Baldur's Gate 3: How to Solve the Brain Puzzle

Deep beneath Moonrise Towers is a region called the Mind Flayer Colony. There, players of Baldur’s Gate 3 can uncover the secrets of the conspiracy that plans to destroy the city.

Many of these secrets hide behind battles and side passages, but one location, in particular, will only open when players complete an unusual connect-the-dots puzzle. Players may struggle with solving this Baldur’s Gate 3 puzzle, which is why this guide will explain the solution (and why players should bother with it).

How to Play the Brain Game in Baldur’s Gate 3

The brain puzzle is in the southeast corner of the Mind Flayer Colony. It’s just past the Necrotic Laboratory area, and players will need to jump twice to reach it.

Activating the puzzle is simple: players must walk up to the console near the circular chasm and agree to start manipulating a captive mind. Several clear nodes will then appear in the space ahead and connect themselves to the head of the speaker. If the speaker walks away from the console, the puzzle will turn off, but it’ll turn back on when they interact with the node again. The rules of the game are as follows:

The goal of the game is to connect the player’s Memory, Emotion, Speech, and Reason nodes with the identical nodes on the far side of the field. To create these connections, players must create a path of generic nodes that connect the two mental regions on each side. A generic node can only associate with one brain region at a time, which means the four paths can’t overlap or intersect. While Reason and Emotion are on the top and bottom on both ends of the field, Speech and Memory switch sides. To create a path, players should choose a mental node on the player side, then select a connected node. This node will change color and become the active node, so select another connected node, and so on. Players can remove a line by selecting the previous node in the chain and interacting with the main node to reset the puzzle.

Players can watch the video above to see the complete puzzle solution. If players want to solve it on their own, a useful hint is to start at the far end and work backwards.

The Reward for Solving BG3 Brain Puzzle

Once players connect the right nodes together, the door on the far side of the room will open. There are three objects on the far side, all interesting.

A mural broadcasts some of the history of the mind flayers directly into the party’s mind. A brain jar called Waking Mind sits on the ground, ready to slot into the nearby Mind-Archive Interface. The Blade of Oppressed Souls is a +1 longsword that deals an extra 1d4 Psychic damage with each blow.

The brain puzzle is ultimately optional, but the rewards are worth the effort it takes to solve.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is available now on macOS and PC and will be available on PS5 on September 6.