Looking for the chess puzzle? The Chess Pieces solution has the board order. This page covers the cat hint tools: highlight, wrong-shelf warnings and the solution reveal.
Confirmed assistance tools
Official confirmation: the Steam description says magical cats can point toward missing potions, highlight important clues, or reveal part of a solution when you need help.
Video-tested experience: the tutorial/full-game footage shows these assistance concepts directly:
- increased carry capacity
- increased movement speed
- sprinting
- an item highlight ability for the selected potion puzzle
- an assemble ability that can assemble the selected potion set
- a wrongly ordered shelf highlight tool
- a solution reveal option through the cat assistance system
Recommended spoiler-light order
Try the environmental clue first. If you know the rule but cannot find one missing object, use item highlight. Use wrong-shelf highlighting when the set is complete but does not register. Save full solution reveal for the point where the puzzle has stopped being fun.
Patch v1.0.11–v1.0.12 (Aug 27–28)
Official notes: v1.0.11 adds an options toggle to disable magic abilities so you can chase the no-ability achievement without clicking a power by accident. Disabled abilities stay visible; clicking them shows a message that they are off. v1.0.12 adds 360° movement on the left stick for controllers. Day-1 notes already added another upgrade level for highlight and assemble, dropping that cooldown to 40 seconds.
Patch v1.0.13—v1.0.14 (Oct 8, 2026)
Two small official patches, and both are about the interface rather than the puzzles:
- Controller interaction with the shelves was fixed in v1.0.13 — a batch of issues with placing and picking up bottles on a pad.
- Save files that spawned potions between the shelves were fixed in v1.0.13. If loose bottles kept appearing in the aisle after loading a save, that was the bug, not a puzzle clue.
- v1.0.14 added three languages: Thai, Turkish and Italian. Nothing in either patch changes a shelf rule, a puzzle order or the achievement list.
(Checked October 10, 2026 against the official Steam announcements for v1.0.13 and v1.0.14.)
Frequently asked questions
What is the main objective in Shelve the Potions!?
Sort more than 2,000 potions back onto shelves by discovering the rule for each handcrafted shelf puzzle.
Are all shelves solved the same way?
No. The developer says the game contains many unique puzzle rules; the videos show number, liquid level, color, Greek-letter, compass, clock, weather and other clue types.
Can the game reveal a puzzle answer?
Yes. The magical-cat assistance system can highlight relevant items and can reveal a puzzle solution when you are stuck.
Can I find missing puzzle items with an ability?
Yes. The videos show a highlight ability designed to mark items associated with the selected potion puzzle.
Is there a penalty for taking too long?
The official Steam description says the game has no timers or penalties.
How many unique puzzles are there?
The developer devlog says 28 unique puzzles were created. The store page uses the broader wording “20+ handcrafted puzzles.”
Do some puzzles require collecting pieces first?
Yes. Video playthroughs show missing chess pieces, clock parts, pages, books and other clue objects that must be found before some answers become clear.
What should I do when a shelf order looks right but does not complete?
Check whether you are using the correct shelf and whether the puzzle clue points to a different attribute such as liquid amount, bottle size, cork size or an environmental sequence.
Does the tutorial teach mechanics used later?
Yes. The tutorial demonstrates number order, liquid-level order, color sequencing and an environmental-object method using the crow.
Can potions get physically stuck?
A full-game video shows a potion becoming stuck under furniture due to collision behavior. Treat that as a player-observed issue rather than a universal bug.
Show 4 more questions
What is the Greek-letter potion order?
A current third-party solution guide reports γ → ε → α → η → β → ζ → θ → δ; verify against the in-game clue because this is not an official developer-published answer.
How does the chess puzzle work?
Find the lost chess pieces, restore the board, then use the resulting captured pieces as the sequence clue.
How does the clock puzzle work?
Restore the missing clock pieces, then observe the sequence of times shown by the clock.
How does the compass puzzle work?
Observe the compass sequence and reproduce the directions exactly on the matching potion shelf.