Frequently Asked Questions

Let's face it - The Secret Society: Hidden Mystery game can be pretty confusing at times.

Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the game. Some information may only apply to certain versions of the game. If in doubt ask a question in the Wiki's Forum.

Where do I find my Quests?
Quests are listed on the left hand side of your Home Desktop. To open a quest to read the instructions, simply press the icon for the quest. An information box will pop up showing you which game character is has provided the quest, what the quest is asking for, and how to achieve the goal. Pressing 'Accept' will bring you back to the home desktop. Pressing 'Show Hints' or the image of the item/goal will bring up a blue arrow pointing to the picture or puzzle you need to investigate, or a warning if the picture is not in the right mode yet.

A quest tells me to play a certain picture/puzzle, but the item is not there
Check the 'Can be found' list for that picture/puzzle. You can see the 'Can be found' list in the Research Window that opens when you press a picture or puzzle on your home desktop. The list appears above the green 'Research' button in this box, you can scroll through it using the arrows either side of it. All items that can be won as rewards for successful picture investigations/puzzle games are shown in the 'Can be found' list.

Some items will only become available to win once you advance the picture or puzzle's scene level to a certain point. Some items require Detective level or higher, some Pro level or higher. All items are available to win once the picture/puzzle is on High Seeker level or above.

If the item you need still isn't showing up on the 'Can be found' list for a picture, it may be the picture is in the wrong game mode. Some items can only be won when playing certain modes. Keep playing the picture to make the mode change, and check the 'Can be found' list again on different modes to see if the item is there.

I have played the picture in the right mode many times but the quest won't complete
This would be a very boring game if it only took one try to win everything you need. Some quests can be won on the first attempt, others could take a 1000 attempts. Every time you successfully investigate a picture or win a puzzle game, you are rewarded a number of items from that picture/puzzles 'can be found' list at random (you can see this list before you begin the picture investigation or puzzle game in the research window above the green 'Research' button). Which items from the 'Can be found' list you are rewarded is down to chance. Just because something is in the 'can be found' list does not mean you will win it on every try. Think of it as a dice roll, for each item you win, a die is rolled behind the scenes to determine which item from the list it is. Every item you win has a chance to be any item from the list. But the items are weighted, which is why some come up every time, and others take many, many, attempts to get that lucky roll. You just have to keep playing until you are rewarded with the item you are looking for.

But I am using luck talismans, artefacts, I've hired multiple sleuth friends and the picture/puzzle has been charged by a sleuth! And still I can't get it!
Luck items, such as talismans and artefacts increase your odds of winning anything from the 'Can be found' list by a certain percentage. Sleuths also increase your odds of winning anything by a set percentage. When using any of these luck enhancers all you are doing is increasing your odds of winning anything at all. So instead of getting 3 rewards you might get 6. Luck enhancers do not increase the odds of any of those rewards being a particular item. The odds are just the same that any one item you win will be the item you are looking for with or without all that extra help. You just get more rolls of the dice for each picture/puzzle you complete because you win more items for each play. If there is a 1 in a 1000 chance of winning the collection item you need, using every tool available to you still means there is a 1 in a 1000 chance of winning the collection item you need. But since you are winning more items per play, you have more chances to hit that 1 in a 1000 for each successful picture investigation/puzzle game won.

But it's been days!
Some quests have been known to take months to complete. That is part of the challenge of the game. The number of quests in the game is limited, you might as well enjoy them while you have them.

Oh come on, there must be something I can do
Actually, there is. If the quest is asking for a particular collection item, go to the Collections Section of the game and find the collection it belongs to. Look for the item you need in that collection. In the top right hand corner of the picture of that item there is a green plus sign. Pressing this will add the item to your wishlist. If one of your Friends gives you the item as a gift, it will complete the quest.

But the item doesn't have a green plus sign, can my friends still give it to me?
No. Unfortunately, if an item does not have a green plus sign it cannot be gifted. Even if you have 100 of the item in your inventory, there is no way to send any to your friends. The item will not show up in the 'Send a Collection Item' tab of the gifting box. I'm afraid you are on your own on this one. You will have to follow the quest instructions and play the right picture in the right mode or play the puzzle until you win the item the old fashioned way.

I can't bear to look at that picture again though
There are other ways to get collection items. The Collector desktop award gives out a random collection item every 12 hours. Any item it gives you will complete an active quest. You also get random collection items occasionally when you charge a friends desktop. These items tend to be the harder to find items in the game. Visiting your friends frequently and using all your daily charges for each friends is a good way to get those hard to win collection items. In this game, it pays to be a good friend (no seriously, you get way more out of visiting your friends than the friends you visit get).

I have 5 of a quest item already, why do I have to find it again?
If you already have a quest item before a quest begins it does not count towards the quest. The quest will only complete if you win the item once the quest bubble has appeared on the left hand side of your home desktop (you do not have to press accept first). The only exception to this is for players playing the Valentines Update or later version of the game. If you have already combined a collection in this version of the game, the last quest in that collection sequence, which asks you to combine the collection automatically completes without you having to combine again. Collection sequences are one of the main types of quests, they consist of 6 quests. The first 5 quests ask you to find one of each of the 5 items from a particular collection, the 6th quest asks you to combine the collection.

Additionally, if you are playing that version of the game, you can skip the current quest in the collection sequence by simply combining the collection (you'd need to have all 5 items already obviously). If, for example, you are on a quest to look for the 3rd item in a collection and you already have that item, and one (or more) each of the other items in that collection, then opening the collections section of the game and combining the collection will tell the game you already have the 3rd item. The quest for the 3rd item will complete, and the quest for the 4th item will begin. Combining again will complete that quest if you still have at least one of all of the items for that collection, and so on, until the you get to the quest to combine the collection, which will automatically complete.

That's stupid, why is it asking me to find something I have already found?
If you are talking about a quest to find an item with no plus sign, that is one of the harder items in the game to find then chances are you technically didn't 'find it'. Most of those items can only be found during picture investigations and puzzle games during the quest itself. They do not appear in any 'Can be found' lists outside of the quest. If you have it already, then either you were given it as a bonus reward from the Collector desktop award or the game gave it to as a bonus reward for being a good friend while you were visiting a friend and charging their desktop. That's not 'finding'.

If the item you are talking about does have a plus sign, and can be found in a picture normally without a quest, it used to be the case that the item could not be found in that picture until the quest was complete. Since the Valentines Update, the game has been changed so those items can be found before the quest begins by advancing the picture to a certain scene level. This was probably done to reduce the overall memory (ram) load of the game, as prior to this update the game suffered from more memory issues. In that case, yes you have already found the item, but chances are it will be easy to find again.

A quest is asking me to find an item in one picture but the item's information box says it can be found in another picture, where do I look?
It doesn't matter where you find the item once the quest pops up in your quest list. Finding it in any picture will complete the quest. Receiving the item from a friend will also complete the quest. Getting the item from the Collectors Desktop award will also complete the quest. Getting the item as a bonus when charging a friends desktop will also complete the quest. Play both pictures, or just play the one you prefer or that requires less energy points for each play. Just be sure to check the 'Can be found' list for that picture first to confirm the item can be won in the mode the picture is in and level the picture is on, as some items require you to be on a certain level and in a certain mode. It might end up being easier to follow the quests instructions.

I've run out of quests, what do I do now?
New quests will be added with new updates to the game. In the mean time, you can make personal goals for yourself to keep the game interesting. Try to get every picture up to the highest possible scene level (currently Professor, the baby blue frame). You could also work on your awards. Both the desktop awards and gamecentre awards have multiple levels of completion. Try to get them all to the highest level possible by following the instructions in the Awards Section. You can make quests for yourself by looking at your friends wishlists, and seeing if you can win the items they need for them, and then give them to the friend as gifts.

I was told I could find a certain collection item/combining element/special item in a picture, but no matter how many times I play it, I don't win the item
Check the 'Can be found' list for that picture. You can see the 'Can be found' list in the Research Window that opens when you press the picture's icon on your home desktop. The list appears above the green 'Research' button in this box, you can scroll through it using the arrows either side of it. All items that can be won as rewards for successful picture investigations are shown in the 'Can be found' list.

Some items will only become available to win once you advance the picture's scene level to a certain point. Some items require Detective level or higher, some Pro level or higher. All items are available to win once the picture is on High Seeker level or above.

If the item you need still isn't showing up on the 'Can be found' list for a picture, it may be the picture is in the wrong game mode. Some items can only be won when playing certain modes. Keep playing the picture to make the mode change, and check the 'Can be found' list again on different modes to see if the item is there.

How do I get the Picture mode to change?
You need to play the picture to get the mode to change. The mode will not change if you do not play the picture. The picture will randomly rotate between Text, Silhouette, Night, Pairs, Pieces and Morphs mode as you play it. Unfortunately there is no sure fire way to force any particular game mode to appear, with the exception of Text (Abc) mode.

Text mode will appear in normal rotation, but you can also force text mode to appear if the picture has an anomaly in it. If you banish the anomaly using a banishing item instead of playing it the picture, the next mode to appear in the picture is Text mode.

How do I get Curse mode?
Curse mode (Cba) will not appear in normal rotation as you play a picture. The only way to get a picture into curse mode is to play the picture when it has an anomaly in it (do not banish the anomaly!). Once you successfully play the picture with the anomaly in it, the NEXT mode in the picture will be Curse mode. The Ghostly Mirror anomaly does not count as curse mode.

How do I get an anomaly in a certain picture?
Anomalies appear at random in pictures as you play the game. It is not possible to force an anomaly into a certain picture. You must be playing pictures for any new anomalies to trigger. If you stop playing pictures, or just play puzzles no new anomalies will appear on your home desktop.

The best way to get an anomaly in a certain picture is to play a wide variety of pictures, including the one you want the anomaly in. The more you play the more new anomalies will appear. Banish anomalies in other pictures if you can (though there is no limit to how many anomalies you can have at a time). Keep playing a wide variety of pictures until an anomaly appears in the picture you want.

When all else fails at getting the anomaly into the picture you want it in, start leaving all other pictures in night mode. Anomalies do not appear in a night mode picture and eventually you can limit the pictures available for anomalies to the one picture you want one in.

If a different anomaly than the one you need appears in the picture you can banish it and keep trying. It may also be possible to wait and see if the anomaly changes into the one you need. Anomalies left alone in pictures can rotate between the different anomaly types over a period of a couple of days. Check in frequently to see catch the anomaly in the right mode. It is also a good idea to keep playing a wide variety of other pictures during this time as the anomaly is less likely to change if you play nothing at all or only play puzzles. Note: Since the Valentines Update, anomalies are less likely to rotate between types if left alone. It may be quicker to simply banish the anomaly and wait for the right one to trigger if you are playing this version of the game or a later version (downloaded/updated post February 2014).

I was told I could find a certain collection item/combining element in a puzzle, but no matter how many times I play it, I don't win the item
Check the 'Can be found' list for that puzzle. You can see the 'Can be found' list in the Research Window that opens when you press the puzzle's icon on your home desktop. The list appears above the green 'Research' button in this box, you can scroll through it using the arrows either side of it. All items that can be won as rewards for winning puzzle games are shown in the 'Can be found' list.

Some items will only become available to win once you advance the puzzle's scene level to a certain point. Some items require Detective level or higher, some Pro level or higher. All items are available to win once the picture/puzzle is on High Seeker level or above.

Help, I am stuck on Blocks!
In blocks, you may only move horizontal blocks left or right and vertical blocks up and down. Although some puzzles may seem impossible at first, they are all solvable without the use of tools, and within the time limit given. If you are struggling with a particular puzzle, use a Seeker's Eye tool to remove a block from the board. This will help you solve the puzzle, but be sure to examine where all the other blocks are before you complete it, this will help you see where the blocks need to be to solve the puzzle without the Seeker's Eye next time. Practice definitely makes perfect with blocks, the more you play the more you puzzles you will figure out and the faster you will win each game. Don't be afraid to move the target block backwards, or even completely enclose in other blocks, this may be necessary to free up space in the board to move tricky blocks out of the way. You can use other free apps that are similar games to practice for blocks. All of these games work on the same principle as blocks, so solving the logic in them will help you solve the logic in blocks. Try Unblock me, a free app in the apple app store and google play store. Unblock me is very similar to blocks, but does not have a time limit (or a need to spend energy points to play), so it is a very good way to practice for blocks. If you are stuck, complete puzzle solutions for every puzzle in blocks are provided on the Blocks page of this wiki.

Help, I am stuck on Pipes!
The trick to pipes is to work from the outside in, and concentrate on the 4-way pipe pieces. All of the pieces around the 4-way pipes and the edge of the board have only a limited number of correct positions, so working your way out from these points reduce the possible moves you can make across the board. If you are stuck, images of completed pipes puzzles are provided in the Walk-through section of the Pipes page of this wiki.

Help, I am stuck on Gem Match!
To complete a game of Gem Match, you must remove the yellow borders from squares that have them by making matches of 3 or more gems of the same colour, where one of those gems is in a square with a yellow border. Making matches on squares that do not have yellow borders does not increase your progress in the game, so it is best to concentrate on the matches that will remove a yellow border. In order to remove all the yellow borders in time you will need to take avantage of the special gems created when matching more than 3 gems. In particular, you should take advantage of the sepcial moves you can make by matching these special gems with each other instead of gems of the same colour. See the Gem Match page on this wiki for more information on special gems and special moves.

Help, Memory Match is really boring!
Yes, yes it is. Once you reach High Seeker level on Memory Match you will reach the maximum number of cards in each game. At this point it will take some time to work through the cards to find matches, no matter how lucky you are, how great your memory is, or how many tools you use. I think that the game is not exactly boring as such, but it just takes longer to complete than any other puzzle or picture in game. The fact that is takes longer to play one game is what makes it frustrating for players. Matching pairs is actually an enjoyable mini game, but when you suddenly go from 20 second completions of other games and puzzles to a game that will always take more than 1 minute to complete, it feels like a stick in the mud. And that is what you are feeling, not boredom.

I cannot unlock Gem Match, where do I find the last puzzle piece?
The original Tavern Update (version 1.9), released May 5th, 2014, fixed this problem. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

When I press research on Gem Match, I just get a black screen
The second Tavern Update (version 1.9.5), released May 14th, 2014, fixed this problem. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

How do I banish an anomaly?
When a picture has an anomaly in it, open the Research Window for that picture by pressing the picture on your Home Desktop. Do not press Research. Instead press the green Banish button, which is above the Research button, in the position that the scene progress bar for that picture would normally be. If you have the right item to banish that anomaly, it will be banished and you will receive a certain number of rewards. If you do not have the right item in your inventory, then you will be offered to buy it for crystals (this will automatically use it to banish the anomaly). You will be returned to the Research Window for that picture, and the scene progress bar will be back. The picture will then be in Text mode for the next play. You can play it straight away by pressing the green 'Research' button or exit the Research Window and return to your Home Desktop.

How do I get Curse mode?
Curse mode (Cba) will not appear in normal rotation as you play a picture. The only way to get a picture into curse mode is to play the picture when it has an anomaly in it (do not banish the anomaly!). Once you successfully play the picture with the anomaly in it, the NEXT mode in the picture will be Curse mode. The Ghostly Mirror anomaly does not count as curse mode.

The quest says dissipate/dispel/scatter the anomaly, what should I do?
If you are playing a version of the game prior to the Valentines Update, then as a general rule of thumb you should banish the anomaly if a quest says 'banish' and play the picture with the anomaly still in place if the quest says anything else.

If you have updated to the Valentines Update or later, then you can do either and still complete the quest. In fact, playing the picture in Text mode may also reward you the item. If in doubt, open the quest information box by pressing its icon on your quest list, and press the 'Show Hints' button. A blue arrow will point to picture, and when you open the Research Window another blue arrow may point to either the Research button or the Banish button. Do whichever the arrow tells you to. If there isn't a second blue arrow, look through the 'Can be found' list for that picture to make sure the item you are looking for is there. Then either research or banish the anomaly (if you banish it, the next mode will be text mode giving you a second chance to win the item if you do not get it the first time).

How do I get an anomaly in a certain picture?
Anomalies appear at random in pictures as you play the game. It is not possible to force an anomaly into a certain picture. You must be playing pictures for any new anomalies to trigger. If you stop playing pictures, or just play puzzles no new anomalies will appear on your home desktop.

The best way to get an anomaly in a certain picture is to play a wide variety of pictures, including the one you want the anomaly in. The more you play the more new anomalies will appear. Banish anomalies in other pictures if you can (though there is no limit to how many anomalies you can have at a time). Keep playing a wide variety of pictures until an anomaly appears in the picture you want.

If a different anomaly than the one you need appears in the picture you can banish it and keep trying. It may also be possible to wait and see if the anomaly changes into the one you need. Anomalies left alone in pictures can rotate between the different anomaly types over a period of a couple of days. Check in frequently to see catch the anomaly in the right mode. It is also a good idea to keep playing a wide variety of other pictures during this time as the anomaly is less likely to change if you play nothing at all or only play puzzles. Note: Since the Valentines Update, anomalies are less likely to rotate between types if left alone. It may be quicker to simply banish the anomaly and wait for the right one to trigger if you are playing this version of the game or a later version (downloaded/updated post February 2014).

Why won't my Picture Award go to next level - I have won the right amount of Pictures
The Picture Award on your Home Desktop is given for win streaks, not total wins. If you lose a single picture investigation, your streak goes back to 0 and you must start over. If you press the awards icon on your home desktop and open the Desktop Picture Investigation award it will tell you what your current best row of picture investigations won without a failure is, and what the goal is to reach the next level of the award. The best row shows the final number of pictures investigated in a row without a failure before your last failure. If you investigate a picture successfully and this number does not go up by 1, then you know your current win streak is less than that number. You must keep playing and successfully investigating pictures until the best row starts to rise with each win again, and then raise it to the goal number. Sometimes game crashes will count as a lost investigation and break your win streak. Unfortunately, if this has happened to you, you must start over.

Why won't my Puzzle Award go to next level - I have won the right amount of Puzzles
The Puzzle Award on your Home Desktop is given for win streaks, not total wins. If you lose a single game, your streak goes back to 0 and you must start over. If you press the awards icon on your home desktop and open the Desktop Puzzle award it will tell you what your current best row of puzzle games won without a failure is, and what the goal is to reach the next level of the award. The best row shows the final number of games won in a row without a failure before your last failure. If you play a puzzle game and win, and this number does not go up by 1, then you know your current win streak is less than that number. You must keep playing and winning puzzles until the best row starts to rise with each win again, and then raise it to the goal number. Sometimes game crashes will count as a lost game and break your win streak. Unfortunately, if this has happened to you, you must start over.

Are some awards unobtainable?
All awards are obtainable in the game, but the later levels of some awards are currently impossible to complete. They require more pictures or quests than the game currently contains. With each new update new quests and pictures are added. The award levels reflect this fact, so some have goals that might not be achievable right now, but the developers hope will be achievable eventually as the game grows.

Collections
coming soon

Talismans
coming soon

Do I need a Facebook account to make friends in the game?
Nope! The game has its own built in friend mechanism what works either via invite code or random generated friend selections. The only version of the game that requires a Facebook account to make friends is the Facebook version of the game itself (and you need a Facebook account to play that anyway since it is built in to Facebook).

Then how do I make Friends in the game?
There are two main ways of making friends in the game - using codes to add people particular players or using the in-built random invite system. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but for the most part exchanging codes with other players in places such as the Code Exchange here or on other websites/communities for the game seems to be the most effective way of doing it. The biggest advantage using codes is that it gives you the opportunity to talk to the players you make friends with, which helps in finding people with similar game playing habits.

1) Adding Friends by Code: Open the friends section by tapping on the Friends Icon on bottom right hand side of your Home Desktop when you are playing the game.

Go to the 'Add by Code' tab (number 5 on Friends page). Press the green 'Invite' button and a 6 digit code will be displayed. This is your current invite code, which other people can use to invite you to be their friend. Post it here or on forums for the game so people can use it. Once they invite you, you will have to accept their invite before you become friends.

Alternatively, in the 'Add by Code' tab, press the green 'Enter' button and a keyboard will appear allowing you to type in the 6 digit code posted by other players, either here or on other forums for the game. Once you invite someone, you will have wait until they accept your invitation before you become friends.

Note: the codes only work for 4-5 uses, then a new friend code is automatically generated, so you have to keep checking your own code to make sure it hasn't changed, and don't get disparaged if many of the codes you try don't work - they get used up very, very quickly so if you aren't one of the first 4 people to see a post with a code then chances are you won't be able to use it. You will get a "you have entered an incorrect code" message if a code has expired or if you are already friends with that player.

Once you have invited someone, or they have invited you, there is still another step that must be completed before they appear on your friends list. The invitee must accept the invitation (or they can also reject it).

Open the friends section of the game again.

Go to the 'Waiting' tab (number 3 on friends page). Here you will see all the people you have invited to be friends, along with all the people who have sent you invitations.

a) if you invited someone to be friends they will appear in your waiting room until either they accept or reject your invitation. There is nothing you can do here. Once they accept your invitation, they will automatically be added to your Friends list.

b) if someone else invited you to be friends, they will also appear in your waiting room. But they will have two buttons under their name/info. There is a green 'Accept' button and a red 'Reject' button. If you press Accept then they will be automatically added to your friends list (and will disappear from the Waiting Room). If you press Reject then they will not be added to your friends list (and will disappear from the Waiting Room). They will not be notified that you rejected their request, but you will also disappear from their Waiting Room.

2) Adding friends by random Invite System: Every 8 hours, the game generates 6 random people for you to be potentially friends with. You will find them in the 'Invite' tab of the friends section (number 2 on friends page). Pressing 'Add' will send a friend request to that person. They will appear in your Waiting Room until they either accept or reject your invitation. If they accept they will be automatically added to your friends list. If they reject the invitation, they will automatically disappear from the Waiting Room.

Every time I try to use a Friend Code I get a message saying "You have entered an incorrect code"
The friend codes only work for 4-5 uses each, and then they expire. Once a code has expired, anyone who tries to use it will get the "you have entered an incorrect code" message as the code no longer works. Once a code expires, a new code is automatically generated in the 'Add by Code' tab of the Friends section. Players must check this section regularly to see if they have a new code to give to potential new friends. Typically, codes posted on online forums are used 4-5 times in a matter of hours. This means that the codes expire very quickly after they have been posted. This is why players will often get frustrated when trying to add new friends by code, as most of the codes they try will already have expired. If this keeps happening, you can reply to the original post and let the player know that their code has expired (and post your own code for them to use).

The game will also give the "You have entered an incorrect code" message if you try to add a player you are already friends with. When posting your own code for others to use, it is a good idea to also post your game name, so people can check if they are already friends with you before using your code.

My game crashes every time I try to access gifts (fixed September 2014)
The Treasure Island Update (version 1.10), released September 10th, 2014, fixed this problem. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

Why are all my friend's wishlists empty? (fixed February 2015)
The Christmas 2014 Update, released December 9th, 2014, fixed this problem. As of the release of the Mac computer version of the Christmas Update (25th February 2015), all platforms should now have access to the fix. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

Why am I receiving so many coins from friends?
The Treasure Island Update, released September 10th, 2014, fixed this problem. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

When I press research on Gem Match, I just get a black screen
The second Tavern Update (version 1.9.5), released May 14th, 2014, fixed this problem. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

My game crashes every time I try to access gifts
The Treasure Island Update (version 1.10), released September 10th, 2014, fixed this problem. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

Why are all my friend's wishlists empty?
The Christmas 2014 Update, released December 9th, 2014, fixed this problem. As of the release of the Mac computer version of the Christmas Update (25th February 2015), all platforms should now have access to the fix. This answer has been moved to the Information Graveyard.

Who can I contact to get help with a problem in the game?
You can contact the game publishers by submitting a ticket to their support team. Be sure to include as much information as you can in the original request, such as what device you are using and what version of the game is installed on it. There is an option to add files, so take screen grabs of the problem if possible or attach game files if you know they are related to the problem. You can also attach crash logs for your device (or just copy the text of the crash log if you cannot export). The more information you give up front, the quicker the support team will be able to fix the problem.

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