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Dream Detective Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Cheats & Strategies to Solve Each Puzzle and Level Up Fast

Dream Detective is a brand new mobile title from Century Game that’s out now on iOS and Android platforms. As a unique hidden object puzzle game that sports hand-drawn artworks, Dream Detective promises to provide a unique treat to players of all ages who enjoy the genre and want more challenge in their hands.

The vast dream scenarios filled with colorful characters and a plethora of other details provides some fun and excitement all on its own. If you feel that you have a sharp eye built to stand against the most testing hidden objects game and if you have a knack for solving puzzles, you should definitely give Dream Detective a try.

Join Detective Allie and help her search for and discover various hidden objects to restore the Dream Land back to its peaceful state. As you travel between realms distorted by time, interacting with colorful people and solving each puzzle takes you a step closer to your goal. Patience and calmness will be an instrument to your success even as sharp eyes and intense determination do not seem to suffice to solve some puzzles. Varying levels of challenges as well as diverse sub-mechanics await you as your adventure takes you through unique levels within the Dream Land.

Learning how to play Dream Detective is actually very and hardly needs a tedious tutorial lesson. As you see different objects at the bottom of your screen, clicking on the same ones within each level checks them out. Truthfully enough, even the youngest and inexperienced players can learn it within seconds although it also offers very challenging puzzles that even veterans of the game genre will take a long while to figure out.

If you find yourself stuck with some puzzles then read our Dream Detective beginner’s guide for some useful tips, cheats and strategies below!

1. Tap On An Object To Receive Hints

There are plenty of game modes to find under the activity category of Dream Detective but for starters, you should aim to complete levels in the challenge mode starting from beginner levels down to the increasingly challenging ones. For the challenge mode levels, you will either take on a classic one or a timed gameplay and considering everything the classic mode will be the easier one.

how to receive hints in dream detective

Regardless of the type of challenge you engage in, each level is guaranteed to be jam-packed with minute details reflecting not just how effort and time was exerted in the conceptualization and finalization of each design, but also the developer’s desire to really provide you plenty of fun hours to spend on each challenge. If you are up to the challenge and want to take on each puzzle without help from anyone or anything, feel free to manually scour through each content-heavy image.

Otherwise, if the challenge is a bit too much especially for starters, then tap on any of the objects you are looking for below the screen to receive hints as to where they are located. This only applies to classic levels that do not have time constraints.

Take note that while some hits are very direct and are too obvious to be missed, some are rather vague and hardly leads you with a better idea of where the object in question is located. In any case, tapping on the objects for hints will not cost you anything so if you are having a hard time searching for one or some of the hidden objects; do not hesitate to tap them for hints.

2. Zoom In For A Clearer View

Dream Detective is actually a game that can become more challenging based on the screen size and resolution of your device. This is primarily because for the most part, the entirety of each level cannot be displayed on your screen and you will have to scroll across all directions to see the full image. In addition, while the size of the characters are small enough to clearly see, there are even smaller objects like keys, sock, or balls that you will be asked to search for.

dream detective tricks

Although players with perfect vision may not have trouble with this, it can be very difficult for the average person. As such, feel free to magnify the level using the game’s zoom feature.

To zoom in, simply use two fingers to tap and hold the screen and drag them apart. The image will stay zoomed and you can continue scrolling through the level and will only revert back to its original size with a pinch gesture. This is especially useful for timed challenges where several characters or items on the level look a little similar to one another.

3. Methodically Scan Each Level

If you have played and enjoyed popular children’s puzzle books like “Where’s Waldo?” or “Where’s Wally?” at some point in your life, then chances are that you have already developed to utilizing a systematic approach to finding him among the heavily crowded illustrations. There are likewise numerous other similar puzzles that may have slightly different concepts but the core principles are the same.

how to scan levels in dream detective

One of the most basic methods of effectively scanning through these types of puzzles is to work your way from one corner and scan horizontally or vertically alternating movements as if to mimic mopping a floor. This way, you can be certain that you go through every inch of the puzzle and leave little to no possibility of missing an item. This same concept can be applied to Dream Detective, espcecially in levels that have no limitations as far as time is concerned.

As such, you can try it on your own even on the starting levels and work on being able to do it faster for timed challenges. It may take a while to pick up your speed in doing so but with enough repetition, you can secure a shorter time accomplishing puzzles with this method.

4. Always Stay Patient And Composed

Even without the time pressure, it cannot be helped that there will be instances where it will take you a long while to find one or a couple of objects you need to look for. More so, when timed levels reach critically low number of seconds that even present an alarming image to add to the pressure.

dream detective strategies

In either case, you should never lose your composure and patience even if the it all seems hopeless. The only time you are penalized for making mistakes is on levels that have time limits. Just the same, there will always be an option to get more seconds for you to be able to solve the puzzle. Losing patience and sliding into panic may just lead you to making more mistakes or failing to find an object right in front of you.

5. Use The Magnifying Glass As A Last Resort

Given the numerous puzzles available in Dream Detective for you to solve, it is highly likely that some levels will be easier than others and the variance in difficulty may vary from one player to another. Although considering to follow the above tips will help you a lot, it can still happen that you will encounter a puzzle that seems impossible for you to solve. As a last resort in these instances, you can use the magnifying glass at the upper left corner of the screen to point you exactly to where a missing object is located.

when to use the magnifying glass in dream detective

Activating the magnifying glass requires you to watch a 15 to 30-second video ad. Even playing the ad for 30 seconds can still save you a lot of time especially if you have been working on the current challenge for several minutes. While there are no limits as to how many times you can utilize this feature, it can impact the rating you get for clearing a level, especially if you cleared a level entirely through using the magnifying glass to find all the hidden objects.

6. Collect XP Rewards And Achievement Points

Coins are an important resource in Dream Detective as you will need them to repair damages to your castle as well as make improvements on it. More importantly, coins can be used to purchase additional stamina that you need to continuously be able to play the game. While you earn plenty of coins from each puzzle you solve, having more of the basic currency is always a welcomed treat.

how to earn more xp rewards in dream detective

As you reach new levels resulting from the experience points you earn for completing challenges and all other activities, reaching certain milestones will reward you with huge sums of coins. To see these milestones as well as know if there are rewards for you to claim, tap the store icon at the bottom left side of your screen. From there, you can click on the “XP Rewards” section at the top left side of the page and claim your rewards. Take note that the higher the milestone you achieve, the larger sum of coins you will be rewarded with.

While on the Challenge screen, you can click on your avatar at the upper left side of the page to see some details about your progress as well as to customize your avatar. You can see underneath your portrait that there are achievement points that can reward you with even more coins. Relative to this page, you can watch ads to unlock some avatar outfits to customize your character and once unlocked you will need coins to obtain them.

7. Hunt And Collect Elves To Boost Your Progress

Another unique feature in Dream Detectives is the Elves Collection mechanics that adds more fun and excitement to the game. Some elves may only present funny dialogues, but others actually offer helpful perks that can help you progress the game at a much faster rate.

how to boost progress in dream detective

To see the collection, click on the book icon at the upper left side of the screen inside the castle. From there, you can click on each one and secure tips on how to obtain them. Once you have unlocked them, you will be able to see them within your castle and some of them will offer rewards for you following a certain period of time after you tap on them.

8. Watch Ads For A Variety Of Rewards

Ads have been a part of almost every free mobile game in the market for quite some time and while you are most likely exposed to the concept, it may still happen that you are not entirely agreeable to their existence. While ads help generate profits to help keep the free game alive, there are instances when they become too much in that they interrupt you while you are in the mood for continuous playing.

In Dream Detective, there are no ads that instantly and randomly appear on your screen while you are playing the game. Each one can only be played following a willful activation on your part and in most cases, you would really be inclined to play some, if not a lot, of these ads.

dream detective treasure chest

As we mentioned earlier, levels that not timed can grant you the ultimate power of the magnifying glass to help you solve difficult puzzles and it can only be utilized by watching a video ad. In contrast, timed puzzles can instantly grant you a time extension for the current puzzle by playing an ad. On top of these 2 useful perks, there are plenty of other aspects of the game where you can play ads to earn more stuff.

One other common opportunity to earn more coins is playing an ad each time you solve a puzzle. Doing so can double the coin rewards you earn and the same basically applies to every instance where you earn coins such as claiming XP rewards as well as achievements. While on the challenge, activity, or leaderboards section, you can claim a beginner’s package reward up to 5 times per day after watching an ad. After doing so, you will have to wait 30 minutes to claim it again.

One unique reward you can get out of watching video ads is the Skip Ad Card which you can access through the “play” icon at the upper right side of your screen. As weird as it seems, you can watch a short ad here to claim cards that will enable you to skip ads later and still claim its perks. For starters, though you can watch 1 ad here and obtain 2 Skip Ad Cards as a reward. It might not seem much but you can actually grind for these items while watching a movie and not paying much attention to your game so that when you are ready to play again, you can skip all ads that come your way and still claim the perks they provide.

Last but not the least is the unlimited free resources you can get from the shop through playing ads. Just below the XP Rewards area are free to bet stamina, Skip Ad Cards, and coins that you can farm to your hearts content. Above it on the right side is a wheel of fortune that has a chance of earning you even more rewards on top of being more exciting.

Although you can very much focus on the resource you need the most with the first option, you should consider spinning the wheel as it not only gives a chance of earning double or triple rewards; it also unlocks a special treasure chest every 5 spins that contains huge sums of coins. The best part of this feature is that it can also earn you some elves for your collection.

And that basically covers all the tips and tricks we have for our Dream Detective beginner’s guide. We certainly hope that you found each of the tips and strategies we shared to be helpful in your adventure and we likewise hope that you enjoyed reading our guide. In case you have discovered some other tips or tricks in addition to what we already mentioned in the guide, feel free to share them with us!