How to Solve The Mermaid Mask Pinboard Puzzle: A Complete Submarine Walkthrough

Stuck in the Cargo Hold? Learn how to solve The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle and unlock the secrets of Captain Mortuga's submarine with our guide.

Dive into the murky waters of SFB Games' latest detective adventure, where every room holds a secret and every crew member has something to hide. If you are currently exploring the deep-sea mysteries of Captain Mortuga's submarine, you have likely run into The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle in the Cargo Hold. Solving The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle is crucial to piecing together the timeline of the murder and advancing the investigation.

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the entire layout of the submarine, explain how to gather the necessary clues from the crew, and show you how to crack the pinboard puzzle. We will also cover the other tricky puzzles you must solve along the way to ensure your case file is complete.

Navigating Captain Mortuga's Submarine: Room-by-Room Guide

Before you can tackle the central mystery, you need to know your way around the vessel. The submarine is divided into three distinct floors, each housing unique characters and puzzles. To make your investigation easier, we have mapped out the entire layout below.

Submarine Layout and Key Points of Interest

Room	Floor	Key Character Present	Main Items & Points of Interest
Captain's Cabin	Top Floor (Left)	None (Locked initially)	Handheld Radio, Bell, Painting of "Her"
Control Room	Top Floor (Center)	Sinthia Seafoam	Submarine Blueprint, Switchboard, Captain's Log
Parlor	Top Floor (Right)	None	Entrance to the Control Room
Child's Room	Top Floor (Far Right)	Symmetry Silkmoth	Newspaper Page, Card & Lens Chest
Bunk Room #1	Middle Floor (Left)	None	Movie Magazine, Piggy Bank, Inn Deeds
Bunk Room #2	Middle Floor (Center)	Dirk Dansom & J.D. Wirman	Dirk's Cell Phone, Wirman's Typewriter
Dream Chamber	Middle Floor (Right)	Zacharias Zephyr	Hex Bottle, Dream Helmet, Fog Ball
Illusion Theatre	Middle Floor (Far Right)	None	Secret wall compartment puzzle
Cargo Hold	Bottom Floor (Left)	Mariana Moon	Silkwirm Map, Furnace, Pinboard
Engine Room	Bottom Floor (Center-Left)	Mr. Gripp	Unusual Compasses, Broken Compass
Airlock Grotto	Bottom Floor (Right)	Madam Tadpole	Mermaid decor, Fore deck window

Preparing for The Mermaid Mask Pinboard Puzzle

Before you can even attempt to interact with The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle, you must first meet all the crew members on board. The pinboard is a physical representation of the suspect timeline, meaning Detective Grimoire and Sally cannot complete it without sufficient testimony.

According to player experiences, trying to solve the pinboard early will only result in Grimoire stating that they lack the necessary information. You must thoroughly interrogate the ship's inhabitants to unlock the logical connections required for the board.

Submarine Crew Directory and Interrogation Topics

To help you gather every scrap of evidence, use this directory to ensure you have spoken to everyone about their whereabouts on the day of Captain Mortuga's murder.

Character	Role / Profession	Location	Key Clue / Conversation Topic
Symmetry Silkmoth	Stage Illusionist	Child's Room	Speaks about the Stone Cauldron and Glass Eyeball
Sinthia Seafoam	Acting Captain / Engineer	Control Room	Discusses her 15-year history and the day of the murder
Dirk Dansom	Energetic Actor	Bunk Room #2	Featured in the movie magazine; acts highly suspicious
J.D. Wirman	Mystery Novel Author	Bunk Room #2	Author of Hex of the Helmsman; received a letter from "Ibis"
Zacharias Zephyr	Dream Doctor	Dream Chamber	Explains the Dream Helmet and the mysterious Fog Ball
Mariana Moon	Intriguing Historian	Cargo Hold	Possesses a secret tape recorder disguised as a wooden pipe
Mr. Gripp	Submarine Shop Owner	Engine Room	Sells oddities; holds a box of unusual compasses
Madam Tadpole	Half-Mermaid	Airlock Grotto	Claims she saw a glowing-eyed "demon" on the fore deck

Make sure to cycle through all dialogue options, show every item in your inventory to each character, and revisit previously cleared rooms when new clues are discovered. For instance, showing the Glass Eyeball to the crew will eventually reveal that it acts as the Eyeball Key to unlock the Captain's Cabin.

Step-by-Step: Solving The Mermaid Mask Pinboard Puzzle

Once you have met every crew member, gathered their testimonies, and investigated the various rooms, head down to the Cargo Hold on the lowest floor. To the right of the room, next to Mariana Moon, you will find the pinboard.

At its core, The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle acts as a visual timeline. You must connect the suspects, their statements, and physical evidence to establish where everyone was when Captain Mortuga was killed.

How to Organize the Pinboard

The board requires you to place portraits, locations, and timeline markers in a logical sequence. Community reports suggest focusing on the physical layout of the submarine and the testimonies of the crew to resolve the connections.

Establish the Timeline: Place the "Day of the Murder" marker at the top of the board to anchor the sequence of events.
Position the Suspects: Group the crew members based on their confirmed locations. For example, Sinthia was in the Control Room, while Dirk and Wirman were in their shared bunk room.
Link the Testimonies: Connect Mariana's secret tape recording (found inside her wooden pipe) to Dirk's portrait. The recording reveals Dirk talking about murdering someone to "become free," which is a major breakthrough in the case.
Incorporate the "Demon" Sightings: Connect Madam Tadpole's testimony of the glowing-eyed "demon" on the fore deck with the glass window behind the cauldron. This aligns with other crew members who reported seeing something strange through the glass.
Finalize the Connections: Use the red string to link the suspects to their respective motives and physical clues, such as the Inn Deeds found under Sinthia's mattress.

Once all the pieces are correctly pinned and connected, Detective Grimoire will summarize the timeline, unlocking the next major narrative phase of the game. This is why The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle cannot be bypassed early in the game; it serves as the ultimate synthesis of your detective work.

Other Major Submarine Puzzles You Must Solve

While The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle serves as a major narrative checkpoint, you will need to crack several other puzzles throughout the submarine to gather the clues required for the board.

The developers at SFB Games are known for their clever, logic-based brainteasers. Below is a quick-reference guide to the other major puzzles you will encounter on the ship.

Submarine Puzzles Quick Reference

Puzzle Name	Location	Core Mechanic	Solution / Strategy
The Lens Puzzle	Child's Room	Placing cards and lenses	Arrange six cards into three pairs of children. Place the magnifying lens on the left doll, the minifying lens on the right doll, and the fish-eye lenses on the faces of the corresponding girls.
Switchboard Puzzle	Control Room	Plug placement	Connect the six colored plugs into their correct sockets to match the circuit pattern on the screen. This unlocks the Captain's Log.
Piggy Bank Puzzle	Bunk Room #1	Math / Segment rotation	Rotate the seven movable body parts of the pink piggy bank so that the numbers on its back add up to the solid red targets. Unlocks a hidden photo.
Dirk's Mobile Lock	Bunk Room #2	Shape matching	Fit the four geometric pieces into the corresponding slots on the phone screen to bypass the lock and read the call logs.
Typewriter Puzzle	Bunk Room #2	Letter alignment	Align the keys on Wirman's typewriter to reveal a hidden handwritten letter from "Ibis."
Compass Puzzle	Engine Room	Logical placement	Arrange the compasses based on textual clues (e.g., "This compass tries to point away from all the others"). Unlocks a box containing a broken compass.

Essential Clues & Where to Use Them

To keep your investigation on track, make sure you are using your gathered items in the correct locations.

Eyeball Key: Obtained by solving the Lens Puzzle in the Child's Room. Use it to unlock the Captain's Cabin on the top floor.
Inn Deeds: Found under the mattress in Bunk Room #1. Show this to Sinthia to challenge her connection to Magnus Mortuga and the Stonetop Inn.
Silkwirm Map: Located inside the bags on the left side of the Cargo Hold. This map helps map out the submarine's deep-sea route.
Wooden Pipe: Belonging to Mariana Moon. Ask her about it after speaking with Mr. Gripp to discover it is actually a secret tape recorder.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I unlock The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle?

To unlock The Mermaid Mask pinboard puzzle, you must first explore all three floors of the submarine and speak with every single crew member. If you attempt the puzzle too early, Detective Grimoire will note that you do not have enough evidence or testimonies to begin organizing the timeline.

Where is the pinboard located?

The pinboard is located on the bottom floor of the submarine inside the Cargo Hold, positioned to the right of the room near the historian Mariana Moon.

What do I get for solving the pinboard puzzle?

Solving the puzzle synthesizes all of your findings, aligns the crew's testimonies, and reveals critical contradictions in their alibis. This advances the plot, unlocking new dialogue options and allowing you to investigate the final locked areas of the submarine.

How do I open the Captain's Cabin?

To open the Captain's Cabin, you must solve the Lens Puzzle in the Child's Room to obtain the Glass Eyeball. Once you show this eyeball to the crew, you will learn it functions as a key. Head to the Captain's Cabin door, select the Eyeball Key, and insert it to unlock the room.