Hanako Games

How do you keep the pot from boiling over?

#1 by Know_how_to_cook - Dec 21 2007

I was given this game as an early Christmas present. For 3 days now I've tried everything to grate the cheese and stir the pot to keep it from boiling over. I've moved the cheese so fast it becomes a blur. It doesn't reduce the block fast enough to grate it all before the pot boils over. I've tried stirring the pot non-stop. It still boils over. There is no way to guess how long before you have to add the oil. So I'm guessing there's some hidden time of stirring and grating plus a set time you have to add the oil to get through this puzzle.

BTW You don't have to add oil to pasta to keep it from boiling over or sticking. You don't even need salt. You just reduce the heat from a rolling boil to a simmering boil and stir once in a while to keep it from sticking. Are you sure the game programmer acually did any cooking at all before programming this game?

#2 by hanako - Dec 21 2007

There is no "time you have to wait before you add the oil". In fact, the oil is completely and utterly optional, added only to make the puzzle easier, because my husband complained that if his pot were starting to boil over in real life, that's what he would do.

If you could grate so fast that you used up the cheese without the bubbles ever reaching the maximum size, you could complete the puzzle without ever stirring the pot at all. (I'm not sure that's possible, but I've been told that people playing this puzzle with a tablet can grate the cheese super-fast!)

Are you sure you're giving it a good stir? If you stir over all the bubbling spots, the bubbles will go back down to their minimum size. If you only wiggle your mouse over a couple of the bubbles then only those bubbles will shrink and the rest will keep getting bigger. So when you're stirring, watch it carefully and make sure there aren't any more big bubbles popping up.


There is no secret hidden timing of stirring and grating and oiling. Just grate the cheese and keep an eye on your pot. Alternately, if this puzzle is driving you bonkers, grab the skip code from the strategy guide. Games are supposed to be fun, if this scene isn't any fun for you, just skip it!