Welcome to Blackwood & Bell Mysteries, a hidden object game from Playdom. Solve mysteries by searching through scenes to find hidden clues. Build your yard and increase your reputation to unlock now scenes to explore. This guide will help you familiarize yourself with the game world and provide you with tips to maximize your experience in the game.
Welcome to Blackwood & Bell Mysteries, a hidden object game from Playdom. Solve mysteries by searching through scenes to find hidden clues. Build your yard and increase your reputation to unlock now scenes to explore. This guide will help you familiarize yourself with the game world and provide you with tips to maximize your experience in the game.
Getting Started
Navigating the Screen
At the top of the screen you will find your silver balance, gold balance, current energy, level and experience, and your current reputation level.
On the right side of your screen you will find your current quests.
At the bottom of the screen you will find your main toolbar. Here you will find mysteries, build mode, clue collection, wish list, inventory and news. To the right of that you will find you current sleuth challenges and your message center. Below that you will find your friend’s bar.
Terminology
Silver: Silver is the currency in Blackwood & Bell Mysteries. You can earn silver by completing hidden object scenes, visiting your neighbors, collecting your daily bonus, and completing quests.
Gold: Gold is the premium currency in the game. Gold can be purchased using via Facebook Credits / microtransactions. You will also earn one gold each time you level up. Gold can be used to purchase premium items, unlock premium hidden object scenes, and skip over quest goals.
Energy: Energy allows you to search hidden object scenes. You need an energy level of at least ten to search a hidden object scene. When you have run out of energy you will need to wait for it to refill or use an energy restoring item.
XP: XP, or experience, is earned by searching through hidden object scenes, completing quests, and purchasing and building up your yard. Once you’ve earned enough XP you will level up and unlock new items and quests.
Reputation: Reputation unlocks hidden object scenes. You earn reputation by building your yard. Every item you purchase will increase your reputation by a certain amount. Keep in mind that some buildings require time to be completed. You will not earn your reputation until the building is complete.
Mysteries: You will be given mysteries to solve. To solve them you must find the clues hidden in the hidden object scenes in the game.
Clues: One clue can be found in each hidden object scene. You will know when an item is a clue because the word will be highlighted in red. You will not need to find a clue every time you visit a scene. Clues will be added to your clue collections.
Clue Collections: When you find a clue it will be added to your clue collections. Once you’ve completed a collection you will be able to turn it in for bonus items, experience, and silver among other things.
Wish List: If you are having trouble finding an item you need to complete a collection, you can add it to your wish list. Your friends can view your wish list and, if they have the item you need, they can send it to you as a gift.
Inventory: Your inventory is where you will find any items you receive from solving mysteries, gifts from friends, or items you have stored.
Daily Bonus: Each day that you log into the game you will receive a bonus of silver and/or other items. If you log in five days in a row you will earn a spin on the Wheel of Mystery.
Wheel of Mystery: You can spin the Wheel of Mystery after you have logged into the game five consecutive days in a row. You can also purchase a spin with gold. Spinning the wheel gives you a chance to win bonus items such as gold, unique items for your yard, and hints that can be used in hidden object scenes.
Hidden Object Scene: You will be searching through numerous scenes while playing Blackwood & Bell. You will be given a list of items at the bottom of the screen and you will need to find them in the picture.
Hints: Hints can help you find items in the hidden object scenes. You have unlimited single hints (though you will need to wait for them to recharge). As you level up you will unlock additional hint types.
Yard: Your yard is yours to decorate as you wish. Items you purchase for your yard will provide you with experience and reputation points. Please note, that if you store an item, you will lose the reputation points it provided until you put it back in your yard.
Build Mode: Build mode is where you will find the items to purchase for your yard. You can purchase exhibits, buildings, decorations, roads, and yard expansions. There is also a tab for marvels but those are unlocked by completing quests.
Building Your Yard
You will need to build your yard wisely in order to progress in the game.
Every item you purchase for your yard will provide you with experience and increase your reputation.
To begin building in your yard, click on the build button located at the bottom of your screen. This will open the build mode toolbar.
There are several types of items you can build in your yard. They are as follows:
Exhibits: Decoration items that take time to build. They also provide more reputation than other décor items.
Buildings: Here you can find buildings like the Tower of London and the London Docks. These items will provide substantial experience and reputation points, but also cost more and take longer to build.
Decorations: These items can be placed immediately. While they do provide increases to reputation and experience, they are not as large as other items you can buy.
Marvels: Marvels are earned by completing quests. They provide large increases to your reputation.
Roads: Roads are free to purchase and place. They provide no increase to your experience or reputation.
Yard Expansion: Purchase expansions for your yard. This will give you more space to build on.
Inventory: Here is where you will find items that you have stored, received as gifts, or acquired by completing quests.
In build mode you can also move items, rotate items, store items and sell items.
Once you have entered build mode, select the item you wish to purchase.
Place the item in your yard to finalize the purchase.
Once an item is placed, you can return to the build mode and click on the rotate icon on the left of the screen. Then click on the building you placed to rotate it to the position you want it to be.
If you wish to move it to a new location in your yard, select the move tool in build mode and then click on the building you wish to move.
Many buildings that you purchase will require time to be built. You can either wait for the time to pass, or you can speed time up using gold if you have any available.
Once a building is complete you will need to click on it to finish it.
Once a building is finished, you will earn the reputation increase from building it.
Some building can be upgraded for additional experience and reputation points.
To upgrade a building you will need to request items from your friends.
To see what items you need, click on the building you wish to upgrade to open the upgrade window.
Once you have received all the necessary items, click on the upgrade button to upgrade the building.
Solving Mysteries (Hidden Object Scenes)
To begin solving mysteries, click on the mysteries button located at the bottom of the screen. This will open up a new window.
Here you will have three tabs. The Main Story tab is where you will find your hidden object scenes.
The Story Log tab will allow you to revisit stories you have already solved and refresh yourself on the current story.
The Headquarters tab has additional hidden object scenes that you will unlock as you progress further in the game.
To solve a mystery you will need to find clues, and to find clues you will need to search through the hidden object scenes located under the Main Story tab.
Select a scene to visit to open the hidden object scene.
At the bottom of the scene will be a list of items to find in the picture. You will need to find them all to finish the scene.
If you find multiple objects quickly you will receive bonuses, which will increase the points you earn as well as experience and silver.
If an item is listed in red then that item is a clue. Finding that item will add it to your clue collections. Once you’ve completed a collection you can turn it in for various bonuses.
If you become stuck looking for an object you can use a hint. When you first begin the game you will only have access to the magnifying glass. Using it will show you the location of one item on the screen.
As you level up you will unlock additional hints that will provide you with more help.
Also, when searching scenes, you may wish to switch the game into full screen mode as many of the items are very tiny otherwise.
Once you have completed a scene, you will receive your score. You can view your score in comparison to your friend’s scores as well.
By completing a scene multiple times, you can earn stars. You can earn up to four stars for each scene.
You will notice that many scenes are locked when you start the game. You can unlock scenes by increasing your reputation.
There are also several premium scenes that can only be unlocked with gold.
Visiting Your Friends
Be sure to visit your friends regularly for special bonuses.
You can also challenge your friend’s to a Sleuth Challenge, in which you will compete for the highest score by finding the most items in a scene in sixty seconds.
While visiting your friend’s you can also hide a present for them to find and leave them a message that will appear the next time they visit their yard.
You can send a receive gifts from you friends by clicking on the free gift button located above the top toolbar.
Maximizing Energy
You need ten energy points to play a hidden object scene.
You have 60 energy points, and they do not increase when you level up at this time.
Once you have run out of energy you will need to wait for it to regenerate or you will need to use an energy can to replenish it.
Energy cans can be purchased with gold, or gifted to you from your friends.
When you level up your energy will be refilled.
Maximizing Silver
You will need silver to purchase items for your yard.
Silver can be earned by completing quests, searching hidden object scenes, and visiting your neighbors.
If you are desperate for silver, you can also sell off items that you have purchased. Just remember that when you sell an item, you will also lose the reputation points it provided.
Congratulations! You have completed the quick start guide for Blackwood & Bell Mysteries by Playdom. Be sure to check back often for game updates, staff and user reviews, user tips, forum comments, and much more here at Gamezebo.
