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The Witness - The Quarry Puzzle Solution

Images and solutions for every puzzle in The Witness in this complete walkthrough and puzzle guide.

Guide by Larryn Bell Contributor
Additional contributions by Bill Lavoy
Updated on

The Quarry Puzzle area in The Witness contains several advanced Tetris puzzles, as well as some new symbol mechanics. This Quarry Puzzle Solution Walkthrough will help you through these challenging puzzles in order to activate the Quarry light beam. If you have not completed the Marsh Puzzle yet, it is a good idea to tackle that puzzle series first in order to prepare for the complex puzzles contained in the Quarry. For help with the Marsh Puzzle area, refer to the Marsh Puzzle section in this guide.

The Witness - The Quarry Puzzle Solution Walkthrough

The Quarry is the open white rock area adjacent to the Shady Trees puzzle along the riverbank. Although there is an entrance to the Quarry through part of the Shady Trees puzzle, we will be showing you how to open the front gate to the Quarry instead. Start by locating a large door on the short bridge that crosses the riverbank.

To enter the Quarry area, you must first unlock a pair of gates along the bridge near the flume. The first panel features a fairly simple segregation puzzle, where you must isolate dots that differ in color.

The first gate opens to a second locked gate that features a regular Tetris puzzle. Now is the time to put the skills you learned in the Marsh to good use. The solution to both gate puzzles are shown below.

From the flume gates, walk forward along the riverbank and turn left near the far side of the Quarry building. Here you will find a large door with two puzzle panels on the front near the railway.

The first is another segregation puzzle, and the other is a Pacman dot puzzle (where your solution must touch all the dots). Solve each of the puzzles to enter the main building.

Enter the main Quarry building, and approach the podium on the left. The puzzle on the podium features a three-pronged symbol, which indicates that it is an elimination puzzle. These puzzles involve leaving one incorrect element on the puzzle graph to be eliminated by the symbol. The elimination symbol should be sectioned off with the element that you wish to eliminate.

For the podium puzzle, you can only draw a line through one of the required dots, but not both. The elimination symbol will take care of the remaining dot. Drawing a line along the diagonal of the podium puzzle causes a nearby platform to slowly rise. Stand on the platform to have it transfer you to a higher platform, where you will find the next puzzle set.

The puzzle panels on the second platform feature another series of elimination puzzles that contain dots. Solve the puzzles as you normally would, only this time be sure to avoid one of the dots, using it for elimination. If solved correctly, the eliminated item will blink for a moment before unlocking the next panel. If you need help, solutions to these six elimination puzzles are shown in the image below.

Once you complete the first series of puzzles, turn left to find a newly active puzzle monitor on the ground floor. Drawing a solution along the top line of the monitor causes another platform to rise from the floor. Ride this platform to the next level, then walk along the scaffolding to reach the puzzles on the opposite side of the room.

Pass through the first room, since you can't do much here just yet. Continue along the walkway to reach another series of puzzles that begin on the far right. This puzzle set features puzzles that contain both elimination and segregation mechanics.

Solve these puzzles by thinking about how you would normally segregate blocks of the same color, then include one non-matching color to be eliminated in the grouping. Remember, you must include the segregation symbol within the same grouping that contains the element to be eliminated. With a bit of practice, this becomes much easier than it sounds. The solutions for each panel in this set are shown below.

Once the puzzle set is solved, return to the room you passed through earlier and locate the newly active panel just inside the door to the right. This panel is simply a segregation puzzle, and does not involve an elimination mechanic. Solve the puzzle as you usually would, isolating dots of the same color into groups.

Follow the wire to the next panel on the wall. This puzzle is a blend of segregation, elimination, and dots. Select one of the dots to be the eliminated element. If you get stuck, feel free to peek at the solution below. Solving this panel will activate one of the main wires connected to the light beam.

Now, walk along the metal walkway past the long series of panels you solved earlier, and locate another puzzle panel on a wall at the far end. This panel unlocks a staircase that allows you get back to the ground floor. Solve the elimination puzzle, using the staircase as a clue. Before you head back downstairs, snag the audio recording off the shelf to the right of the stairs, at the base of one of the statues.

After completing the main puzzles in the Quarry building, you must now solve the puzzles found within the nearby boathouse on the opposite side of the river. Exit through the door on the ground floor, and head to the boathouse building.

As you enter up the ramp into the boathouse, head right to locate a pair of puzzle panels within the trench nearby. The puzzle on the left features a new starburst shaped symbol that can only be sectioned off in pairs. Starbursts can be grouped with different colored starbursts, but there can never be more than two of the same color starburst in a given grouping. The second puzzle is another Tetris puzzle, which you should be familiar with at this point. If you need help with either puzzle, the solutions are shown below.

There should now be power flowing to the panel beside a ramp on the main floor. Solve this puzzle with a vertical solution to cause the ramp to rise toward the upper level.

The next puzzle series on the second level scaffolding involves a blend of elimination and Tetris puzzle mechanics. Hopefully you have gotten enough practice with both types. Determine which Tetris piece to eliminate in each puzzle, then calculate the number of blocks to section off based on the remaining shapes. Or, just use the solutions below.

Once the puzzle set is complete, continue toward the woodcutting saws along the upper level. The pathway is blocked, and you must use the nearby puzzle panel to clear the obstruction. The goal is to input a pattern on the panel that will cause the rising ramp from earlier to move toward your position. You can then just walk onto the ramp as it slowly drifts by, allowing you to reach the other side of the blockage. Use the pattern below to have the ramp transport you to the far end of the walkway.

Walk to the metal scaffolding on the opposite side, and activate the line puzzle to clear the obstruction for future use. Then, prepare to solve another series of puzzle panels that combine both starburst and elimination mechanics. Since you know that starbursts must be sectioned off in pairs, focus on identifying odd numbered starbursts to group for elimination. The solutions for this series of puzzle panels are shown in the images below.

Follow the wire to the next short set of panels along the right wall. These few puzzles incorporate a mix of Tetris shapes, starbursts, and elimination mechanics. If you feel hopelessly stumped by these, we totally understand. That’s why we have done the work to prepare the solutions for you.

You're in the home stretch! Solve the last puzzle panel to power up a second wire for the light beam. Retrace your steps down the two ramps back to the ground floor, and make your way over to the main Quarry building once more.

Locate and unlock a doorway inside the building that contains a stone staircase. The staircase leads up to the rooftop, where you will find the large yellow box for the light beam.

Solve the final elimination puzzle at the end of the wires to activate the Quarry light beam. There are still some other mysteries to discover in this area, so be sure to continue exploring.