Entry Area

The **Entry Area** is the first area encountered in *The Witness*. It is comprised of a fort and its immediate surroundings on the southwest peninsula of the main island. It introduces the basic maze-solving mechanic of the game's puzzles.

The player spawns in a long, dark underground hallway that lets into the fort's courtyard, and must solve the panels strewn around the fort to open a laser gate blocking access to the rest of the island. A short distance away, two series of panels introduce the hexagon and square symbols.

In the vicinity are the Orchard and the Glass Factory which are a gentle ramp up in difficulty.

## Fort courtyard

After escaping a dark tunnel and solving two trivial puzzles, exit onto a brightly colored courtyard. Passage to the rest of the island is prevented by a laser force field. The diamond-grid panel to the right of the gate is blocked by three latches with a cable attached to each latched. Tracing a cable leads to a panel in each of the three corner towers of the fort.

### Latch 1

One latch is actually powered by a sequence of three panels, each with a progressively larger maze. Note that only a rounded endpoint counts as an exit.

### Latch 2

While the panel has two starting points, only the right one connects up to the exit:

### Latch 3

This panel has two exits, but only the bottom one will power up the correct cable:

Once all three latches are unlocked, solving the gate panel is straightforward:

## Down the path

After exiting the fort, to the left of the path is a locked entry leading into a hill, with a panel covered in black and white squares and small black hexagonal dots. Further down to the left is a long row of blue puzzles with only the leftmost activated, and to the right is a similar sequence of green puzzles in a white shed.

## Around the fort

There's a door behind the fort, which can only be unlocked by solving the two-solution maze puzzle in the courtyard so that the top wire, not the bottom, lights up. You can only access this after you've unlocked the laser door in the starting area.

After returning to this panel, exit the courtyard and head down the path, pass the bunker door, and then up the hill to the left.

Go past the crumbling part of the fortress wall and down towards the cliff, where you'll see the top wire hanging out of a window and connected to a newly unlocked door.

This small, hidden area contains two panel puzzles, one to open the first door, one to open the second door out to the main Entry Area, a discarded panel puzzle and an audio log.

## Cleaning up

A pillar in the Entry Area adorned with triangle symbols is actually a puzzle that activates another larger puzzle on the ground nearby. Solving both counts towards the main puzzle count.

The solution to the pillar puzzle is:

* UP
* RIGHT (3)
* UP
* RIGHT (3)
* UP
* RIGHT (3)
* UP
* RIGHT (3)
* UP
* RIGHT (4)
* UP
* LEFT
* UP

## Triangle panel

### Side gate

This panel is behind a locked gate near the **Entry Area**, which you will need to unlock after unlocking the main gate. Once done, return to the puzzle panel in one of the towers that had two solutions, and enable the other switch that leads out the back of the tower. Head around the fort to find a now unlocked wooden gate, and follow the trail looping around the walls to another door with a puzzle. On the other side of the door you'll find a broken wall and a tree, and to the right is where the panel is lying.

## Briefcase vault

Just after leaving the fort's main gate, look to your left as you head down the path to find a vault carved into the hill. Solve the puzzle on the door to find the briefcase within and get the blueprints.

## Audio logs

### Patio roof

The doorway that introduces to you The Witness has a secret right above it! You won't be able to get here until you get past the main gate. After you get outside of the Entry Area you will be able to hug the left wall as you go up a hill until you find a gap to walk onto the top of the walls. Walk around until you're on the roof of the main entrance of the game. Here you will see a drink and some pillows. Under the yellow pillow is another tape!

### Laser gate

To find this audio tape, open the main gate in the Entry Area, and head down the path and hang a left to find a hill leading onto the Entry Area's ramparts. Take the left path along the ramparts until you are above the main gate, where you'll find the small log on the far side of the gate's top.

### Fourth fort tower

This tape is behind a locked gate near the Entry Area, which you will need to unlock after unlock the main gate. Once done, return to the puzzle panel in one of the towers that had two solutions, and enable the other switch that leads out the back of the tower. Head around the fort to find a now unlocked wooden gate, and follow the trail looping around the walls to another door with a puzzle. On the other side of the door you'll find a broken wall and a tree, where the log is lying.

### Behind the blue panels

Behind a set of puzzle in the entry area's second part, just before the glass factory, look behind to find this well-hidden audio log.