[Hourglass Puzzle

A puzzle requiring players to adjust hourglasses to match a stained glass window.

Verification: Human verified

The Hourglass Puzzle is a room puzzle in Escape Academy that asks you to manipulate a set of hourglasses until their configuration matches the pattern shown in a stained glass window. The core rule is simple: adjust each of the hourglasses so they match the window. This guide walks through the approach supported by the available sources and notes where information is limited.

Overview

The puzzle is built around a visual comparison task. Rather than entering a code or solving a riddle, you are reading the stained glass window as a reference image and replicating it on the hourglasses. The window is the source of truth — treat it as the "answer key" and use the hourglasses as the input device.

How to Complete

1. Locate the stained glass window. Before touching anything, find the window and study it carefully. It displays the exact configuration the hourglasses must match.
2. Identify the hourglasses you can adjust. The puzzle requires you to change each hourglass individually, so note how many there are and how each one can be modified.
3. Read the window as a target pattern. Work out what state each hourglass should be in — the window tells you the goal, not the starting point.
4. Adjust each hourglass to match. Go through them one at a time and set each to the configuration shown in the window. The record's solution is explicit: adjust each of the hourglasses so they match the window.
5. Verify against the window. Once every hourglass has been adjusted, compare the full set against the window again to confirm the match before assuming the puzzle is solved.

Where to Find It

The Hourglass Puzzle appears in the "Where There's Smoke" chapter. According to a 100% achievement guide, a collectible in that chapter sits "on a desk in the corner of the room between the clock and the hourglass puzzles" [src-f825a4961b]. That places the hourglass puzzle in a room that also contains a clock puzzle, with the two positioned near each other. If you are hunting for that collectible, look on the corner desk between the two puzzle stations [src-f825a4961b].

Tips

• Solve the window first, then the hourglasses. The window is static and readable at your leisure; use it to plan all your adjustments before making them.
• Do one hourglass at a time. Because the solution is "each of the hourglasses," it helps to confirm one is correct before moving to the next rather than changing everything at once.
• Don't confuse it with the clock. The room contains both a clock and the hourglass puzzles [src-f825a4961b]; make sure you are adjusting the hourglasses and reading the correct stained glass window.
• Sweep the room for collectibles while you're there. The corner desk between the clock and hourglass puzzles holds a collectible [src-f825a4961b], so grab it before you leave.

Notes and Limitations

The available sources confirm the puzzle's location context and its core solution rule, but they do not document the specific number of hourglasses, their individual settings, or the exact window pattern. Because of that, this guide intentionally stops at the general method — match the hourglasses to the window — rather than inventing a step-by-step configuration that the sources do not support. If you are stuck on a particular hourglass, the reliable fallback is always the same: re-read the stained glass window and compare it directly against your current setup.

Details

solution

adjust each of the hourglasses so they match the window

Sources

• Escape Academy: How To Escape The Burning Library
• 100% Achievement Guide - Escape Academy