What Do The Pairs Of Paintings Mean In Blue Prince

Yes, we know, you're probably very curious about what the pairs of paintings mean in Blue Prince. Most rooms in the manor have two of these illustrations and, at times, it seems that these everyday objects seem too random. But these odd pairings are more than just for decoration. They're part of one of the biggest meta secrets in the game. So, yes, be ready for some spoilers if you keep reading this article.

What do the pairs of paintings mean in Blue Prince - Painting puzzle guide

The pairs of paintings that you see in the manor--and, in one case, below it--all form a 44-character-long phrase. However, there are a few important caveats:

• The idea is to look at the two drawings and think of words that sound or are spelled alike.
• One word has an extra letter and it's this letter that you need to take note of.
• Due to randomization, you might see different paintings depending on where you draft certain rooms.
• In many cases, the same object might appear, but you need to think of a different word that best describes it, at least in relation to the other object.
  • A drawing of a bird can be described using words like "bird" (naturally), "crow," or even "fly."
  • A drawing of a dogtag with the number 10, meanwhile, could mean "tag" or "10."
• Jot down the extra letters for each position in the manor's grid until you can form words and phrases.

Note: While paintings and rooms might change (especially because of how you draft them in future runs), the extra letters that serve as clues remain fixed. For instance, in the Entrance Hall, there's a painting of the Queen of Diamonds and the Ace of Spades. The words there are "face" and "ace," which means the extra letter is F.

This particular spot in the manor (row 9, column 3) has F as its letter. From there, it's just a matter of figuring out the remaining letters in each of the remaining spots.

If you want to solve the Blue Prince painting puzzle on your own, you can check the example above which shows a set of images from various rooms. From the top-left, clockwise, we have:

• Top-left: Crow and Row = C
• Top-right: Road and Rod = A
• Bottom-right: Tube and Tub = E
• Bottom-left: Cart and Car = T

Again, you need to think of two very similar words so you can see which letter is the extra one.

There are a few rooms in the manor that have paintings that are harder to find. Here are some examples:

• Dark Room - The lights will go out when you enter, so you need to reactivate them via the Utility Closet Breaker Box. Note that, in the example above, we have Plane and Plan, which means the extra letter is E.
• Foundation - The paintings are found on the crates at the bottom of the Foundation elevator shaft.
• Laboratory - The illustrations are pinned to the boards on the wall.
• Showroom - The drawings are in the glass exhibit case. They don't look like the other ornaments.
• Aquarium - The drawings are in a corner of one of the fish tanks.

All right, it's time to tell you how we solved the Blue Prince painting puzzle in our playthrough. We're going deep into spoiler territory now--don't scroll down if you want to figure things out for yourself.

Basically, we went ahead and explored every room throughout the manor, all while looking at various painting pairs that we discovered. Initially, we kept a screenshot of one of our runs from earlier. Then, we just pasted individual rooms or entire sections depending on the letters that we noticed. We then filled in the gaps--Wheel of Fortune style--for the letter that made the most sense.

The full hidden message is: "If we count small gates, eight dates crack eight safes."

If you asked yourself this question, then don't worry because you're not the only one. Still, the keyword in that whole phrase is "safes"--the manor has several of these locked containers in various areas, such as the Boudoir (seen in the image above), the Office, and others.

Also, the word "dates" implies that there's one major clue for all of these related safes and keypads: They passcodes are all dates--i.e. months and days. The "small gates" part, meanwhile, refers to one particular puzzle with a zany twist.

That does it for our guide. We hope the article helped you understand the meaning behind the pairs of paintings in Blue Prince. Feel free to check out the safes as you explore the manor in future runs. Alternatively, you may also take a look at these related guides:

• Safe passcodes: Boudoir, Office, Study, Drafting Room
• Drawing Room Puzzle
• Shelter Time-Locked Safe
• Underground Red Door