No Squint Hint and No Mess Left Behind: Clean Playthrough Guide
No Squint Hint and No Mess Left Behind are the two achievements in A Little to the Left that can force a complete replay. One asks you to finish the game without taking a single hint, the other to finish the campaign without skipping a level. Both are marked as requiring a clean playthrough. This guide explains what counts, how to plan your run and what to do if you already used a hint or a skip.
What each achievement requires
| Achievement | Requirement | What breaks it |
|---|---|---|
| No Squint Hint | Complete the game without taking any hints | Opening any hint, even partly |
| No Mess Left Behind | Finish the campaign without skipping a single level | Using Let It Be on any campaign level |
Reading a walkthrough outside the game does not count as a hint. The game only knows about its own hint system, so you can use our guides as much as you like during a clean run.
How to plan a clean run
- Decide before Level 1. The run has to be clean from the very first level. If you are on a fresh save, you are already set.
- Keep a guide open instead of the hint button. When you are stuck, check the walkthrough for the current chapter: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and so on.
- Do not open the pause menu out of habit. Let It Be sits right there. If you need to pause, choose resume deliberately.
- Collect level achievements along the way. All secret achievements and stars can be earned during the same run, so one clean campaign covers most of the base game list.
- Finish the campaign. Both achievements unlock at the end, after the finale.
Habits that keep the run clean
- Take breaks instead of hints. Many stuck moments solve themselves after a few minutes away; the game saves your place in the level.
- Restart a stuck level. Resetting the arrangement is free and often reveals what you overlooked.
- Count before you guess. When a level resists, count holes, stripes or bumps; it is the most common hidden rule.
Already used a hint or a skip?
Players who used a hint or skipped a level report that replaying the campaign on the same save is not enough. The record of a hint or a skip stays with the save, and the reliable fix is to reset your progress and play the campaign again from the start without using either.
Before you reset:stars and chapter completion achievements you already unlocked stay unlocked in your platform’s achievement list. Resetting only clears in-game progress. Still, it is easiest to reset early, before you have spent hours collecting every star on the old save.
The fastest replay
- Play straight through without hunting for extra stars; you only need one solution per level for these two achievements.
- Use our chapter walkthroughs for the main solution of each level.
- Expect roughly two to three hours for a focused replay, compared with four for a first run.
What to do after the clean run
Once both achievements are unlocked, the hint and skip achievements become safe:
| Achievement | Quickest way |
|---|---|
| Helpful Hints | Open any hint |
| Hint Hunter | Reveal 10 hints |
| One Clean Page | Reveal one hint completely |
| Let It Be | Skip any level |
| What Is Will Be | Skip 10 levels |
All five can be done from the level select in a few minutes. Open a level, take a hint, reveal it fully, back out and repeat; then skip ten levels with Let It Be.
Common questions
Do the expansions count? The achievements are about the base game campaign, but the game does not spell out whether expansion hints are tracked too. The safe approach is simple: finish your clean campaign first and play the expansions afterwards.
What about the Daily Tidy? The Daily Tidy is separate from the campaign. If you want zero risk, avoid Daily Tidy hints until both achievements are unlocked.
Do I need every star in the clean run? No. One solution per level is enough. Extra stars can be collected later on any save.
The complete order for every achievement is in our achievements roadmap, and the hint system itself is explained in how hints and Let It Be work.
