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Up on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City is Father Ventura’s office, the cleric suspicious of Indy’s activities in the holy city. In his office is a curious bookcase with several books that can be pulled to trigger a hidden, churning mechanism, suggesting a puzzle and the promise of loot in a hidden compartment. Pulling on any of the books starts the A Snake in the Garden mystery. To gain access, you’ll need to pull them in a specific order, though there’s not much to go on other than symbols on the book spines.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to solve the Snake in the Garden bookcase puzzle in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Though Indy’s journal suggests there are two notes to find, it turns out they are one and the same, as you’ll see.

The puzzle is on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace. Captured by VideoGamer

Snake in the Garden puzzle solution

To solve the bookcase puzzle, you’ll first need to pick up the note on the desk directly opposite the bookshelf. The Bookcase Note explains that the bookshelf has been redesigned and Ventura’s favourite Medieval Latin books need to be taken out in alphabetical order, however, the books have no names but instead symbols.

Pick up the note on the desk. Captured by VideoGamer

The note explains the books need pulling in alphabetical order. Captured by VideoGamer

Turn over the note to get the information you need. Captured by VideoGamer

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You can scour the room for a second note to decipher the symbols, but you won’t find one. Instead, turn over the Bookcase Note to see what name each symbol refers to, as follows:

  • Franconum – crown
  • Logicae – triangle
  • QDD – sun
  • Philosopiae – wheel

Pull the books in this order. Captured by VideoGamer

Ventura and Mussolini are planning something. Captured by VideoGamer

Previous Next 1 of 2 Previous Next

Now, to solve the puzzle. Head over to the bookcase. Starting from the left, pull the second book, then the fourth, the first, and finally the third to open the bookcase. Put differently, pull the crown, the triangle, the sun, then the wheel. This will open up a secret compartment that houses £120 lira and a Mystery Note – Mussolini’s Letter – addressed to Father Ventura. The cleric was summoned by the dictator to discuss a matter of great importance to the country. This will wrap up the A Snake in the Garden mystery, earning you 100 Adventure Points.

About the Author

Tom Bardwell

Tom is guides editor here at VideoGamer.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

  • Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): First Person, Shooter

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