Dining Room Puzzle in 007 First Light — Fireplace Solution Explained

The Dining Room Puzzle in 007 First Light is one of the first real brain-teaser moments in the game. You are chasing the blond man through a hotel in Slovakia, you lose sight of him, and suddenly you are standing in a grand dining room with a fireplace covered in animal dials — and no obvious hint about what to do.

This guide gives you the full solution and explains exactly how the clues work so you are not just copying an answer.

• The dining room puzzle appears in Chapter 6: All the Time in the World.
• It is at Checkpoint 10: The Vanishing, while pursuing the blond man.
• The hidden mechanism is on the north wall above the fireplace.
• The solution is: Lion, Snake, Goat (or Snake, Goat, Lion — the order is not fixed, just the three correct animals).
• The clue is the chimera beast painted on the flags in the room.
• Solving it opens a secret passage that leads to a dark cellar below.

Where Is the Dining Room Puzzle in 007 First Light?

The dining room puzzle is part of Chapter 6, called “All the Time in the World.” It happens at Checkpoint 10: The Vanishing, during the objective to pursue the blond man.

After following the blond man through the chess tournament and back through the main hotel areas, you will lose track of him again. The game sends you into a grand dining room as a mission objective — you cannot miss it. It will be marked on your HUD and the story naturally drives you here.

Once inside, Bond notes a note in a foreign language on a nearby table, which hints at a hidden mechanism. That mechanism is the fireplace puzzle on the north wall.

This chapter is packed with things to do. If you want to complete everything before this point, check out the 007 First Light All the Time in the World all challenges guide so nothing gets missed before you solve this puzzle and move on.

How to Solve the Dining Room Fireplace Puzzle

The fireplace hidden mechanism sits on the north wall of the dining room. It has six dials, each showing a different animal. You need to press three of them in the right combination. Press the wrong ones and nothing happens.

There are two ways to figure out the solution. One involves finding the torn book page in the room. The other involves looking at the room itself more carefully.

The Torn Book Page Clue

On a food cart or laundry trolley in the middle of the dining room, there is a torn book page. Pick it up and examine it. Bond will note it is written in another language, but the image on the page is key.

The illustration shows a mythical creature — a chimera. A chimera is a legendary beast made up of parts from multiple animals. Look closely at the drawing and you can identify three animals that make up its body.

The Flags on the Walls

If you look around the dining room, you will see flags hanging on the walls. Each one shows the same unusual beast. This is the chimera again — the same creature from the torn book page.

Study it carefully:

• The face belongs to a lion.
• The rider or body section is a goat.
• The tail is a snake.

Those three animals are your answer. Press the lion, the goat, and the snake dials on the fireplace mechanism.

The Dining Room Fireplace Puzzle Solution

Press these three dials on the hidden mechanism above the fireplace:

• Lion
• Snake
• Goat

The order you press them does not appear to be strictly enforced — what matters is selecting these three specific animals. Once you press all three, the mechanism will push inward and a secret door will open behind it, revealing a hidden passage.

What Happens After You Solve the Puzzle?

The hidden passage leads Bond into a dark cellar below the hotel. This is where the chase continues.

As soon as you enter the cellar and vault over the first table, turn left. There is a room with prison bars. Before you squeeze through the gap, check the crate inside — the 7 of Bells playing card collectible is sitting on it.

Do not miss that card before squeezing through. Once you move past the gap, you are into the next section and backtracking becomes harder.

After the cellar section, you will eventually reach the Q-Lab where you unlock the Laser Strap gadget. Make sure you equip it from the gadget table — it is needed for collectibles in the next chapter. For the full breakdown of every gadget in the game, see the 007 First Light all gadgets guide.

Is There an Optional Clue Earlier in the Chapter?

Yes. If you are being thorough during the hotel section before you reach the dining room, there is an earlier hint that connects to this puzzle.

Backstage behind the tournament chess screen, you can find the book that the blond man tore the page from. This book appears to show the hotel’s architecture — hinting that something is built into it (in this case, the fireplace passage). Finding this book gives you context for why the torn page matters, even if you do not need it to solve the puzzle.

This is the kind of environmental detail that makes this chapter worth exploring slowly. While you are at it, make sure you have sorted out the hotel’s restricted areas. Our 007 First Light Room 205, 206 and 207 guide covers everything you need for that section of the same chapter.

What Is the Chimera in 007 First Light?

The chimera is a creature from Greek mythology. It is a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion, a goat’s head rising from its back, and a tail that ends in a snake. In some versions, it has parts of multiple animals depending on the source.

In 007 First Light, the chimera on the flags and the torn book page specifically shows a lion’s face, a goat as the rider, and a snake tail. That is exactly what the puzzle asks you to