Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon Beginner Tips

Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon is a compact, strange point-and-click puzzle adventure about two gobliins, Fingus and Winkle, trying to rescue the kidnapped Prince Buffoon. It looks playful, but it expects careful observation, character switching, repeated experimentation, and good timing.

This is a beginner guide for a game with genuinely tough puzzle design. Treat the tips below as habits for staying oriented without turning every room into a step-by-step answer sheet.

The biggest adjustment is that you are not controlling one hero with one obvious verb list. Fingus and Winkle share the journey, share access to objects, and often solve a problem only when each one is placed correctly. A funny failed action is rarely wasted time. It teaches you who can do what, which prop matters, and which reaction can be turned into the next step.

Essential Tips

1. Think in Pairs, Not Solo Actions

Most early mistakes come from treating Fingus or Winkle like a single adventure-game lead. They are usually meant to work as a pair. When one action produces movement, distraction, water, fire, a launch, or a short opening, immediately ask what the other gobliin should do during that moment.

Before clicking around wildly, place both characters. Put one near the active object and the other near the likely result. If a fountain sprays, a mouth opens, a guard looks away, or a platform moves, the second gobliin may need to use an item or grab something before the reaction ends.

2. Test Both Gobliins on Important Objects

Fingus and Winkle can interact with many of the same things, but they do not always respond the same way. One may be polite, cautious, or precise while the other may be forceful, reckless, or better suited to slapstick. That difference is often the puzzle.

When an object seems important, try it with each gobliin before deciding you are stuck. Watch the animation and the feedback. A refusal, a gag, or a painful-looking failure may still tell you which character belongs there, what tool is missing, or where the second gobliin should stand.

3. Read Each Small World as One Puzzle Space

Many areas are not single screens. They are small linked worlds, usually with several rooms that feed into one another. An item found in one screen may solve something two rooms away, and a character reaction in one location may only matter after you have prepared another location.

Make a mental loop through every connected screen before committing to a solution. Note exits, obvious props, characters, locked paths, and places where a gobliin can stand. If a screen feels empty, it may be a staging area for an item or timing setup from elsewhere.

4. Use the Shared Inventory Deliberately

The inventory is shared, but each gobliin can be holding or using something in the current plan. That makes item handling flexible, and it also makes sloppy clicking confusing. Keep track of who is carrying the tool you want to use next.

If a solution seems right but nothing happens, swap characters and try the item again. Some tools need a specific personality, position, or partner action. Avoid assuming an item is finished just because it worked once; classic puzzle chains often reuse simple objects in new ways.

5. Treat Timing as Part of the Riddle

Gobliins 2 loves actions that are correct only during a short animation. One gobliin may need to press, pull, jump, hold, scare, light, or distract while the other immediately catches, climbs, fills, throws, or passes through.

Set up the scene before starting the sequence. Move both gobliins close to their jobs, choose the item in advance if possible, and then execute the clicks in order. If you miss the window, repeat the same plan cleanly before abandoning it. Many solutions fail from timing, not from the idea being wrong.

6. Experiment Without Fear of Losing the Run

Unlike the first game, this sequel removes the pressure of a shared health bar. Fingus and Winkle can suffer comic mishaps without ending the adventure. That matters because some correct answers look rude, dangerous, or ridiculous at first.

Use that freedom. Try suspicious objects, character interactions, and silly item combinations. The game is built around slapstick logic, so a pratfall can be a clue. Just separate useful experiments from random noise by changing one thing at a time and remembering what each attempt caused.

7. Save Before Long Timing Chains

The current PC release supports modern play through ScummVM, and the older versions are built around adventure-game save habits. Use saves to protect progress before multi-step areas, especially when several rooms and characters are involved.

Save after finishing a screen’s major breakthrough, after gaining a key item, and before a sequence that takes several precise clicks. This keeps frustration low and lets you practice a timing chain without replaying unrelated setup work.

8. Spend Hints After Mapping the Room

The game includes limited jokers that can point you toward what to do in a scene. They are useful, but they work best after you have already inspected the area. If you spend one immediately, you may still miss why the hint matters.

Before using a joker, run a quick checklist: every exit visited, every character talked to, both gobliins tested on the strange props, and each inventory item tried in the most logical places. Then the hint is more likely to connect with something you have seen.

9. Keep Notes on Strange Reactions

The puzzles are absurd enough that ordinary memory can blur them together. A flower, bottle, stone, match, glove, stool, or small gag may matter later, and a room can contain several half-solved reactions at once.

Write down short notes like “Winkle can reach roof if Fingus presses switch” or “Fingus can catch object during bounce.” Notes should focus on cause and effect, not long prose. You are building a map of reactions, and that map is often more useful than a list of items.

10. Expect the Prince to Be Limited

Prince Buffoon becomes selectable late in the adventure, but he is not a full replacement for Fingus or Winkle. He can be moved and sometimes positioned for a puzzle, yet he does not take over the inventory role.

When he joins the puzzle flow, think of him as a special piece on the board. Put him where the scene seems to need him, then let Fingus and Winkle handle tools, timing, and most active setup. This prevents wasted time trying to make him solve problems he is not meant to handle.

11. Let Humor Guide Your Logic

The game is silly, but it is not random. Its jokes usually follow visual cause and effect: a character laughs, a creature reacts, a machine misfires, or a prop moves in an exaggerated way. The comedy is often the game’s clue language.

Watch the full animation after each attempt. A gobliin pointing, refusing, celebrating, or getting knocked around can narrow the answer. When the room makes you laugh, ask what changed on screen and whether the other gobliin can now exploit that change.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not solve with only one gobliin - Most breakthroughs need one character to create the opening and the other to use it.

2. Do not ignore different reactions - Fingus and Winkle may use the same object in different ways, and that difference can be the answer.

3. Do not leave linked rooms unchecked - A small world may hide the needed setup in another screen.

4. Do not mash through timing puzzles - Place both gobliins first, then repeat the planned click order cleanly.

5. Do not treat comic harm as failure - Slapstick setbacks can reveal an item, distraction, or necessary reaction.

6. Do not spend jokers before exploring - A hint is more useful after you know the room’s props and exits.

7. Do not forget to save after progress - Protect completed setup before long chains and late-game precision.

8. Do not assume an item has one use - Simple tools can return in new contexts across connected screens.

9. Do not overuse Prince Buffoon late - He is usually a positioning piece, while Fingus and Winkle carry the active work.

10. Do not skip animations - The important clue may be a gesture, movement, sound cue, or brief opening.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Teamwork	Place Fingus and Winkle before triggering reactions
Characters	Try both gobliins on key props and people
Rooms	Treat each connected area as one larger puzzle
Items	Track who is using each shared inventory tool
Timing	Repeat clean sequences before changing the plan
Experimenting	Use the no-health-bar structure to test boldly
Hints	Spend jokers after mapping objects and exits
Notes	Record cause-and-effect reactions in short lines
Buffoon	Use the prince as a limited late-game puzzle piece