If you are playing Shelve the Potions! and have reached one of the many shelves filled with strange potions, books, symbols, and objects, you may quickly find yourself wondering what exactly the game wants you to do.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the puzzle solutions currently available, including the tutorial puzzles and the other shelves. I’ll keep the explanations simple and also tell you how I would solve each puzzle, so you can use the clues in the game instead of simply guessing the answer.
Spoiler warning: This guide contains puzzle solutions and explanations for Shelve the Potions!. If you want to solve everything yourself, stop reading before the relevant puzzle.
Shelve the Potions All Puzzle Solutions and Walkthrough
The tutorial introduces several of the basic puzzle mechanics you will use throughout Shelve the Potions!.
Tutorial Puzzle 1 — Number Order
Solution: Arrange the bottles from the lowest number to the highest number:
1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5
This one is fairly straightforward. Check the numbers associated with each potion and place them on the shelf in ascending order.
Tutorial Puzzle 2 — Amount of Liquid
Solution: Arrange the potions from the lowest amount of liquid to the highest amount of liquid.
Look closely at how much liquid is inside each bottle. You don’t need to worry about the bottle’s shape or other decorations here; the important clue is the liquid level.
Tutorial Puzzle 3 — Colored Powders
Solution:
Red → Blue → Yellow → Brown → Green
The trick here is figuring out what the puzzle is asking you to do rather than randomly moving the powders around.
How to solve it: Return the powders to the shelf and use their colors to determine the correct sequence.
Tutorial Puzzle 4 — Hidden Numbers
Solution: Arrange the bottles from:
1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5
The numbers aren’t immediately visible, which makes this puzzle a little more interesting.
How to solve it: Take your bottles to the bird. The bird reveals the numbers you need, allowing you to put the bottles into the correct order.
Map
The map can be used to help you understand the different areas and shelves you will encounter as you progress through the game.
Keep an eye on the different locations because some puzzles require you to visit another part of the map to discover the information needed for the shelf you’re currently working on.
Other Shelves
After completing the tutorial, the puzzles become more varied. You will need to look around the environment and sometimes use other objects to reveal the clues.
Orbiting Crystals
Solution: Sort the potions from the lowest to the highest number of orbiting crystals.
The sequence runs from:
1 → 8
Instead of looking at the potion itself, count the crystals orbiting around each one. Once you have counted them, place the bottles in ascending order.
Cork Size
Solution: Sort the bottles from the smallest cork to the largest cork.
This puzzle is all about the corks rather than the potions. Compare their sizes carefully and arrange them from smallest to largest.
Bottle Size
Solution: Sort the bottles from the smallest bottle to the largest bottle.
Take a close look at the physical size of each bottle. Put the smallest one first and continue until you reach the largest.
Greek Letter Potion Puzzle
Solution:
γ → ε → α → η → β → ζ → θ → δ
This puzzle is less obvious because the correct order isn’t simply alphabetical.
How to solve it: Find the two potion racks that provide the clues needed to determine the correct sequence. Once you have found them, use the information there to arrange the bottles correctly.
Scales Puzzle
Solution: Arrange the bottles from:
1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8
The numbers are hidden until you interact with the correct object.
How to solve it: Take your bottles to the scales. They reveal the numbers, allowing you to sort the potions from lowest to highest.
Books Puzzle
Solution:
F → FF → FFF → FR → R → RF → RFF → RFFF
This puzzle requires a little exploration before you can solve it.
How to solve it: Find the four missing books and return them to the book stand. Once they are back in place, read the pages to discover the sequence.
The important part is not just finding the books but actually returning them to the stand so that the clue becomes available.
Solitaire Card Puzzle
Solution:
- Red King
- Black Jack
- Black King
- Black Ace
- Red Queen
- Black Queen
- Red Jack
- Red Ace
How to solve it: Follow the sequence shown by the solitaire game.
If you’re stuck here, don’t try to determine the order based purely on the values of the cards. The solitaire setup itself provides the clue.
Harp Puzzle
Solution:
1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8
How to solve it: Take the bottles to the harp. The harp reveals a number for each bottle, and you can then arrange them from the lowest number to the highest.
Telescope Puzzle
Solution: Follow the sequence shown in the puzzle image.
How to solve it: Use the telescope and watch the sequence carefully. The order you see is the order you need to reproduce on the shelf.
This is one of those puzzles where I recommend paying attention to the entire sequence before moving anything. If you start guessing halfway through, it is easy to lose track.
Baskets and Symbols Puzzle
Solution: Follow the sequence shown in the puzzle image.
How to solve it: Find the eight different baskets with symbols around the area. Count the number of items inside each basket and use those counts to determine the correct order.
The symbols help you identify which basket corresponds to which position.
Chess Puzzle
Solution: Follow the sequence shown in the puzzle image.
How to solve it: Find all the lost chess pieces and return them to the chessboard. Once the board is complete, look at the eight captured pieces.
Those captured pieces provide the information needed to work out the shelf’s correct sequence.
Clock Puzzle
Solution:
3:00 → 6:00 → 10:00 → 1:00 → 7:00 → 12:00 → 2:00 → 9:00
This puzzle uses the clock itself as the clue.
How to solve it: Find all the missing clock pieces and return them to the clock. Once everything is restored, look at the sequence shown by the clock and use it to arrange the potions.
Compass Puzzle
Solution:
E → W → NE → SE → N → NW → SW → S
How to solve it: Watch the sequence displayed on the compass.
The directions can be easy to mix up, so I recommend writing them down in order before you start moving the bottles.
Weather Puzzle
Solution:
E Windy → Tornado → Sunny → Cloudy → Snowy → Sun Through the Clouds → Rain → Thunder
How to solve it: Read the weather forecast shown on the four crystal balls.
Once you’ve found the complete sequence, use the weather symbols to arrange the corresponding potions.
Elements Puzzle
Solution: Follow the sequence shown in the puzzle image.
How to solve it: Find the elements poster and look for the sequence displayed there. The poster contains the clue you need to determine the correct order.
Most puzzles in Shelve the Potions! follow a similar idea: the answer is usually hidden somewhere in the environment.
If a shelf doesn’t immediately make sense, don’t assume you need to guess. Instead, look around for an object that can reveal the missing information.
Here are the main things to watch for:
- Numbers: Some objects reveal hidden numbers when you interact with them.
- Colors: Certain puzzles simply require you to identify and order colors.
- Size: Check the size of bottles, corks, or other physical objects.
- Sequences: Telescopes, clocks, compasses, and other objects can display a sequence.
- Books: Return missing books to their stand and inspect their pages.
- Chess: Restore missing pieces and examine the resulting board.
- Baskets: Count the objects inside them rather than focusing only on their symbols.
- Environmental clues: Potion racks, posters, crystal balls, and other objects can contain the information needed to solve a shelf.
The biggest tip I can give you is to explore before trying to solve the shelf. If you can’t determine an order from the bottles themselves, there’s a good chance another object nearby is meant to provide the clue.
This guide is based on the currently available puzzle solutions and can be expanded as more shelves and solutions are discovered