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Riven: The Sequel to Myst Hints

How do I solve the marble puzzle on the dome?

  • 1 of 15: Take a look at the grid that forms the puzzle.
  • 2 of 15: It's a five by five grid, with each square divided yet again into a five by five grid.
  • 3 of 15: Also, notice faint lines grouping some of the squares together.
  • 4 of 15: That layout should be familiar.
  • 5 of 15: It looks like the layout of the buttons on the balcony of the Map Island.
  • 6 of 15: Hmm ... maybe you need to use the grid to point out the locations of certain items.
  • 7 of 15: Gehn's journal may give you some hints here.
  • 8 of 15: He had a linking dome on each island, but they required power before the books inside would work.
  • 9 of 15: Each dome also has a color associated with it.
  • 10 of 15: The colors in Riven are denoted by symbols.
  • 11 of 15: Finally, you need to figure out which islands go with which shapes on the grid.  You can use the diagram inside the dome and your knowledge of where things are on Riven to help figure this out.  Unfortunately, there's no definitive guide to the islands, but if you've paid attention to your surroundings, you should be able to figure things out.  Or you can just read on for the answer.
  • 12 of 15: Also, at this point, you should note that you won't be able to reach the Prison Island.  Process of elimination may be required to fill in the missing information.
  • 13 of 15: Once you've found the physical domes on the islands, most of the rest of the information should come pretty easily.  It may take a bit of work to find the domes on the maps -- you'll need to look closely from all the views -- but at this point, there isn't a whole lot of serious puzzle-solving left to do. The questions below will help you solve the more difficult bits.
  • 14 of 15: If you still need help, here is the full solution to the puzzle.
  • 15 of 15: Once you've placed the marbles correctly, go back and pull the lever just next to the marble grid, and then press the white button that the lever is hiding.  If you've done everything correctly, you should hear the sound of machinery.