In Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem, the Hardy Boys arrive to help Deirdre and the trio discovers a pressure plate puzzle on the floor. The buttons on the wheel refer to the calendar year for witches. Your goal is to press the two correct buttons in each ring from the outermost to innermost area of the wheel.
To figure out the correct buttons, refer to the letter in your inventory from Frances Tuttle – Joe took this from Nancy. Frances provides clues. Then, X-out of the Wheel of the Year view and look at the table to the left of Deirdre. Pick up the book “Compendium of Constellations” and read it to match the clues from the letter to the elements of the book.
Please note: There is no place in the game that defines the exact dates for Imbolc and Samhain, and you are left to simply guess. You can guess incorrectly 3 times before leading to a fail game sequence. Another way to be sure of the dates is to leave the game and run an internet search for Samhain and Imbolc. I provide the answers below. (These dates are also shown in the official strategy guide from HeR Interactive.)
Here are the clues from Frances (left), and the solutions (from the book) on the right:
- Midwinter = Yule
- Brightest day = Litha
- Lion = Leo ♌ (circle with a swooping hook on its right)
- Ox = Taurus ♉ (circle with a swoop on top of it)
- When spring stirs = (Imbolc) 02-02
- Samhain = 10-31
- Home = Earth (triangle pointing down with a line through it)
- Free = Air (triangle pointing up with a line through it)
When you reveal the house, you can press the door (but it’s not necessary), then press the chimney, rotate the screen to look at the roof, then press the table and press the floor button to reveal the envelope.
