People
GuidesBeginner's guide
New to Glimmerwick? How a day works, your first steps and first season, money basics and all 12 loading tips, from the game's data.
Prologue (the game's opening narration)
In the beginning, the universe hummed a long single note and woke up.
Her eyes opened to planets and stars and space dust. She didn't know how long she'd been asleep or how her vast body had formed, but she inspected herself carefully and found that she was endless.
Within her planets were animals and plants, sand and sea.
All of them sang to her. They sang of beauty and growth and light.
But also of pain, anger, and fear. The universe had not heard of such things and didn't like those songs much at all.
She left the planet and returned to her blanket of stars, but her sleep was restless with dreams of disaster and chaos.
She demanded the plants and rivers and animals stop singing of such things. But they could not, for life is not so simple. The songs clashed in her ears, louder and louder until the universe could find no joy at all.
“Silence!”
Her rage-flooded voice echoed through the mountains, causing earth to slide, fire to rain, and waves to rise violently - so terrible was this devastation that all fell silent.
Finally at peace, the universe slipped back into the stars to rest easy in endless silence.
…that's the story the Silencers tell, anyway. It was 40 years ago the Silence ended. But not for everyone. In some villages, the old ways grip the people's hearts so strongly that even speech itself is frowned upon, and the villagers communicate only through ink.
And it is from one such village that we find a witch, who in the shadows of midnight hummed a quiet song in the woods and felt the world hum back. One witch who decided that it was time to leave.
One witch who trudged through the forests to the nearest dock, and paid the ferryman with few gold petals and fewer words, to board a ship to anywhere else.
The tale the Silencers told is old. Older than ink itself. But they never include the ending, which is this:
After the universe slipped away into silence, the planet was tense with quiet. Its joy and sorrow, strength, and fear building up, unspent - ready to burst. To this day the creatures and land won't sing for themselves, but they dance with life upon hearing the song of a witch.
How a day works
One in-game hour lasts 75 real seconds, so a full day takes about 30 minutes. There is no time pressure: the clock stops at night and during events.
- Wake up 06:00
- First day starts 07:12
- Autosave 12:00
- Clock freezes 22:00
- Night: the clock stays frozen (22:00–05:17) until you sleep
- Week
- 7 days
- Season
- 14 days
- Year
- 56 days (4 seasons); after the first year the game stays in an endless spring
- Sleeping
- Opens the day-end scroll (your magic well earnings), then you wake at 06:00 with full mana
- Events
- It's now time for an event. The clock has frozen and the event will wait for you. You may continue with any exploration and tasks for as long as you please before heading to the event.
- Staying up late
- You can't pass out: in version 1.01 nothing ends your day for you, the clock just waits.
Your first steps
- 1
Arrive and enrol
Day one begins at 07:12. Your first quest and the evening welcome: Back to School · Meet and Greet (Spring 2, 20:00)
- 2
Check your mailbox
Letters arrive from day two. The first one to open:
Prof Clary's Note → Campus Career. Your first two songs come from 
Dean Clary: Song of Tilling, Chant of the Woodcutters. - 3
Go to class
Classes give XP and songs. The first music lesson is on Spring 3 at 08:00: Introductory Musical Craft → Melody of Stones (
Professor Linnea). - 4
- 5
Sell through the magic well
Drop sellable items in the magic well; it pays out on the day-end scroll when you sleep. Sell prices are always the same everywhere, including your magic well.
- 6
Spend skill points
Every 11 XP earns one skill point. The tree starts from three abilities: Seed Gatherer, Mana Enrichment, Potionwork Proficiency.
- 7
Go fishing
You have a fishing rod! To fish, equip the rod and make sure you are near a fishing spot. To cast, move the cursor over the area you see the fish. Fish →
Your first season, day by day
What the calendar, the mailbox and the sky have in store for spring of your first year.
| Day | Weather | Calendar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 1 | — | — | — |
| Spring 2 | — | ||
| Spring 3 | — | ||
| Spring 4 | — | ||
| Spring 5 |  Rain | — | |
| Spring 6 | — | — | — |
| Spring 7 | — | — | |
| Spring 8 | — | — | — |
| Spring 9 | Rain | — | |
| Spring 10 | — | — | |
| Spring 11 | — | — | — |
| Spring 12 | Rain(Heavy) | — | |
| Spring 13 | — | ||
| Spring 14 | — | — |
Money basics
There are no shops that buy from you: you sell through your magic well. It accepts sellable items that can't be placed and pays their value when you sleep, itemised on the day-end scroll.
- BonusFarm Merchant
- BonusFishmonger
- BonusEsteemed Baker
Quests that pay gold
- The Derelict Wagon
- Lighthouse Keeper
- Strange Pamphletsdepending on your choice
- Gardening
- Gardening Bonus
- Foraging
- Fishing
- Fishing Bonus
- Garden Work
- Food
- Baking Bonus
- Brewed
- Crafted
- Other
- Total
Loading-screen tips(12)
Time freezes for calendar events, so there's no rush to get there. Time will not proceed until you partake in the event.
You can change the difficulty of the music minigame in the options. It adds points to your final score.
Once you achieve the "learned" score threshold for a song, you can cast the spell more quickly from your quick flute bar.
Achieving a perfect score on a song will unlock a more powerful, or more mana efficient version of the spell.
Relaxation is good for the mind. Visit the bathhouse as often as once a day for a bit of bonus XP.
The common room has free pretzels. One per day per student!
Time freezes at night. Take as much time as you need.
During potion brewing, use the side bowl to skip items you don't need right now. But be sure to use them before time runs out! There is a small penalty for each item in the side bowl.
Beating a new mastery threshold for a potion or song grants XP.
Your plants will not die from lack of water. But they won't grow.
Sell prices are always the same everywhere, including your magic well.
Flower type crops attract bees you can catch with your bug net.
Every tutorial hint
The game shows these hints once, at the moment they become useful. Here they are all in one place.
Time & calendar
- There is no time pressure in Songs of Glimmerwick. The clock will freeze every evening, and for every important event. There is never a need to stress about the clock.
- It's now night time. The clock has frozen. You may continue with any exploration and tasks for as long as you please before heading to bed.
- It's now time for an event. The clock has frozen and the event will wait for you. You may continue with any exploration and tasks for as long as you please before heading to the event.
- It's now time for an event. The clock freezes while the event is in progress. Before entering future events, you may continue with any exploration and tasks for as long as you please.
- An event has been added to your calendar! View calendar events in your player menu Tab.
- You have class in less than an hour! Don't be late!
Inventory & quests
- Interact on an item's slot in your hot bar or inventory to equip.
- You have your first quest! See your quest journal in your player menu Tab.
- You've purchased a readable. Readables can be accessed via your inventory in a small seperate row above your items.
- You've received a schematic! Schematics let you craft an item using ingredients at a crafting table.
- Some items can be combined with other items. In your inventory menu, drop flour onto water to create dough.
Flute & songs
- Play the flute with A, S, D, F, J, K, L, and ;. Hold Space to play higher notes.
- You have learned your first song! To cast this spell, enter flute mode R and play the notes in the correct order, reading from bottom to top.
- Check your song book in your player menu to practice your songs Tab.
- Achieving a one star rating allows the spell to be cast from your quick flute button. Achieving a perfect rating increases the power of the spell.
- The learned star means you can cast this spell instantly from your quick flute bar (garden spells only appear while in your garden). Learning and mastering new songs also gives you XP.
- Earning stars is not required to use spells. You may cast the spell using the 3-5 notes found in your song book inside your player menu.
- You have now acquired the full ancient version of a song. Click the scroll to enter practice mode.
- You have a new instrument! You can select your instrument from your player inventory.
Garden
- There are two ways to plant seeds. You can drop the seed item on the plot. But it's even easier to right click to equip the seeds, and press spacebar to plant.
- You have a tree seed or sapling! Trees require large plots.
- Colossal Pumpkin Seeds can only be planted in tree plots. You can create tree plots by clicking this icon while casting a till spell.
- Aquatic seeds must be planted in an empty spot in water - such as the pond in your garden. Clear and harvest your aquatic plants using your scythe. No watering required!
Potion brewing
- Fill each cauldron with the correct ingredients to get it brewing. Store extra ingredients in your side bowl ( Interact to switch bowls) but be sure to use them before the hourglass empties. One point is deducted for each remaining ingredient in your side bowl at the end of the round.
- To brew a potion in your cauldron you must master each recipe to the level of a one star rating. A higher rating will result in higher quality potions.
- This is your recipe. Combine these ingredients in a cauldron to score!
- Throw ingredients into your side bowl if you don't immediately need them. But be careful! You will be penalized for each ingredient remaining in your side bowl at the end of the round.
- Complete as many cauldrons as you can before time runs out!
Fishing, diving & pets
- You have a fishing rod! To fish, equip the rod and make sure you are near a fishing spot. To cast, move the cursor over the area you see the fish.
- Swim close to a diving zone then interact with it to dive! Dive as many times as you can within the time limit. You have 60 seconds.
- Lure successful! Your new pet has gone to find their new den and will arrive tomorrow.
- Lure successful! Your new pet has gone to find their new den and will arrive the day after you build it.
- Press Interact once to aim, and press again to throw! Get as many points as you can.