So, you’ve reached the metallic wasteland of Botopia. Honestly, after the dark, mossy atmosphere of Leshy’s cabin and the pixelated retro vibes of Act 2, the shift to P03’s cold, industrial world is a bit of a shock. It’s sterile. It’s calculated. It’s basically a tech bro’s fever dream. But while the card game mechanics feel a little more like a standard TCG now, the act 3 Inscryption puzzles hidden around the factory are where things get weird.
Most people focus on the deck-building. That’s a mistake. If you ignore the physical puzzles in the room, you’re going to miss out on the Ourobot, the extra battery capacity, and some of the best lore drops Daniel Mullins tucked away in this game. P03 doesn’t want you to explore. He wants you to play the game. Don't listen to him. Get up from the table the second you have the chance.
The Cuckoo Clock is Back (And it’s Different)
Remember the clock from Act 1? Yeah, it’s sitting right there in P03’s office. It feels like a homecoming, but the solution isn't the same. You can’t just slap 11:00 on it and call it a day. In this version, you’re looking for a specific set of instructions that come from the cards themselves or the environment.
The first time you interact with it, you might feel stuck. Here’s the deal: you need to set the clock to 11:00 to get the card printer moving, but the real prize comes later. Specifically, when you've progressed enough to see the digital hint for 4:00. Doing this opens the bottom compartment, giving you the Ourobot.
The Ourobot is basically the Act 3 version of the Ouroboros. It keeps its stats. If you spent Act 1 or 2 grinding that snake up to 100/100, you’re going to be very happy here. If you didn't? Well, start dying. It’s the only way to scale it now. It’s a grind, but it makes the late-game bosses like Golly or the Photographer feel like a joke.
Those Annoying Sliding Tile Puzzles
Next to the factory table, there are two monitors with sliding tile puzzles. They look like the ones from Leshy’s cabin, but the rules have shifted because of the "Circuit" mechanic.
In Act 3, damage flows through circuits. You have to align the tiles so that the power starts at the battery icon and reaches the end of the line. The trickiest part is the "Gem" tiles and the "Null" tiles. You’ll find yourself staring at the screen, moving one block back and forth for ten minutes, wondering why the line isn't turning green.
I’ve seen people complain that these feel like filler. I get it. But solving them is mandatory if you want the Extra Battery or the Remote Control. The Remote Control is particularly cracked because it lets you move your own conduits during a fight. Imagine being able to re-route your power mid-turn to trigger a buff just when you need it. It changes the math of the game entirely.
The Secret of the Green Glitch
If you’re wandering around the factory, you’ll see a flickering green light in one of the back rooms. It’s easy to ignore. Don't.
This is part of the "Great Transcendence" lore, but practically speaking, it’s a hidden interaction. You need to wait until you have the Holopelts. You get these by finding the secret shops hidden behind arrows that only appear when you hover your mouse over seemingly empty space on the map.
Once you have a pelt, take it to the room with the green light. The Trader is there. But it’s not the Trader you remember. It’s a digital ghost. The dialogue here is some of the most unsettling stuff in the game because it hints at what’s actually on the Luke Carder hard drive. It doesn't give you a mechanical advantage in the card game, but if you’re playing Inscryption for the story, this is the "puzzle" that matters most.
The Golly Boss and the Real-World Connection
The Golly boss fight is technically a puzzle in itself. It’s the one that asks for access to your "Friends List" or your "File System."
A lot of players get paranoid here. Is the game actually going to delete your files? No. Daniel Mullins is a troll, but he’s not a criminal. When Golly asks you to pick a file to "sacrifice," pick something small, like a random .txt or a screenshot. The "puzzle" is actually a social one. Golly will send a card you created to another real player who is currently online. If they win their fight with your card, you get a bonus. If they lose? Well, your file "dies."
It’s a brilliant bit of meta-commentary on the nature of digital data. It’s also one of the few times the act 3 Inscryption puzzles break the fourth wall in a way that feels genuinely risky.
The Archivist and the File Size Trap
Speaking of the Archivist, this is the boss that resides in the Filereader area. The puzzle here isn't on the board; it's in your Windows Explorer (or Finder if you're on Mac).
The Archivist will deal damage based on the age of the files you select or the size of them. There’s a specific interaction where if you select a file that is too large, the game reacts with genuine shock. If you want to "solve" this boss quickly, have a folder ready with:
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- An old file (from years ago) to satisfy the "Old Data" requirement.
- A very small file.
- A file you don't mind "losing" for the duration of the fight.
Again, the game won't actually delete your wedding photos. But the tension it creates is a puzzle of the nerves.
Tips for Navigating the Factory Floor
Navigating the map in Act 3 is surprisingly easy to mess up. Unlike Act 1, where the path is linear, Botopia is a grid. You can get lost.
- Look for the Hidden Arrows: Always move your cursor to the edges of the screen. P03 hides shops and upgrade stations behind "invisible" paths.
- Energy Management: The biggest puzzle in the actual combat is the energy bar. It refills every turn, unlike blood or bones. You need to deck-build so you have something to play on Turn 1, Turn 2, and Turn 3. If your deck is all 6-energy heavy hitters, you will die to a pack of Leapbots before you even start.
- The Printer: Use it. You can customize cards with sigils that break the game. Adding "Touch of Death" to a "Sniper" card is basically a cheat code. It turns the game into a shooting gallery.
What Most People Miss: The Mycologists in Act 3
Yes, the mushroom doctors are back. They are hidden behind a secret door in the eastern zone of the map. You need to have the "key" from the previous act (the one you get from the bridge).
This puzzle is a bit of a legacy quest. If you didn't do the legwork in Act 2, you’re locked out. But if you get in, you can fuse your robotic cards together. This leads to the "Secret Boss" of Act 3. Honestly, this fight is harder than the final boss. It’s a chaotic mess of glitched mechanics and shifting rules. Solving the puzzle of how to even find them is half the battle.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you’re currently staring at P03 and feeling stuck, do these things in order:
- Stand up. Seriously. Get out of the chair and check the clock.
- Solve the sliding panels. Get that extra battery. It’s on the wall to the left of the table.
- Find the shop. Buy the Nanobots or whatever utility item is available. They save runs.
- Check your map for "glitches." Anything that looks like a visual error is usually a path to a Holopelt.
- Don't overthink the Ourobot. Just get it and start using it. It’s the safety net for the final stretch.
The puzzles in this phase of the game are less about "mysticism" and more about "system manipulation." P03 thinks he’s in control because he owns the hardware. Your job is to prove that the software—and the player—has the final say. Stop trying to play by his rules and start looking for the cracks in the code. That’s how you actually beat Act 3.