How to rescue the Starfish and find Tumba in The Plucky Squire

Many puzzles in The Plucky Squire are self-explanatory, and Minibeard is always there if you get stuck. One of the few exceptions to this rule is at the start of Chapter 7, so let me show you how to find Tumba and rescue the Starfish in The Plucky Squire.

How to Rescue the Starfish in The Plucky Squire

Right at the start of Chapter 7, you will find a Starfish that’s been buried upside down in the sand. His partner hints that you must find a character called Tumba. According to the description, he’s “round” and “under a tree.”

The vague description is pretty unhelpful as there are plenty of trees on the first few pages of Chapter 7. He’s also pretty easy to miss if you’re not paying attention between chapters. Fortunately, if you’re stuck like I was, you’re overthinking it.

Leave the page via the portal and manipulate the book from the outside. Turn the pages back through every scene in the chapter until you reach the very first page (pictured above).

The bird silhouette in the title art is Tumba, and you can re-enter the book on this page through a newly created portal. Speak with Tumba and return to the page with the buried Starfish to rescue him.

How to fix the frozen Starfish bug in The Plucky Squire

If your game freezes at the screen in the image above, it’s unintentional, and the story will not progress no matter what you do. You can throw your sword but nothing else.

Pause the game, use the Quit option, and say yes when the warning about losing data comes up.

Choose Play Game from the main menu, but instead of selecting your save file, press X (TAB on keyboard) to bring up your Save History.

You can choose to reload from any of your last five auto saves. I recommend picking the earliest save you have and starting there. When you reach the encounter again, you should be able to speak to the crying Starfish and advance the story.

The difficulty in The Plucky Squire is permanent and tied to your save file. If you find story mode too easy, it may be worth trying Adventure mode for more of a challenge.