- The Game Night puzzle is Dylan’s Sketchbook entry #11 — the final one — located in The Unknown Zone.
- You must complete Pope’s Research first to unlock the Gravity Wells that let you reach the puzzle island.
- Fast travel to Factory Island, then use the Gravity Well to cross to the island east of the Evac Building.
- Enter the under-construction building and head to the basement to find the game table and start the puzzle.
- You need six items total: three figurines (Bear, Owl, Tree) from the puzzle room, plus a candle, a pizza box, and a mannequin from nearby buildings across the street.
- The candle goes to the left of the table, the pizza in the right corner, and the mannequin on the right beside the chair. Figurines go on the white game sheet in the center.
- Once all six are placed, press R3 to Draw — completing this unlocks the Work-Life Balance trophy if it is your last scene.
What Is the Game Night Puzzle in Control Resonant?
The Game Night puzzle is the 11th and final Dylan’s Sketchbook scene in Control Resonant. It is located in The Unknown Zone — the game’s late-game region — and it is the last scene you will need to complete for the Work-Life Balance Silver trophy on PlayStation (40 Gamerscore on Xbox).
The scene depicts a board game evening between friends. Someone has set up a game table in the basement of an under-construction building, but the setup is incomplete. Your job is to gather six props from the surrounding streets and put them all in place before Dylan can sketch it.
This is the trickiest Sketchbook scene in the game — not because the puzzle itself is complicated, but because three of the six items are in separate buildings outside the main room, and one of them requires using the Shift ability to reach.
Requirements Before You Can Start
The Game Night puzzle is in The Unknown Zone, which is one of the most restricted areas in the game. Two things must be done before you can reach it:
- Reach The Unknown Zone — You enter it automatically during the main quest Sever the Hedron Links.
- Complete Pope’s Research — This side quest involves finding and activating 8 research balloons across The Unknown’s islands. Each completed balloon pair spawns a Gravity Well — the only way to travel between the floating islands. Without the Gravity Wells active, the puzzle island is completely unreachable. Our Pope’s Research Walkthrough covers all 8 balloon locations.
You also need Shift to retrieve the mannequin from the laundromat later in the puzzle, so make sure that traversal ability is unlocked.
How to Reach the Game Night Puzzle Location
Once Pope’s Research is done and the Gravity Wells are live:
- Open the map and fast travel to Factory Island in The Unknown Zone.
- From the Factory Island Gravity Well, launch across to the island east of the Evac Building — this is the southeast island of the zone.
- Look for a building under construction on this island. Enter through the blue containers or an upper-floor opening on the side of the building.
- Follow the corridors downstairs to the basement floor.
In the basement, you will find the incomplete game scene — a table with a board game on it, two chairs, and one mannequin already seated. Walk up to the table and interact with the Game night prompt. Dylan comments that this looks like the perfect game night but something is missing. All six prop icons now appear as jigsaw-piece puzzle markers on your mini-map radar.
Game Night Puzzle Solution — All Six Items
Items 1, 2, 3 — The Three Figurines (Bear, Owl, Tree)
Where to find them: All three figurines are inside the puzzle room itself, on the shelves around the basement space. Check the nearby metal shelving units — the Bear, Owl, and Tree figurines are sitting on them, ready to pick up.
Where to place them: Set all three on the white game sheet in the center of the table. They can be placed in any order. Do not put them in the outer spots — those are for the candle, pizza, and mannequin.
Item 4 — The Candle
Where to find it: Leave the puzzle building and head across the street. Look for the Urban Mart / supermarket. Go inside and find the candle on the left shelf from the entrance.
Where to place it: Carry the candle back to the basement and set it on the left side of the game table.
Item 5 — The Pizza Box
Where to find it: From the Urban Mart, go left and turn the corner to find a pizza shop (also described as Paradise Pizza Place in some sources) across the street from the puzzle building. Head inside — the pizza box is on the counter.
Where to place it: Bring the pizza box back to the basement and place it in the right corner of the game table.
Item 6 — The Mannequin
Where to find it: This is the trickiest item. From the pizza shop, look for the vertical road nearby. Use Shift to flip your gravity onto the road surface and follow it down. You will reach a laundromat / Wear ‘Em & Wash ‘Em dry cleaning shop — it is on your right as you come around the first block. The wizard-hatted mannequin is inside.
Where to place it: Carry the mannequin back up to the puzzle room. Place it on the right side of the table, beside the empty chair. It joins the existing seated mannequin to complete the two-player game night setup.
How to Complete and Draw the Scene
With all six items in position — three figurines on the white game sheet, candle on the left, pizza in the right corner, and mannequin beside the right chair — the scene is ready. Step back slightly from the table and the Draw prompt becomes available. Press R3 (PlayStation) / right stick click (Xbox) / Alt (PC).
Dylan sketches the complete game night scene. The Game Night drawing is added to Archives → Dylan’s Sketchbook. You also receive:
- Unfinished Reading Game Night collectible document
- +100 Source
If this was your 11th and final Sketchbook scene, the Work-Life Balance trophy fires immediately after the sketch animation completes.
What Is the Work-Life Balance Trophy?
The Work-Life Balance trophy requires completing all 11 Dylan’s Sketchbook scenes across Manhattan. Game Night is the only one in The Unknown Zone and tends to be the last one players complete because the zone itself is only reachable late in the story.
The other 10 scenes are spread across Downtown, Central, the West Incursion Zone, the Evacuation Zone, The Park, and the Underpass. Two other Central Zone Sketchbook puzzles worth tackling before coming to The Unknown:
- One Man Band Puzzle Guide — the Live on Stage scene in the Collector’s Apartment.
- Birdwatcher’s Paradise Puzzle Guide — the Rooftop Oasis scene in Gravity Town, Downtown.
Common Issues with the Game Night Puzzle
I Cannot Reach the Southeast Island
Pope’s Research must be fully completed — all 8 balloons activated — before the Gravity Wells connect the islands properly. Even partial completion may leave some islands unreachable. If you are stuck on the Pope’s Research balloons, our Pope’s Research Walkthrough has every balloon location.
I Cannot Find the Mannequin
The mannequin is in the laundromat on the vertical road below the pizza shop. You need the Shift ability to reach it — use Shift to walk down the vertical road surface after leaving the pizza shop. The laundromat is on the right side of the first block you reach. If you have not unlocked Shift yet, complete The Incursion Fault in the West Incursion Zone first.
The Figurines Are Not Going on the White Sheet
Make sure you are placing the figurines specifically on the white game sheet in the center of the table, not on the outer table positions. The three game piece spots are distinct from the candle, pizza, and mannequin spots. Each placement has its own highlighted interaction zone.
I Placed Something Wrong
Pick the item back up and move it to the correct spot. There is no penalty for misplacing items. If something fell off the table on the way back, check the floor around the table first.
Control Resonant is available on PlayStation Store, Steam, Xbox, and Epic Games Store. For a full look at what’s in The Unknown Zone, see our Control Resonant All Bosses Guide and the All Secret Hideout Locations guide.
