Inkwellers Beginner Tips: How to Survive Celiphia's Journal With a Friend

So you and a friend just picked up Inkwellers, and you’re about to dive into Celiphia’s journal together.

Good news: this is one of the most charming co-op puzzle adventures to come out this year.

The catch is that Inkwellers does almost nothing the way a normal game does. It’s built entirely around two people talking to each other, so the usual “figure it out solo” instincts won’t get you far here.

These Inkwellers beginner tips will help you and your partner avoid the early stumbles, communicate like a real team, and actually enjoy the ride instead of getting stuck in the first chapter.

Let’s get into it!

Get your setup right before you dive in

Inkwellers is online co-op only. There’s no single-player mode, so step one is finding a friend who’s up for the whole thing in one or two sessions.

You both need a microphone and a stable internet connection. This isn’t optional flavor text. The entire game assumes you’re talking the whole time, and trying to play through text chat alone will make even simple puzzles miserable.

One of you acts as the host, so pick whoever has the more reliable connection. The host’s machine runs the session, and a shaky connection on that end is the most common cause of mid-game disconnects.

It’s worth knowing that Inkwellers supports Steam Family Sharing. If only one of you owns it, the other can often still join in, which makes talking a buddy into playing a lot easier.

Do a quick mic check in the opening minutes. Sorting out audio before you hit the first real puzzle saves a lot of “wait, can you hear me now?” frustration later.

Talk constantly, and talk specifically

This is the single most important habit in the entire game. Inkwellers rewards over-communication, and vague descriptions are where most teams fall apart.

Don’t say “click the thing over there.” Say “click the red circle with three dots on the left wall, second from the top.”

Describe colors, shapes, symbols, numbers, and positions out loud. What looks obvious on your screen is often completely invisible to your partner, and that gap is the whole point of the puzzle design.

Get in the habit of confirming before acting. A quick “okay, I’m pressing it now, ready?” prevents the classic mistake of one player triggering something while the other is still reading a clue.

If you both go quiet for more than a few seconds, something has usually gone wrong. Narrating what you’re looking at, even when you’re confused, keeps the puzzle moving.

Assume the puzzle is split between you

Most Inkwellers puzzles are asymmetric, which is a fancy way of saying you each hold half the answer. One of you sees a code, the other has the buttons to enter it.

When you get stuck, the first question should always be “what can I see that you can’t?” Trade descriptions of your surroundings before you start hunting for some hidden mechanism.

A lot of puzzles work like a relay. Player one reads a sequence of symbols from a pedestal, player two clicks those symbols on a door, then you swap roles to finish the second half.

This split design is why solo brainpower doesn’t help much. The fastest teams aren’t the smartest individuals, they’re the ones who describe their side clearly and listen carefully to the other.

If a puzzle feels impossible, you’re probably missing information your partner is staring right at. Stop, compare notes, and the solution usually appears.

Look up, down, and behind everything

Inkwellers hides clues in places you won’t notice if you only look straight ahead. Careful observation is a core skill, not a bonus.

Check high bookshelves, alcoves, ceilings, and the spaces behind furniture. Important symbols are often tucked into corners specifically so you have to go looking.

Keep an eye out for lanterns and light sources. In some areas, picking up a lantern reveals an invisible path or pathway that you simply cannot cross otherwise, and missing it will stall your whole team.

When you enter a new room, take a slow lap before touching anything. Call out what you find as you go, because a detail you ignore now is often the answer to a puzzle two rooms later.

Symbols seen at the very start of an area frequently matter at the end. If something looks deliberately placed, mention it to your partner so one of you remembers it.

Take your time with the fiddly mechanics

A few of Inkwellers’ puzzles involve hands-on mechanics that punish rushing. The potion brewing sections are the big one.

Brewing reacts to temperature, and small adjustments matter more than you’d expect. Make tiny changes and watch the result instead of cranking things to the extreme and hoping.

Other puzzles ask you to align rings or symbols, often with each player controlling a different ring. Move one piece at a time and confirm what your partner sees before locking anything in.

Some later challenges require syncing actions, like positioning matching statues or hitting switches at the same moment. A clear countdown (“three, two, one, go”) works far better than guessing.

The game isn’t trying to test your reflexes. When a mechanic feels finicky, slowing down and coordinating beats button-mashing every single time.

Use the hint system, but maybe ration it

Inkwellers includes a built-in hint system, and it’s genuinely helpful when you’re truly stuck. There’s no shame in using it.

Be warned, though: the hints are extremely generous. Instead of nudging you in the right direction, they often hand you the full solution, which can deflate the satisfaction of cracking a puzzle yourselves.

A good rule is to agree on a “stuck timer” with your partner. Give a puzzle an honest five or ten minutes of real effort before either of you reaches for a hint.

Try comparing notes one more time before caving. More often than not, the thing blocking you is a clue one player forgot to mention out loud.

Save the hints for the moments you’re genuinely spinning your wheels. The best parts of Inkwellers are the “ohhh, I get it!” moments, and those only happen if you give yourselves room to find them.

Don’t panic if you hit a bug

Inkwellers is a small indie release, and a handful of early players ran into crashes and disconnects. The developer has been patching these quickly, but you might still hit one.

If the game kicks you out or crashes mid-session, don’t assume your progress is gone. Restart, rejoin, and you’ll usually pick up close to where you left off.

For repeated crashes, have the host verify the game files through Steam and make sure both players are on the latest version. A surprising number of co-op issues come down to one player running an older patch.

If a puzzle seems broken or won’t register your input, try having the host restart the session before you assume you’re doing it wrong. A quick re-host clears up most syncing hiccups.

Keeping the game updated is your best defense. The fixes have been rolling out steadily, so the experience now is smoother than it was at launch.

Set your expectations on length and pacing

Inkwellers is a short experience, clocking in around four hours for most teams. That’s a feature, not a flaw.

It’s perfectly sized for one long evening with a friend, or two relaxed sittings if you’d rather not marathon it. Going in expecting a 20-hour epic will only leave you disappointed.

Because it’s compact, there’s no need to rush. Slow down and actually enjoy the hand-painted art, the audio, and the slowly unfolding story of what happened to Celiphia.

The mystery rewards players who pay attention to the lore scattered through each area. Treat it like a cozy night in rather than a race to the credits.

Final thoughts before you start

Inkwellers clicks the moment you and your partner stop solving puzzles at each other and start solving them together. Once the communication flows, the whole game opens up.

Keep talking, describe everything in detail, look everywhere, and don’t be afraid to slow down. Do that, and Celiphia’s journal becomes one of the most rewarding co-op nights you’ll have this year.

If you’re hungry for more puzzle-solving after the credits roll, check out our Retrace the Light tips for another clever brain-bender. Teams who loved the co-op coordination should also read our The Lonesome Guild beginner’s guide and our Secrets of Grindea tips.

Now grab your friend, plug in that mic, and go uncover the truth. Happy brewing!

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Images are from the Inkwellers page on Steam and used under Fair Use.