Detailed spoilers for the 16 puzzles:

Don't read these unless you want to know exactly how to solve each of the puzzles.

Puzzle 1 involves building a fire in the fire pit. Drag one of your villagers to the pile of dry wood in the southwest part of the village to gather firewood. After the wood is placed in the fire pit, take a villager to the very dry grass that can be found to the west of the coconut trees. Once the firewood and dry grass have been placed in the fire pit, drag a villager there to light the fire. You will need to replenish the firewood periodically to keep the fire from going out.

Puzzle 2 is the construction of a dam that will divert water from the stream to an area that can be used for farming. After you purchase Level 2 of Engineering Tech, drag a villager to the rocks that are in the middle of the lower portion of the stream. You will see a message, "He/she could probably build a dam here."

Puzzle 3 is a scarecrow that an adept farmer can construct in order to protect the crops from the birds. After you complete the dam (and have a farm), drag an adept or master farmer to the twisted pieces of wood and vines that are located in the northern portion of the village. The scarecrow requires two trips to complete, so make sure that you finish the construction, or your crops will not be protected.

Puzzle 4 is the fashioning of special cutting tools that will be needed to cut away vegetation in some parts of the village. After purchasing Level 2 of Exploration Tech, drag a master scientist to the northern part of the village where he will see something among the rocks near the twisted pieces of wood and vines (look for things that resemble spear tips that have little sparkles coming from them). Your scientist will need to make a second trip to finish the tools, so take him to the twisted wood and vines (where you got the material for the scarecrow) to get the necessary materials.

Puzzle 5 is completed when your villagers learn mastery of six special plants located in various parts of the village. Drag a villager to each of them and watch for the message that each has been mastered. The plants are (beginning in the northwest part of the village and moving clockwise): the odd-looking plant immediately to the left of the very dry grass, the blue flower between the thorns and the rocks, the small lavender flower at the northern edge of the graveyard, the black flowers near the waterfall, the bright reddish flowers south of the dam site, and the large orange-red flower at the south edge of the village.

Puzzle 6 is completed when you have sufficiently trained a villager to become master in three skills. That villager will become an Esteemed Elder, and a totem will be created to commemorate their new status in the village.

Puzzle 7 is the elimination of the algae in the ocean that was caused by over fishing. After purchasing Level 3 of Farming Tech, take a master farmer or master scientist to the pond, where they will collect algae-eating fish that they can use to repopulate the ocean. One fish is not enough; it will take many algae-eating fish to solve this puzzle, so continue to collect them. Once sufficient fish have been placed in the ocean, the algae will once again be under control and the villagers will have unrestricted fishing.

Puzzle 8 is the removal of the vines that cover the wall on the east side of the village. After you purchase Level 3 of Culture Tech and have completed Puzzle 4, drag a villager to the vine-covered wall and they will begin cutting away the vines.

Puzzle 9 is the ability to make various stews for your villagers. To make stew, you will need to have purchased Level 2 of Exploration Tech, retrieved the cauldron from the wood pile, mastered at least one of the special plants, and started a fire in the fire pit. The steps to make a stew are: 1) Drop a villager on the cauldron to put the cauldron on the fire 2) Drop a villager on the cauldron again, and he or she will go get water for the stew 3) Drop a villager on any of the mastered plants, and the villager will gather herbs for the stew. Each stew requires a total of 3 herbs, in any combination. 4) Drop a villager on the cauldron again, and he or she will go get food to add to the stew. When the stew is complete, the villager will move the cauldron off the fire. Some stews are good, some are bad, and some make your villagers do interesting things. Experiment and have fun with them. You can also find different "recipe books" here that have been created for the game.

Puzzle 10 requires Level 3 of both Engineering Tech and Culture Tech. Drag a villager to the ancient covered floor in the southeast part of the village and they will begin uncovering the site.

Puzzle 11 is the construction of a hospital. After you purchase both Level 3 of Engineering Tech and Medicine Tech, a foundation will appear that your villagers can work on.

Puzzle 12 is the construction of a sewing hut, which will allow you to change the clothing that your villagers are wearing. After you purchase Level 2 of both Culture Tech and Science Tech, a foundation will appear that your villagers can work on.

Puzzles 13-16 are the pieces of the Gong of Wonder. The four pieces can be retrieved in the following ways:

• A team of 3 Master Builders can open the crate on the beach, where one of the pieces has been hidden.
• After purchasing Level 2 of Exploration, your villagers can clear the thorns blocking access to the gong encasement, which will also reveal a piece of the gong.
• Prepare a magic stew that will allow one of your villagers to dive for the sunken gong piece in the pond. The herbs needed for that magic stew are: one of the black flower near the waterfall and two of the red-orange flower on the south side of the village. Once a villager eats the stew, you will see a message that they no longer feel the need to breathe. Drop that villager into the pond to retrieve the sunken gong piece. The pictures of the required herbs can be seen in the drawings on the wall once the vines have been removed.
• After finishing Puzzles 6 and 10, drop a totem in the center of the uncovered mosaic to reveal a piece of the gong.

Once the gong is assembled you can experiment with the effects that it has on your village. You can bang the gong once every 24 hours.

Borg has prepared pictures that show some of the locations important to the early-game puzzles. If you're having trouble finding the locations in the game, these pictures will be helpful.