We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip Beginner Tips

We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip is a short two-player co-op puzzle adventure developed and published by Total Mayhem Games. It is a standalone Expedition rather than a full mainline We Were Here entry, so it is built around a compact amusement-park voyage, three major challenge styles, and a bronze, silver, or gold ticket result for how well you and your partner perform.

The most important thing to know is that The FriendShip is not a puzzle game where one clever player can silently solve everything. You and your partner often see different information, operate different mechanisms, or need to perform at the same time. Your best tool is not speed; it is a shared language.

Essential Tips

1. Check Voice Before Starting

Do a real microphone test before you enter the first puzzle. Both players should confirm input device, volume, push-to-talk behavior, and whether they are using in-game radio or a platform chat app. Even if you normally talk in Discord or party chat, learn the walkie-talkie button because the game teaches and frames its puzzles around radio-style communication.

If either player hears clipping, echo, or silence, fix it before continuing.

2. Use Radio Discipline

The walkie-talkie works best when one person speaks at a time. Treat it like a handoff: caller speaks, operator repeats the instruction, caller confirms, then the operator acts. This feels slower at first, but it prevents the classic We Were Here failure where both players talk over each other and neither gets the actual clue.

Short phrases beat long explanations. Say “red triangle, then valve, then coin” instead of narrating every object on the panel. If the operator is moving through danger, use direct commands such as “stop,” “left one step,” “wait,” and “go now.”

3. Assign Roles for Each Puzzle

At the start of every challenge, decide who is reading information and who is acting on it. The roles can change, but they should not be ambiguous. If both players start interpreting different panels aloud, you will waste attempts sorting out whose clue matters.

Good roles are simple: caller and operator, mapper and mover, timer and builder, spotter and runner. Once the puzzle reveals its real shape, pause and rename the roles if needed.

4. Describe What You See, Not What You Assume

The FriendShip often gives each player partial information. Describe colors, symbols, directions, shapes, order, relative position, and moving parts before guessing what they mean. A partner cannot check your assumptions if you skip straight to the conclusion.

Use consistent vocabulary. If one player calls a shape a diamond and the other calls it a tilted square, stop and choose one name. If a panel has several similar icons, name them by position as well as shape: “top-left star lever” is safer than “the star thing.”

5. Build a Shared Numbering System

Any time you see rows, columns, buttons, tiles, pegs, statues, or markers, number them together. Agree whether you count left to right, front to back, clockwise, or from the entrance. Say the system out loud before anyone starts moving pieces.

This habit matters because many errors are not logic errors. They are coordinate errors. One player means the second tile from their left, while the other is facing the opposite direction and moves the wrong piece.

6. Treat Bronze as Progress and Gold as Mastery

The game lets you continue after lower results, so do not turn every first attempt into an argument about perfection. Bronze means you understood enough to move on. Silver means your execution improved. Gold usually means both players have a clean shared plan and can perform it under pressure.

For a first playthrough, decide before you start whether you are chasing completion or just seeing the voyage through. If you want gold tickets, expect practice runs. If you want a relaxed evening, accept a lower ticket and revisit later.

7. Use Retries for Process, Not Panic

When a retry starts, do not immediately repeat the same behavior faster. Take ten seconds to identify the failure: wrong vocabulary, missed timing, bad position callout, unclear role split, or one player acting before confirmation.

Then change one thing. Maybe the caller gives only two instructions at a time. Maybe the operator repeats every symbol. Maybe both players count down before simultaneous actions. Retrying without a process just rehearses the same mistake.

8. Practice Fast Observation

One major challenge style asks for quick, concise communication and observation. Prepare for that by scanning a scene in layers: first count major objects, then name colors or poses, then call the order. The goal is not to describe the whole room beautifully; it is to send the exact details your partner can act on.

If you freeze, call out what is certain. “Three statues, middle has raised arm” is more useful than silence while you search for the perfect sentence.

9. Slow Down Tile and Marker Puzzles

Coordination puzzles with separate layouts reward calm mapping. Before moving pieces, have both players describe the board size, fixed objects, empty spaces, and any pieces that cannot move. Then make one move at a time and confirm the new board state.

If the puzzle includes shared resources or limited space, keep a discard or staging plan. A bad temporary placement can block both players and make the board feel random when it is really just cluttered.

10. Make Trust Challenges Literal

When one player guides the other through danger, the guide should speak in small, concrete commands. The runner should resist improvising unless there is an emergency. Trust puzzles are not about one player becoming passive; they are about both players agreeing on timing and then respecting it.

The runner should report position after each instruction: “on platform,” “at lever,” “facing door,” or “back at start.” That keeps the guide’s mental map current.

11. Reset Frustration Early

The FriendShip is short enough that frustration can take over a whole session if you let it. If a puzzle starts turning into blame, call a reset. Swap roles, take a short break, or agree to accept the next valid ticket and return for gold later.

The game is testing how you communicate under pressure. A calmer pair will usually solve faster than a pair trying to prove who understood the puzzle first.

12. Keep Storefront and Online Details Flexible

Because The FriendShip depends on online co-op, crossplay, microphone setup, and platform services, check your current platform requirements before planning a session. Console subscriptions, invite behavior, price, bundles, and service status can change. The player-facing rule is simple: make sure both players can launch, invite, hear each other, and stay connected before committing to a gold run.

Co-op Setup

Use this quick checklist before the first real attempt:

Setup Step	Why It Matters
Confirm both players own or can access the same game version	Prevents lobby and invite confusion
Check platform subscriptions if playing on console	Online play may depend on current platform rules
Test microphone input and output	Puzzles rely on spoken information
Learn the walkie-talkie button	The game expects radio-style communication
Agree on external chat use	Avoids switching channels mid-puzzle
Decide first-run goal	Bronze progress and gold completion create different moods

Communication Habits

Habit	Use It When
Repeat instructions back	A sequence, symbol order, or timing cue matters
Count down from three	Both players must act at the same time
Name positions consistently	Boards, tiles, pegs, statues, and markers appear
Report state changes	A lever moves, gate opens, ticket prints, or path changes
Pause after failure	You need to change the plan before retrying
Swap roles	One player has better visibility or calmer execution

Medals and Retries

Bronze, silver, and gold tickets are not just rewards; they are feedback. If you earn bronze, you probably understand the main idea but lost time, precision, or coordination. If you earn silver, tighten execution before trying again. If you are chasing gold, write down the clean version of the plan before restarting so both players know exactly what changed.

Do not let the ticket machine turn into button mashing. When a ticket prints, talk through why it happened. Was the route too slow? Did the caller overload the operator? Did someone move before confirmation? The answer tells you whether to retry immediately or move on.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not start before both microphones work - Voice confusion makes even simple puzzles feel broken.
2. Do not let both players talk at once - Radio-style communication needs turn-taking.
3. Do not use different names for the same symbol - Shared vocabulary prevents wrong inputs.
4. Do not move pieces before mapping the board - Tile and marker puzzles punish random early moves.
5. Do not treat bronze as failure - Bronze can be a valid first-run result.
6. Do not retry without changing the plan - Practice only helps when you identify the mistake.
7. Do not give long instructions during timed sections - Short commands are easier to execute.
8. Do not ignore platform setup - Invites, subscriptions, and voice behavior can affect the session.
9. Do not blame instead of swapping roles - A fresh perspective often solves the communication problem.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Setup	Test voice, invite flow, and online access first
Radio	Speak one at a time and repeat key instructions
Roles	Assign caller/operator or guide/runner clearly
Symbols	Use shared names and positions
Timing	Count down before simultaneous actions
Medals	Decide whether bronze progress or gold mastery is the goal
Retries	Change one communication rule before trying again
Trust	Give small commands and report position often