On Thin Ice Chapter 1 Walkthrough: Complete AE Mysteries Guide

Master every puzzle and code with this On Thin Ice Chapter 1 walkthrough for Adventure Escape Mysteries. Get all item locations and solutions.

Kate Gray and Detective Murphy are thrust into a deadly conspiracy when a sudden ransomware attack strikes their department just as they step out for dinner. Navigating this crisis requires sharp deductive reasoning, which is why following an on thin ice chapter 1 walkthrough is essential for uncovering every hidden clue. If you find yourself stumped by complex cipher codes, frozen machinery, or environmental riddles, our on thin ice chapter 1 walkthrough guides you through every step to ensure you collect Hacksaw's crucial hard drive without burning through hints.

On Thin Ice blends classic point-and-click escape mechanics with contemporary cybercrime storytelling developed by Haiku Games. Chapter 1 sets the narrative foundation, forcing players to inspect crime scenes, handle forensic puzzles, and survive sub-zero backyard hazards.

Quick Reference: Codes and Item Master List

Before diving into the detailed room-by-room breakdown, keep this quick reference table handy. It outlines every critical code and puzzle solution required to finish the opening chapter.

Chapter 1 Code Solutions

Puzzle Location	Required Inputs / Clues	Solution Code	Action / Result
Police Station Terminal	Chip reader bold serial digits	63849	Unlocks Kate's workstation monitor
Cabin Front Door Keypad	Metal number tiles on wall board	40827	Unlocks the main door to Hacksaw's cabin
Hidden Floor Safe	Tattoos on Hacksaw’s body	9416	Yields Letter, Triangles, and Lockpin Gun
Hacksaw’s Mobile Phone	Physical corpse biometric scan	Face ID	Unlocks text logs and mailbox location
Secret Wall Safe	Letter, Evidence Chart, Photo	Combination Placement	Reveals Hacksaw's encrypted hard drive

Core Tool Checklist

Item Name	Where Found	Intended Interaction
Chip Reader	Box near Kate’s taped desk	Placed on desk terminal to read code
Snowblower Parts	Cabin yard (Wheel, Nozzle, Fuel)	Rebuilds snowblower to clear the porch
Metal Numbers	Under cleared snow pile	Arranged on exterior wall plaque
Hacksaw	Inside cabin upper cabinets	Cuts through floorboards beneath the rug
Curtains / Cloth	Cabin window	Wet in outside puddle to wipe safe dial
Lockpin Gun	Inside floor safe	Picks the lock on the cabin's back door
Cleaning Oil	Under patio grill tarp	Loosens rusted lock on patio storage chest
Fire Extinguisher	Under patio grill tarp	Douses burning vehicle in backyard
Crowbar & Wrench	Found on bodies near the car	Crowbar pries car door; wrench repairs wheelchair
Small Key	Wheelchair frame	Unlocks oiled backyard chest
Screwdriver	Inside backyard chest	Opens prosthetic leg hidden compartment
Phone Cord	Inside passenger car seat	Connects wireless charging cradle

Police Station: Bypassing the Ransomware Lockout

The chapter opens amidst chaos inside the precinct. Kate Gray's desk is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape due to an active ransomware outbreak.

To clear this preliminary roadblock in your on thin ice chapter 1 walkthrough run:

Tap on the storage crate located to the lower left of Kate’s desk to acquire the Chip Reader.
Place the chip reader on the workstation desk next to the computer screen.
Observe the monitor, which prompts you for a 5-digit authorization override code.
Inspect the chip reader in your inventory closely. Five numbers stand out printed in bold relief: 63849.
Input 63849 into the computer console.

Overriding the terminal reveals that Murphy’s informant, an elusive figure known as Hacksaw, has missed contact following a firefight at his remote cabin. Murphy and Kate immediately depart into a mounting snowstorm.

Cabin Exterior: Clearing Snow and Gaining Entry

Upon arriving at Hacksaw’s mountain cabin, Murphy discovers bullet holes and an unanswered phone. A severe blizzard has buried the walkway in heavy snowdrifts, blocking entry.

Snowblower Assembly and Operation

To clear a path to the front porch, you need to repair the abandoned snowblower sitting near the driveway:

Locate the Wheel lying near the fence post on the left.
Pick up the Nozzle partially submerged near the porch steps.
Retrieve the Fuel Canister resting by the generator shelter.
Combine all three components with the broken snowblower.

Tap the repaired machine to blow away the snow banks. Clearing the snow exposes a scattering of loose Metal Numbers along the frozen soil.

The Metal Number Plaque Puzzle

Pick up the metal digits and examine the wooden board mounted directly to the right of the front door. You must position the numbers along the top row according to the mathematical clues printed on the lower rows.

Board Clue Layout:
Top Slots:  [ 4 ] [ 0 ] [ 8 ] [ 2 ] [ 7 ]
Logic: Matching sum alignments indicated on lower wooden slats.

Arranging the tiles reveals the numerical sequence 40827. Tap on the electronic keypad lock on the cabin door, punch in 40827, and head inside.

Cabin Interior: Hacksaw’s Body and the Safe

Inside, you find Hacksaw deceased on the floor, surrounded by disarray. To thoroughly search the room, take several investigative steps before touching the body:

Drag the overturned mattress aside to clear the floor.
Pull back the area rug to expose loose timber floorboards.
Open the window shutters to illuminate the dark room.
Strip down the hanging Cloth Curtains.
Open the overhead kitchen cabinets to grab the Hacksaw and view an incomplete circuit board.

Forensic Examination of Hacksaw

Examine the victim's body closely. You will notice four points of interest:

An empty phone case in his chest pocket.
A concealed mechanical seam along his prosthetic leg.
Multiple distinct tattoo groupings across his skin.
A small Symbol Strip clenched near his right hand.

Symbol Strip Order:
[ Arrow ] -> [ Skull ] -> [ Heart ] -> [ Wave ]

Floorboard Safe & Tattoo Decryption

Use the hacksaw from the cabinet to cut through the loose floorboards under the rug, lifting out a heavy steel safe. The safe's keypad is smeared with dried blood, obscuring the interface.

Step back outside to the front porch and submerge your cloth curtains into the slushy puddle to create a Wet Cloth. Re-enter the cabin and clean the dial.

To deduce the 4-digit code, count the total occurrences of each icon from the symbol strip found among Hacksaw's body tattoos.

Tattoo Symbol Breakdown

Symbol Type	Body Locations	Total Count	Safe Position
Arrow	Left shoulder (3), Right forearm (4), Neck (2)	9	1st Digit
Skull	Chest (2), Left bicep (2)	4	2nd Digit
Heart	Left hand / wrist (1)	1	3rd Digit
Wave / Water	Torso side (3), Right shoulder (3)	6	4th Digit

Enter 9416 into the clean safe lock. Inside, collect the Letter, a set of decorative Triangles, and a Lockpin Gun.

Following our on thin ice chapter 1 walkthrough directions prevents backtracking, as you now have the tools required to breach the locked back entrance.

The Backyard: Extinguishing the Fire and Ice Stairway

Equip the lockpin gun to bypass the locked door on the right side of the cabin. Stepping outside reveals a grim scene: a vehicle has crashed into an icy ravine and is actively burning.

Backyard Scene Layout:
[ Patio Grill / Tarp ] ------ [ Ice Staircase Puzzle ]
         |                                |
[ Rusted Lockbox ]               [ Burning Vehicle / Bodies ]

Gathering Patio Supplies

Before approaching the flames, clear the immediate terrace:

Pull the weather tarp off the patio grill.
Pick up the Fire Extinguisher and the bottle of Cleaning Oil.
Sweep the snow drift beside the grill to uncover a locked metal chest.
Pour the cleaning oil over the chest's corroded lock mechanism so it can accept a key later.

Solving the Ice Stairway Puzzle

To reach the burning vehicle safely, you must traverse an unstable ice flow. Tap the ice blocks to trigger the sliding puzzle.

Your objective is to slide ice blocks into numerical sequence to form a stable descending staircase. Community reports highlight this puzzle as a common stumbling block due to its tight sliding lanes.

Target Stairway Alignment:
Slot 1: Block [ 1 ]
Slot 2: Block [ 2 ]
Slot 3: Block [ 3 ]
Slot 4: Block [ 4 ]
Slot 5: Block [ 5 ]
Buffer Lanes: Use top and side cutout slots to park non-sequential blocks.

Vehicle Salvage Steps

Once the steps form a safe staircase:

Use the fire extinguisher on the vehicle engine and cabin to suppress the flames.
Search the two fallen syndicate members next to the wreck to obtain a Crowbar and a Wrench.
Wedge the crowbar into the jammed driver-side car door to pop it open.
Reach into the front seat to salvage the Phone Cord.

Unlocking Hacksaw’s Phone and Mailbox

With the vehicle cleared, return to the cabin interior to extract Hacksaw's hidden digital communication logs. This segment of the on thin ice chapter 1 walkthrough links multiple physical items together.

Repair Sequence:
Wrench -> Wheelchair -> Small Key -> Oiled Box -> Screwdriver -> Prosthetic Leg -> Phone

Plug the salvaged phone cord into the wall socket beside the wireless charging pad.
Inspect the broken wheelchair in the corner. Use your wrench to tighten the loose axle bolts; this dislodges a Small Key.
Head back to the backyard patio and insert the small key into the oiled metal chest. Collect the Screwdriver and an additional set of Triangles.
Return to Hacksaw's body. Use the screwdriver to remove the screws holding his prosthetic leg compartment closed.
Take the drained Smartphone from the cavity.
Rest the smartphone on the active wireless charging cradle. After a brief narrative exchange between Kate and Murphy, take the charged device.
The device requires facial authentication. Hold the screen up to Hacksaw’s face to bypass biometric security.

Read through the unlocked message history. Hacksaw was receiving extortion demands from an unknown syndicate operative, and a recent supply drop was delivered directly to his front gate mailbox.

Go out to the front cabin driveway. Tap the high-security mailbox and use the unlocked smartphone to scan the digital release code. The door snaps open, granting you the final set of Triangles and an encrypted Chart.

Cabinets: The Triangulate Puzzle and Secret Safe

Return inside the cabin and focus on the open upper wall cabinets. You now possess all necessary triangle tiles to complete the electrical circuit board.

Triangulate Puzzle Mechanics

Place all collected triangles into the empty sockets on the cabinet board. The goal is to channel an electrical pulse from the input node on the left to the yellow receiving triangle on the far right.

Each time the electrical current lands on a triangle, that specific tile rotates 90 degrees clockwise.
Plan your path so that tile rotations do not sever connections to subsequent nodes.
Tap the illuminated adjacent triangles in sequence to guide the pulse safely across the board.

Completing the electrical loop triggers a hidden catch, ejecting a photographic print (Photo).

Uncovering Hacksaw's Hard Drive

Now you hold the three critical components needed to crack the final puzzle of the chapter:

The Letter (from the floor safe)
The Chart (from the exterior mailbox)
The Photo (from the cabinet circuit puzzle)

Approach the marked bulletin board on the cabin wall. Pin the letter, chart, and photo onto the designated mounting outlines.

Aligning the grid points between the three documents reveals the release latch for a hidden wall safe behind the paneling. The safe swings open, revealing Hacksaw's backup external hard drive containing the ransomware decryption keys.

Kate and Murphy secure the evidence just as sirens echo in the distance, bringing Chapter 1 to a close. Utilizing an on thin ice chapter 1 walkthrough ensures you preserve your hint stars for the even tougher puzzles waiting in Chapter 2.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the safe code in Hacksaw's cabin?

The safe combination beneath the cabin floorboards is 9416. It is solved by counting the tattoo symbols on Hacksaw’s body according to the sequence shown on his paper slip: 9 Arrows, 4 Skulls, 1 Heart, and 6 Waves.

How do I open the mailbox in front of the cabin?

You cannot pick or force the mailbox open. You must charge Hacksaw's phone on the desk cradle, hold it to his face to unlock it with Face ID, read the text message confirming the delivery, and then tap the mailbox with the phone in your inventory to trigger the digital unlock.

Why won't the cleaning oil work on the patio box?

Player experience shows that many players forget to brush off the snow first. You must tap the snow mound next to the grill to expose the rusted latch before applying the cleaning oil from your inventory. Once oiled, you still need the small key retrieved by repairing the indoor wheelchair with your wrench.

Where can I find more help for this chapter?

If you miss an item or get turned around during your investigation, referencing our structured on thin ice chapter 1 walkthrough guarantees you locate all essential tools—from the snowblower nozzle to the cabinet triangles—in the correct sequence.