Sons of the Forest: How to Open and Close the Guide Book

Wondering how to close the blasted Guide Book in Sons of the Forest? It's a simple button press that the game doesn't tell you.
Wondering how to close the blasted Guide Book in Sons of the Forest? It's a simple button press that the game doesn't tell you.

The Sons of the Forest Guide Book plays an important role in crafting certain structures and building items in the survival-horror simulation experience from Endnight Games. Knowing how to quickly open and close the Guide Book is just as important to saving precious time and finding the recipes and blueprints you’re looking for. 

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Soon after the first sequence in Sons of the Forest, you’ll find yourself on a snowy mountain. Eventually, you’ll need to open your inventory to proceed, then open the Emergency Kit inside. There, you’ll find the Guide Book and equip it. 

Equipping and Unequipping the Guide Book Explained

Here, you can flip through a number of unlocked recipes and blueprints, ranging from different campfire types to larger structures. However, the game doesn’t tell you how to close it, and not being able to do so can be quite vexing (believe me, I found it a bit irritating myself, pressing every key on my keyboard). 

PC Controls

To close the Guide Book, simply press “B” or “ESC” using mouse and keyboard. The same input opens the manual, though you can also hold “I” to bring up your backpack, then select the Book with the LMB.

Gamepad Controls

If you’re using a controller, you can close the Guide Book using the “B” button the first time, but you’ll bring it up and close it each subsequent time by pressing up on the D-pad. 

Here’s a complete list of all the controls in Sons of the Forest if you’re having trouble with other mechanics in Early Access, such as dropping items or opening your Backpack

And that’s how you open and close the Guide Book in Sons of the Forest. As mentioned above, there’s a lot more to know about the survival guide, and we cover more of that in another article if you’re curious. But at least now you can get on with your adventure and explore the island, meet its cannibals, and be scared to death by Kelvin at every turn. We have even more tips here.

Featured image by GameSkinny.


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Jonathan Moore
Jonathan Moore is the Editor-in-Chief of GameSkinny and has been writing about games since 2010. With over 1,200 published articles, he's written about almost every genre, from city builders and ARPGs to third-person shooters and sports titles. While patiently awaiting anything Dino Crisis, he consumes all things Star Wars. He has a BFA in Creative Writing and an MFA in Creative Writing focused on games writing and narrative design. He's previously been a newspaper copy editor, ad writer, and book editor. In his spare time, he enjoys playing music, watching football, and walking his three dogs. He lives on Earth and believes in aliens, thanks to Fox Mulder.