues that will help you solve the puzzles. Another good strategy is to drag one of your adult
villagers around the island after every tech purchase and look for new things that they can work on, since many
of the technologies open up new possibilities for your villagers. Most of the frustration related to solving the
puzzles is brought on by impatience. It takes time for your villagers to gain the necessary skills and technology
to work through all of the puzzles.

Hints for the 16 puzzles:

You can safely browse these if you just need a gentle push in the right direction. Each puzzle is referred to by
number. The puzzles are counted sequentially, with 1 being the leftmost puzzle in the top row, and 16 being the
rightmost puzzle in the bottom row.

Puzzle 1 is something that will provide warmth, protection, and technological advantage to your tribe. It can be
solved at the beginning of the game.

Puzzle 2 requires a certain level of technology and will allow your villagers to enjoy a regular, if limited, source of
food.

Puzzle 3 requires the completion of Puzzle 2 and a skilled villager to fashion something that will protect one of
the sources of food.
Puzzle 4 requires a certain level of technology and a highly skilled villager who will fashion something that your
villagers will need in order to completely explore some areas of the village.

Puzzle 5 involves the flowers and herbs located in various parts of the village. This puzzle can be completed at
the beginning of the game.

Puzzle 6 requires a villager with well-rounded skills.

Puzzle 7 will open up an unlimited food supply by restoring the ocean to its former condition. You will need to
have highly skilled villagers and a certain level of technology.

Puzzle 8 reveals ancient writings. Your villagers will need a certain level of technology, as well as the completion
of Puzzle 4.

Puzzle 9 requires the completion of Puzzle 1, a certain level of technology, a hidden item, and the flowers and
herbs that your villagers can find in various parts of the village.

Puzzle 10 requires a certain level of two different technologies. Drag a villager to the southeast part of the
village.

Puzzle 11 is a special building that requires a certain level of technology. You will see a foundation appear, which
your villagers can work on.

Puzzle 12 is another special building that requires a certain level of technology. You will see a foundation appear,
which your villagers can work on.

Puzzles 13-16 involve the recovery of pieces of the Gong of Wonder, which can be retrieved only after meeting
the necessary requirements. Retrieving the pieces will variously involve teamwork among skilled villagers,
purchasing of required levels of Village Tech, and completion of Puzzles 6, 9, and 10. Your villagers will reveal
some clues as you try various things in the game, and there will be more specific clues that you can study when
you complete Puzzle 8.

Detailed spoilers for the 16 puzzles:

Don't read these unless you want to know exactly how to solve each of the puzzles.

Puzzle 1 involves building a fire in the fire pit. Drag one of your villagers to the pile of dry wood in the southwest
part of the village to gather firewood. After the wood is placed in the fire pit, take a villager to the very dry grass
that can be found to the west of the coconut trees. Once the firewood and dry grass have been placed in the fire
pit, drag a villager there to light the fire. You will need to replenish the firewood periodically to keep the fire from
going out.

Puzzle 2 is the construction of a dam that will divert water from the stream to an area that can be used for
farming. After you purchase Level 2 of Engineering Tech, drag a villager to the rocks that are in the middle of the
lower portion of the stream. You will see a message, "He/she could probably build a dam here."

Puzzle 3 is a scarecrow that an adept farmer can construct in order to protect the crops from the birds. After you
complete the dam (and have a farm), drag an adept or master farmer to the twisted pieces of wood and vines
that are located in the northern portion of the village. The scarecrow requires two trips to complete, so make
sure that you finish the construction, or your crops will not be protected.

Puzzle 4 is the fashioning of special cutting tools that will be needed to cut away vegetation in some parts of the
village. After purchasing Level 2 of Exploration Tech, drag a master scientist to the northern part of the village
where he will see something among the rocks near the twisted pieces of wood and vines (look for things that
resemble spear tips that have little sparkles coming from them). Your scientist will need to make a second trip to
finish the tools, so take him to the twisted wood and vines (where you got the material for the scarecrow) to get
the necessary materials.

Puzzle 5 is completed when your villagers learn mastery of six special plants located in various parts of the
village. Drag a villager to each of them and watch for the message that each has been mastered. The plants are
(beginning in the northwest part of the village and moving clockwise): the odd-looking plant immediately to the
left of the very dry grass, the blue flower between the thorns and the rocks, the small lavender flower at the
northern edge of the graveyard, the black flowers near the waterfall, the bright reddish flowers south of the dam
site, and the large orange-red flower at the south edge of the village.
Puzzle 6 is completed when you have sufficiently trained a villager to become master in three skills. That villager
will become an Esteemed Elder, and a totem will be created to commemorate their new status in the village.

Puzzle 7 is the elimination of the algae in the ocean that was caused by over fishing. After purchasing Level 3 of
Farming Tech, take a master farmer or master scientist to the pond, where they will collect algae-eating fish that
they can use to repopulate the ocean. Once sufficient fish have been placed in the ocean, the algae will once
again be under control and the villagers will have unrestricted fishing.

Puzzle 8 is the removal of the vines that cover the wall on the east side of the village. After you purchase Level 3
of Culture Tech and have completed Puzzle 4, drag a villager to the vine-covered wall and they will begin cutting
away the vines.

Puzzle 9 is the ability to make various stews for your villagers. To make stew, you will need to have purchased
Level 2 of Exploration Tech, retrieved the cauldron from the wood pile, mastered at least one of the special
plants, and started a fire in the fire pit. The steps to make a stew are: 1) Drop a villager on the cauldron to put
the cauldron on the fire 2) Drop a villager on the cauldron again, and he or she will go get water for the stew 3)
Drop a villager on any of the mastered plants, and the villager will gather herbs for the stew. Each stew requires
a total of 3 herbs, in any combination. 4) Drop a villager on the cauldron again, and he or she will go get food to
add to the stew. When the stew is complete, the villager will move the cauldron off the fire. Some stews are
good, some are bad, and some make your villagers do interesting things. Experiment and have fun with them.
You can also find different "recipe books" that have been created for the game that contain all of the stew
combinations.

Puzzle 10 requires Level 3 of both Engineering Tech and Culture Tech. Drag a villager to the ancient covered
floor in the southeast part of the village and they will begin uncovering the site.

Puzzle 11 is the construction of a hospital. After you purchase both Level 3 of Engineering Tech and Medicine
Tech, a foundation will appear that your villagers can work on.

Puzzle 12 isthe construction of a sewing hut, which will allow you to change the clothing that your villagers are
wearing. After you purchase Level 2 of both Culture Tech and Science Tech, a foundation will appear that your
villagers can wor k on.

Puzzles 13-16 are the pieces of the Gong of Wonder. The four pieces can be retrieved in the following ways:

 A team of 3 Master Builders can open the crate on the beach, where one of the pieces has been hidden.
 After purchasing Level 2 of Exploration, your villagers can clear the thorns blocking access to the gong
encasement, which will also reveal a piece of the gong.
 Prepare a magic stew that will allow one of your villagers to dive for the sunken gong piece in the pond.
The herbs needed for that magic stew are: one of the black flower near the waterfall and two of the
red-orange flower on the south side of the village. The pictures of the required herbs can be seen in the
drawings on the wall once the vines have been removed.
 After finishing Puzzles 6 and 10, drop a totem in the center of the uncovered mosaic to reveal a piece of
the gong.

Once the gong is assembled you can experiment with the effects that it has on your village. You can
bang the gong once every 24 hours.

The Stew List

 There is no matter in the order in which the food/water/or herbs are added.
 A-emits a rainbow, clears the nose and throat with its spiciness 123, 234
 B- no emission, makes the villagers dance with a burst of energy 156
 C-emits white dots, makes the villagers feel healthier 456
 D-emits green smoke and is inedible 114, 246, 245, 345, 145, 134, 146, 346
 E-has no emission, makes the villagers thirsty 124, 224
 F-has no emission, makes the villagers pee 125
 G-emits white dots, makes the villagers horny if the opposite sex is nearby 665
 H-has no emission, makes the villagers healthier 223, 225, 111, 112, 113, 116, 126, 221, 256,
136, 235, 236
 I-no emission, very spicy 135, 115
 J-emits white dots and gives off a sweet smell 356
 K-gives off white stars, and allows the villagers to go without breathing for a while 664
 L-no emission, makes the villagers jumpy due to being allergic to the stew 222, 226