INDIE GAME / PLAY GUIDE
TOEM Basics: Focusing, Tripod, Honk, Photo Challenges and Quest Chains
Base-game and Basto quests, compendium, equipment and achievements · Updated 2026-10-13
Saving a photograph and filling a discovery circle are different camera actions. Use the action specified by the quest.
Check the controls when nothing happens
If taking a photograph has not filled the discovery circle, keep the camera focused on the subject and wait. Check that required equipment is being worn, rather than merely owned.
| Purpose | Action | Caution |
|---|---|---|
| Show a photograph | Choose the relevant photograph from the album and show it to the requester | Do not leave after simply taking it |
| Discover through the camera | Keep the subject in focus until the circle fills | Ships, brothers, machinery, garbage and similar objects |
| Selfie | Reverse the camera or set up the Tripod and enter the frame | Face cutouts and the astronaut photo |
| See ghosts | Wear Ghost Glasses | Obtain them at the cemetery, then use them in 3 regions |
| Honk | Earn it by resolving the storm in Stanhamn | Birds, ice, the sleeping pirate and minigames |
| Water Popper | Hit the target in Basto | Targets, plants, trees, torches and people |
Photos for all eight base-game Photo Challenges
After photographing the subjects, return to each photographer for approval. Once all eight challenges are complete, collect the flag at the house with the camera sign in Stanhamn.
| Challenge | Photograph | Location or prerequisite |
|---|---|---|
| 1／Oak | Mossy rock, pine tree and axe in a stump | The hill beyond the scout hut |
| 2／Oak | Ant | On the ground near the photographer from challenge 1 |
| 3／Stan | Shy hippo, ice cream on the ship and sandcastle | The beach / beyond the birds moved with Honk |
| 4／Stan | Yourself in the farmer face cutout | Tripod or reversed camera |
| 5／Log | 5 creatures together, Granny's moving car and a skating trick | Repair the car first |
| 6／Log | The driver confused by a parking ticket | Photograph the driver and car |
| 7／Kiiru | Telescope view of the moon, dog-shaped balloon and snowman | Observatory / birthday party / pond |
| 8／Kiiru | A computer with rows of lights | Observatory or military headquarters |
Locations of all six Cosmic Cubes
Finally, free the wizard on the windy mountain with Honk and speak to him at the tower. Cosmo Deer is inside the portal opened after you report back, so photograph it for the compendium as well.
| Region / related quest | Camera position | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Oak／Pet Rock | Inside a tree near the scout hut | The rock creature appears |
| Oak／Tato Bug | Beneath the stairs in the flowerpot clearing | The mushroom house and a hat |
| Stan / shade | The Cube at sea, visible from the beach | Also report back for the shaded-plinth quest |
| Log／Sewer | High window over the girl who gives the Photo Challenges | The sewer quest |
| Log／Granny | Climb to the top of the stairs near the broken car and look into the distance | The car is repaired |
| Kiiru / tower | The top of the wizard's tower | Photograph it after freeing the wizard, then report back |
Missing the Tripod or enough stamps
Photo Challenge #2 asks you to show an ant photograph to the photographer outside the hotel. Report back and collect the Tripod to photograph face cutouts and monsters that hide when watched. This is separate from challenge #1, which asks for the rock, pine and axe photographs on the hill.
Minimum stamp requirements are listed in the five-route table below. Check the bus desk's display and look for unfinished entries on the Community Card. Finish quests with photos awaiting submission before needlessly taking the same pictures again.
Five bus routes and their stamp requirements
Each number is the requirement on the card for the region you are leaving. It is neither your total across the journey nor the region's full quest count. Even after unlocking travel, you can return to report unfinished quests.
| Departure → next region | Minimum stamps | How this differs from full completion |
|---|---|---|
| Homelanda → Oaklaville | 1 | 2 quests can be resolved before departure. Return to report Experience TOEM after reaching the summit. |
| Oaklaville → Stanhamn | 7 | Completing all 15 quests is required for the regional achievement. Travel unlocks with roughly half of them. |
| Stanhamn → Logcity | 8 | Separate from completing all 16 quests available after Frames and Filters! was added. |
| Logcity → Kiiruberg | 9 | You can reach the mountains before finishing all 18 quests. |
| Kiiruberg → Mountain Top | 6 | You can reach the summit while the quest chain requiring the summit painting is still unfinished. |
Speak to the desk to check the card. Basto is unlocked separately through the postgame ticket and harbor boat, rather than another step in these stamp gates.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
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