A puzzle hint should give you the smallest useful push, then stop. My argument is that games should let you choose how much help to reveal, rather than treating a request for assistance as permission to explain the entire solution.
You might want to know whether you're looking in the right room. You might understand the mechanism but have missed one object. Or you might be finished with the puzzle and want the answer. Those are different requests, and a good hint menu should respect all three without making any of them feel embarrassing.
Ask what kind of help you want
Imagine a locked door with three rotating symbols and a mural nearby. The first hint could point your attention toward the mural. A second could suggest comparing its figures with the symbols. Only the final step would give the actual order. That sequence leaves room for you to make the connection instead of watching the game make it for you.
The important detail is the pause between those steps. Don't put the answer immediately below the nudge, where a glance can reveal it. Show one level at a time, with a clearly labelled option to ask for more. Closing the panel should leave the rest concealed, even if you return later.
I'd also separate a reminder from a solution. “What am I trying to do?” and “How do I do it?” aren't the same question. A short recap of the objective could be enough when you've lost track of the task. It shouldn't automatically turn into a glowing route to the correct switch.
This is where wording matters more than a fancy interface. “Show a small clue,” “Explain the connection” and “Show the solution” describe the information you're about to receive. Labels such as “Hint 1” and “Hint 2” merely number the surprises. Before revealing something you can't unlearn, the game should make the size of that reveal reasonably clear.
Let the player decide when they're stuck
An automatic hint timer would undermine this approach if it spoke over your own thinking. Standing still could mean you're considering a theory, studying the scene or simply taking a break. I wouldn't want a hint system to interpret silence as consent to reveal the next step.
Optional reminders could still have a place. A discreet prompt saying help is available is different from a companion announcing the answer. Give players a setting for those prompts, and let that setting stay off without repeatedly asking them to reconsider. Help should remain easy to find when they change their mind.
There is a fair objection here: carefully staged clues take work to write, and an open-ended puzzle may not have a neat sequence of discoveries. A hint based on the wrong assumption could confuse you further. This isn't an argument for forcing every game into a three-button template.
A smaller, honest system would be preferable to a confident but misleading one. If the game can only provide a full walkthrough, label it as that. If it can offer a clue about an object you've already examined, let you say that wasn't the problem. The goal is useful control over information, not an elaborate menu that pretends to understand every player's reasoning.
Nor should hints become a test of patience or spending. In the system I'm proposing, you wouldn't have to wait out a timer, spend a scarce resource or accept a judgemental message to see the next level. The interesting challenge is the puzzle itself. Deciding whether you can afford to ask a question adds a different pressure that I'd rather leave out.
A practical rule for asking for help
Until a game gives you this level of control, you can use the same principle when asking another person for a clue. State what you've tried, then ask for one specific thing: confirm the room, point out a missed detail or explain the rule. Ask them to stop before describing the complete sequence.
If you're opening an external guide, look for a section covering your current obstacle and avoid scrolling ahead more than necessary. That isn't a guarantee against spoilers, but narrowing the question gives you a better chance of preserving the part you still want to solve.
And if you want the whole answer, ask for it. A useful hint system should support that choice just as readily. Choose the amount of help that lets you enjoy the next step, rather than treating either independence or assistance as something you have to prove.