Step into the enigmatic world of Rise of the Golden Idol with the “Garden Retreat” case, the gripping opener to Chapter 2: The Pursuit. Unravel a tense confrontation at the Harmony Foundation where a historian’s quick thinking turns a robbery attempt deadly. This guide offers layered hints and a full solution, leading you through cryptic clues-from bloodstained rocks to hidden hairspray-without spoiling the thrill of discovery. Whether you play on Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, prepare to piece together a puzzle of betrayal, artifacts, and a fatal fall that sets the stage for the mysteries ahead. Dive in, and uncover what really happened in the Garden Retreat.
As with all of our Rise of the Golden Idol case guides, our goal here is to provide a hint-based experience that will lead you to the solution without automatically showing you how to solve it. We’ll start out with small hints for the puzzle, escalate to bigger ones, and eventually just spell out the answer if it’s still not clicking for you. We’ve separated our tiered hints and answers with in-game art, but be wary of scrolling farther than you intend.
In this Rise of the Golden Idol guide, we’ll walk you through the “Garden Retreat” case, including hints and the full solution for the overview and event puzzles.
Garden Retreat Overview
“Garden Retreat” is the first case in Chapter 2, “The Pursuit,” of Rise of the Golden Idol, following the completion of Chapter 1’s summary case, “The Curse.” Set at the Harmony Foundation on August 13 or 17, 1974, this scenario involves uncovering the details behind a fatal confrontation between a colleague and a historian. Players investigate various locations and clues to piece together the narrative: a colleague visits the historian to exchange an artifact for money but attempts a robbery instead. The historian defends herself by spraying hairspray and pulling a rug, causing the colleague to fall and fatally hit a rock. Solving this case unlocks further story elements and the next scenario, “Behind Bars”.
There are no names to learn in “Garden Retreat,” and you’ll instead need to come up with an overview of what happened in this case.
First hint
- The first two words describe where this vignette is taking place.
- The second two inputs combine into a two-digit number.
- The final two words describe the crime depicted here.
Second hint
- To find the date, try listening to the radio while you look at the sky.
- To find out where you are, look to the local newspaper and the gate outside.
- To learn what happened, watch the woman carefully and look at the second floor balcony.
Solution
Here is the completed overview for “Garden Retreat:”
The events that took place at the Harmony Foundation on August 17, 1974, resulted in someone’s death.
Garden Retreat Events
The “Garden Retreat” events in Rise of the Golden Idol form an intricate puzzle with 19 entries, centered around a confrontation at the Harmony Foundation on August 17, 1974, which resulted in a death. The scenario unfolds with a colleague visiting a historian to exchange an artifact for money, but the meeting turns violent when the colleague attempts to rob the historian. In response, the historian sprays hairspray on the colleague and pulls a rug, causing the colleague to fall and hit a rock, leading to their death. Players must carefully investigate various clues such as the victim’s pockets, the suitcase, the safe, and the outdoor map to piece together the sequence of events and solve the case.
The event puzzle is rather long in this case, with 19 entries.
First hint
- The first two words refer to the victim and the killer.
- The third, fourth, and fifth words refer to why the victim was at the Heritage Foundation.
- The second paragraph describes what led to the altercation.
- The third paragraph describes how the altercation was turned against the victim.
- The final sentence describes the victim’s cause of death.
Second hint
- To determine the victim, weed out the various voicemail leavers by looking at the woman’s pockets and what she is burning.
- Look to the suitcase, the safe, and the idol to determine why the victim was here.
- Listen to what the woman is saying to determine what led to the altercation.
- Look to the floor near the window to learn what led to the victim’s death.
- Examine the right side of the outdoor section of the map to learn the victim’s cause of death.
Solution
Here is the exact event solution for “Garden Retreat:”
’Colleague’ visited ’Historian’ to exchange an artifact for money.
During the meeting, ’Colleague’ suddenly tried to rob ’Historian.’
In response, ’Historian’ sprayed ’Colleague’ with hair spray and then pulled a rug.
What subtle clues lead to solving the ‘Garden Retreat’ case in Rise of the Golden Idol
The subtle clues leading to solving the “Garden Retreat” case in Rise of the Golden Idol revolve around careful observation of the scene and the characters’ actions:
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Examine the woman’s pockets and what she is burning to identify the victim and her motive for being at the Harmony Foundation.
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Listen closely to the voicemail messages and the woman’s words to understand the relationship between the characters and what triggered the confrontation.
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Inspect the suitcase, safe, and the Golden Idol artifact to uncover the purpose of the meeting and the attempted robbery.
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Notice environmental details such as the torn curtain, the bloodstained rock near the balcony, and the hairspray found in the drawer and on the floor, which hint at how the confrontation escalated.
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The pivotal moment is revealed by the hairspray being used to incapacitate the “Colleague,” followed by the “Historian” pulling a rug, causing the “Colleague” to fall and fatally hit a rock.
These clues collectively piece together the sequence: a colleague visits a historian to exchange an artifact for money, attempts a robbery, is sprayed with hairspray, then pulled down by a rug, leading to a fatal fall onto a rock.
How do examining the woman’s pockets and what she burns reveal her identity and motives
In the “Garden Retreat” case of Rise of the Golden Idol, examining the woman’s pockets and what she burns reveals key aspects of her identity and motives through symbolic and practical clues. The contents of her pockets-such as money or personal items-signal her role and intentions, while the act of burning something suggests a desire to destroy evidence or sever ties. This aligns with the symbolic function of pockets in women’s fashion history, where pockets often concealed secrets, valuables, or intimate items, reflecting both personal agency and hidden motives. Burning an item can indicate an attempt to erase a connection or cover up wrongdoing, thus shedding light on her involvement in the case and her reasons for being at the Harmony Foundation.
