Winning the minigames has no impact on the game itself, but technically these solutions are spoilers! I’ve listed descriptions of each minigame below, and then you can click to see the solution for each.
Essentially a mathematical puzzle, in this minigame you have two distinct sets of counters placed on squares, with a single empty square between them. Each counter can make two moves: a single square forward into an empty square or a “hop” over another counter into an empty square.
The goal is to move all the counters past one another, so that they occupy the opposite squares they started on. But if you run out of viable moves, you lose.
There are multiple solutions to this puzzle. The spoiler below has one such solution.
1: Move the god in the second square from the top down by one.
2: Jump the spirit in the second square from the bottom square up by two.
3: Move the spirit in the bottom square up by one.
4: Jump the god in the middle square down by two.
5: Jump the god in the top square down by two.
6: Move the spirit in the second square from the top up by one.
7: Jump the spirit in the second square from the bottom up by two.
8: Move the god in the middle square down by one.
This is the only pseudo-multiplayer minigame, where you’ll need to face off against an NPC opponent. In a real game of Nim, there are three piles, each of which can contain any number of stones, and each player can take as many stones as they wish on their turn. The objective is to make your opponent take the last stone.
The version in Spire, Surge, and Sea is simplified slightly. You have two piles of stones, and you can select from the options below each turn:
Take one stone from one pile
Take two stones from one pile
Take one stone from both piles
Take two stones from both piles
Take one stone from one pile and two stones from the other pile
Your opponent will then do the same on their turn.
There are multiple solutions to this puzzle. The spoiler below contains one such solution.
1: Take two stones from each heap.
2: Take two stones from heap two.
3: The third and final move will vary depending on your opponent’s moves, but you should always be able to pick an option that will leave a single stone on the board, forcing your opponent to lose the game.
Obstacle Course
The obstacle course is not a math puzzle. It’s barely even a puzzle, if I’m being honest!
For this minigame, you need to complete an obstacle course in a certain amount of (in-game) time.
As you proceed through the course, you’ll be faced with various obstacles, each of which gives you options on how to tackle it. There are some options that end in obvious failure, while most will let you pass the obstacle eventually. But be warned! Some options take too long, while others have an element of randomness.
You need to balance speed with success in this minigame, but to get the fastest possible time you’ll have to trust in the random number generator a little bit. I’ve provided two solutions below.
In this solution, you absolutely won’t fail any obstacles but won’t be fast enough to get a gold medal—only silver.
Starting Line: “I’m going forward at full speed!”
Ladder: “I’ll take my sweet time.”
Walkway: “I’ll move slowly, but not too slowly.”
Tilting Hallway: “I’m going to climb up those handholds until I reach the end.”
Dark Room: “I’m going to try and keep the maze in my mind.”
Zipline: Any option. This one never fails!
In this solution, you can complete the obstacle course fast enough to get a gold medal—if the random number generator cooperates. You might need to try several times before you succeed, but don’t give up!
The options below are the ones that are least likely to waste a bunch of your time. You can fail a single check on the ladder or in the dark room and still get the gold—otherwise, you’ll need to quit the course and start over any time you fail a check.
Starting Line: “I’m going forward at full speed!”
Ladder: “I’m going up at full speed.” (50% success chance)
Walkway: “I’ll move slowly, but not too slowly.”
Tilting Hallway: “Gotta go fast. Aaaaaah!!!” (75% success chance)
Dark Room: “I’m in a hurry; I’ll just run through.” (50% success chance)
Zipline: Any option. This one never fails!
You need to figure out the right combination of options that will let you throw your stone for more than ten skips and 150 meters. You can pick stone size and texture, and also your throwing style.
Be warned, this game has some element of randomness. Just like skipping a stone in real life, you may simply get unlucky.
You can maximize your chances of successfully skipping the stone by choosing the options in the spoiler below.
Size: Pick a medium stone.
Smoothness: Pick a stone that is “nice and smooth.”
Angle: 45 degrees.
Spin: “Just the right amount.”
Strength: Use “a medium amount of power.”
To beat this minigame, you must figure out the correct order to slide the “tiles” (represented by the numbers 1 through 9) so that they are in the order below:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 _
There are three difficulty levels, each of which has a different starting configuration. The solutions for each are in the spoilers below.
1. Move 4 to the left.
2. Move 5 to the left.
3. Move 6 up.
1. Move 3 up.
2. Move 8 up.
3. Move 7 to the right.
4. Move 6 to the right.
5. Move 4 down.
6. Move 5 to the left.
7. Move 6 up.
8. Move 7 to the left.
9. Move 8 down.
10. Move 6 to the right.
11. Move 5 to the right.
12. Move 4 up.
13. Move 7 to the left.
14. Move 8 to the left.
1. Move 3 to the right.
2. Move 8 down.
3. Move 4 to the left.
4. Move 7 to the left.
5. Move 2 up.
6. Move 3 to the right.
7. Move 1 up.
8. Move 6 to the right.
9. Move 8 down.
10. Move 1 to the left.
11. Move 7 down.
12. Move 4 to the right.
13. Move 1 up.
14. Move 7 to the left.
15. Move 4 down.
16. Move 2 to the left.
17. Move 3 up.
18. Move 5 up.
19. Move 6 to the right.
20. Move 8 to the right.
21. Move 7 down.
22. Move 4 to the left.
23. Move 5 to the left.
24. Move 6 up.