If you’re looking to grab your first win or make sense of the chaos that is The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth Plus, you’ve come to the right place. These beginner-friendly tips serve as a solid foundation to get started in one of the most cryptic and punishing roguelikes out there. Isaac is a game of depth, secrets, and brutal learning curves, so here are ten essential tips to help you get your bearings.
Note: These are subjective tips from one experienced player meant to aid newcomers. Isaac has countless exceptions to every rule, so nothing is universal.
1. Understand Floor Layouts and Priorities
Each floor generally includes key rooms: Item Rooms, Shops, and Boss Rooms.
- Item Rooms: Free items that appear in the first three floor sets (Basement, Caves, Depths). Always visit them; they’re often the key to a strong run.
- Shops: Require a key and usually feature items for 15 cents, but sales and consumables appear too. Prioritize shops when you’ve got at least 15 cents and a spare key.
- Boss Rooms: Every floor ends with one. Beating the boss grants an item and opens possibilities like Devil Deals.
Save your keys for these vital rooms—especially early.
2. Learn Secret and Super Secret Room Mechanics
Both Secret Rooms and Super Secret Rooms appear on every floor:
- Secret Rooms border 3–4 other rooms and must be bombed open.
- Super Secret Rooms only touch one normal room (never special rooms).
Use bombs to open these and look for common room structures (no rocks or pits blocking access). Secret Rooms often serve as passageways to hard-to-reach areas—save bombs for experimentation!
3. Devil Deals: Risk and Reward
Deals with the Devil offer some of the best items in the game in exchange for red heart containers.
- A guaranteed Devil Deal can be earned on Floor 2 if you avoid red heart damage that floor (or on Floor 1 if it’s an XL floor).
- Use soul hearts and black hearts to protect yourself.
Though intimidating, don’t be afraid to trade most or even all of your health for a strong item. Being aggressive is often better than playing it safe. You can always get health later, and many Devil items are run-winning. Occasionally, you’ll encounter Krampus in the Deal Room instead—so be ready for a fight.
4. Curse Rooms: High-Risk, High-Reward
Curse Rooms cost one full heart (or half a soul heart) to enter and exit—unless you’re flying (then only the exit hurts).
They can contain:
- Soul hearts, Devil Deal items, or Red Chests with Guppy parts
- Or… enemies, troll bombs, or nothing
Check them last on the floor, especially if your health is low. If you find a Secret Room beside one, bomb your way in and take less damage.
5. Think of Health as a Currency
Besides Devil Deals and Curse Rooms, your HP can be spent at:
- Blood Donation Machines – trade red hearts for coins
- Demon Beggars – trade red hearts for items
HP isn’t just for surviving—it’s a resource. Be bold with it and you’ll learn the balance of risk vs. reward over time.
6. Money Management and Shops
Money opens up many opportunities:
- Buy Soul Hearts early for Devil Deal protection
- Donate to the Donation Machine to unlock new shop items
- Use Restock Machines (money or bombs) to refresh shop stock
Shops can sometimes spawn enemies or minibosses, so stay alert when entering.
7. Tinted Rocks: Secret Goldmines
Tinted Rocks are marked with a subtle “X” or color difference.
- Often contain Soul Hearts or The Small Rock (a great early-game damage up)
Learn to recognize them—they’re most obvious in the Basement but harder to spot on later floors. Missing them can mean missing vital health or power-ups.
8. The Guppy Transformation is Insanely Powerful
Collect 3 of 6 Guppy items to become Guppy:
- Grants flight, a new sprite, and blue flies that spawn on every tear hit (2x damage!)
Common Guppy item sources:
- Devil Deals
- Red Chests
- Curse Rooms
- Golden Chests (Guppy’s Head)
Use the Left Hand trinket to convert golden chests to red ones, increasing your Guppy chances (but beware: it’s a gamble).
9. Dodge First, Damage Second
Most enemies and bosses in Isaac have predictable patterns. Don’t tunnel vision on attacking—focus on dodging until you understand the enemy’s behavior.
When your run lacks damage (it happens!), survival hinges on your ability to dodge effectively. There’s no better feeling than getting to a game-saving Devil Deal or chest drop because you weaved through a bullet hell perfectly.
10. Keep Learning – You’re Just Getting Started
There’s always more to discover in Isaac:
- Use Platinum God to look up items and trinkets.
- Visit r/bindingofisaac for tips and discussion.
- Watch YouTubers like Bisnap, CobaltStreak, Northernlion, and Hutts for insight, laughs, and learning.
Want to learn item synergies, character strategies, and breaking the game? That comes with time. Let yourself enjoy the chaos and grow into the complexity.
Final Thoughts
Isaac is a game of secrets, calculated risks, and joyful suffering. The more you play, the more you’ll understand its language. Don’t get discouraged by failures—every run teaches you something new.
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