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Post by schlendrian on Aug 14, 2023 10:50:01 GMT
The next room is adorned with posters of animals. A tiger skin rug, complete with head, lies on the ground and the door opposite is topped with marble reptile skulls. You don't even bother trying the door, instead walk up to the table in the middle, wishing to solve the inevitable puzzle waiting there for you. Let's see... There are three puffin FFs, numbers 11, 23 and 37. From left to right, there is a piece of limestone with a little Swiss flag attached to it; a piece of chalk; a glass with an ice cube in it. Could your task be to match each books with one of these objects?
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Post by terrysalt on Aug 14, 2023 12:17:56 GMT
Yes, it could be. Did I win?
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 14, 2023 12:40:37 GMT
Haarspalter, god of pedantry, bestows upon you his blessing. Gain 1 Luck point, even if this takes your total over its initial amount.
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 15, 2023 8:47:17 GMT
Alright, let's see whether a first hint gives some insight.
You scratch your head. "It's got to have something to do with animals...", you mutter to yourself, "but which creatures or group of creatures are to be considered?" Idly pondering your faith, you pick up Portal of Evil and have a look at the cover. "Hmmm..."
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 16, 2023 9:22:09 GMT
Not sure, if the puzzle is too hard or there just isn't interest at the moment...
To solve, there is some general knowledge about geological periods needed, but nothing that isn't part of a usual school curriculum.
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Post by a moderator on Aug 17, 2023 0:02:40 GMT
Limestone and book 11, ice and 23, chalk and 37. Book 11 (Talisman of Death) features a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Triceratops, which hail from the Jurassic, a period named after a mountain range on the Swiss/French border.
Book 37 (Portal of Evil) has a Spinosaurus, a species that lived in the Cretaceous, and that period's name is derived from the Latin for 'chalk'.
In book 23 (Masks of Mayhem) you can hunt a Sabre-Toothed Tiger, and that species thrived in what is sometimes referred to as the Ice Age.
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 17, 2023 9:04:02 GMT
Basically solved, congratulations. Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus are cretaceous dinosaurs. Stegosaurus from Portal is jurassic.
The puzzle does feature some inelegancies, as there is no FF where there are solely jurassic dinosaurs, so one which features at least one had to be taken (perhaps not including the jurassic would have been preferable?). As you mention, the term Ice age for the pleistocene epoch is rather colloquial.
A roar comes from the marble skulls atop the door, then, creaking, it swings open. Sid himself remains silent, so you go on...
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Post by a moderator on Aug 17, 2023 12:15:42 GMT
Should have checked my facts a bit more closely, rather than just assuming that the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park were actually native to the Jurassic era.
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Post by a moderator on Aug 17, 2023 16:22:50 GMT
The doorway is partially blocked by an inconveniently positioned desk, on which there is nothing but a torn page from a daily planner diary. The page is mostly blank, but beside the listing for 5pm are scrawled the words βBe afraidβ. Squeezing past the desk, you enter a cluttered room. To one side of the desk is a βTest Your Strengthβ machine of the sort often found in fairgrounds, with a large plastic bowl on top of the peg to strike with the hammer. Similar bowls stand on the floor by each of the other walls. The one to your left has the symbol Ξ¨ painted on it, while the one on the right is surrounded by plastic toys in the shape of the eponymous Extra-Terrestrial from Spielbergβs 1982 blockbuster. Directly across the room from you, the bowl stands in front of another door, which is secured by a bolt, and with some concern you observe that wires connect the bolt to an electrical socket. Scattered across the floor are assorted seemingly random items: - A copy of the Marvel graphic novel Carnage Omnibus
- An ice sculpture of a chess queen
- A crumpled tweed jacket with an ice pick protruding from its breast pocket
- A whoopee cushion with a Cluedo card depicting Miss Scarlet taped to it
- A VHS cassette of the film The Fabulous Baker Boys
- A DVD of the 1930s movie The Mummy
- A plush toy kitten with black and orange-striped fur
- An LP of Saint-SaΓ«ns' Danse macabre
- A poster depicting the Eye of Sauron from Peter Jacksonβs adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
- A 7β single of one-hit-wonder The Crazy World of Arthur Brownβs record Fire
- A CD of glam metal band Poisonβs greatest hits
- A battered copy of Mine of Torments, one of the books from the non-FF gamebook series The Legends of Skyfall
If you want to open the far door without getting an electric shock, you probably have to put things into the empty bowls. But what should go where?
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 17, 2023 22:40:07 GMT
OK, I think I'm fairly certain how to solve this. I'm missing one vital book. Given time, I could most likely use the solution of said book to solve it, but that takes time. I'll post my progress as a spoiler, feel free anyone to take it from there (or to ignore it and solve everything yourself ).
The book in question is "Appointment with F.E.A.R. (calendar and "Be afraid/fear"). The bowls correspond to the four superpowers, the objects lying around to certain enemies (pickpocket - ice pick in pocket, Scarlet Prankster - whoopie cushion and Scarlet figure). If they are unique to certain paths of the book, it should be easy to match them to the bowls.
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Post by a moderator on Aug 22, 2023 22:06:34 GMT
You're on the right track, schlendrian. Anyone want to develop this line of thinking?
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Aug 22, 2023 22:53:06 GMT
The four bowls are: Test Your Strength machine = Super Strength of course Ξ¨ - Greek letter psi = Psi Powers ET = ETS Electronic lock = Energy bolt which is what you throw out with Energy Blast
The items refer to some of the villains who give the FEAR meeting clues necessary to beat the book for each power so should be sorted like this:
Super Strength bowl: A battered copy of Mine of Torments, one of the books from the non-FF gamebook series The Legends of Skyfall - Tormenter A whoopee cushion with a Cluedo card depicting Miss Scarlet taped to it - Scarlet Prankster A DVD of the 1930s movie The Mummy - Mummy
Psi Powers bowl: A plush toy kitten with black and orange-striped fur - Tiger Cat A VHS cassette of the film The Fabulous Baker Boys - Guy in bakery A CD of glam metal band Poisonβs greatest hits - Poisoner
ETS bowl: A crumpled tweed jacket with an ice pick protruding from its breast pocket - Pickpocket A poster depicting the Eye of Sauron from Peter Jacksonβs adaptation of The Lord of the Rings - Ringmaster An ice sculpture of a chess queen - Ice Queen
Energy Blast bowl: A 7β single of one-hit-wonder The Crazy World of Arthur Brownβs record Fire - Fire Warriors An LP of Saint-SaΓ«ns' Danse macabre - Dr Macabre A copy of the Marvel graphic novel Carnage Omnibus - Creature of Carnage
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 23, 2023 8:43:51 GMT
What's the reasoning for
the pickpocket being in the ET bowl? As far as I see in the solutions, it also is part of the Super Strenght path.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Aug 23, 2023 8:56:36 GMT
What's the reasoning for
the pickpocket being in the ET bowl? As far as I see in the solutions, it also is part of the Super Strenght path.
He doesn't give a clue about the FEAR meeting on the Super Strength path, just a clue about the Mummy
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Post by a moderator on Aug 23, 2023 12:46:44 GMT
Correct.
You sort the items into the appropriate bowls. As soon as you complete the task, the barely perceptible hum of electricity cuts out. Quickly you draw the bolt, open the door, and step through.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Aug 23, 2023 13:40:56 GMT
I'll defer to Schlendrian for the next puzzle as he essentially cracked it, I just filled in the details.
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 23, 2023 19:44:31 GMT
It's become customary here, that whoever has a good idea for a puzzle posts it, there is no fixed sequence.
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Post by misomiso on Aug 24, 2023 15:44:11 GMT
What is this thread please? Are they puzzle ideas for gamebooks or just general puzzles for people to solve? ty
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Aug 24, 2023 17:40:03 GMT
What is this thread please? Are they puzzle ideas for gamebooks or just general puzzles for people to solve? ty General puzzles themed on FF books for forum members to solve. Many of them based on the premise of finding your way through the labyrinthine home of Sid the FF maniac, but we've had crossword puzzles and the suchlike too.
There's just one on the go at a time, and whoever solves it gets to set the next one unless they're happy to pass it over to someone else.
Edit: I imagine reading the whole thread through would be quite the brainburner at this point.
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 25, 2023 10:46:52 GMT
There's just one on the go at a time, and whoever solves it gets to set the next one unless they're happy to pass it over to someone else. Though, as progress has been a bit slow, the "whoever solves it get's to set the next" has rather died out. If anyone can think of one, just go ahead if there's no actual puzzle going on.
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Post by schlendrian on Sept 25, 2023 16:26:22 GMT
Leaving our poor protagonist at Sid's beside for the moment, let's have a little number series, based on the puffin run. How to continue this series:
5, 4, 4, 2, 3, ...
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Post by scouserob on Sept 25, 2023 16:57:16 GMT
5, 4, 4, 2, 3, ... β¦ 2, 5, 2, 5, 3 β¦ π
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Post by schlendrian on Sept 25, 2023 16:59:42 GMT
Piece of cake, it seems.
Well done!
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Post by scouserob on Sept 25, 2023 17:01:56 GMT
After trying everything with those numbered tiles, and other puzzles, in Space Assassin it is great to have a brain teaser that makes sense. π
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Post by CharlesX on Sept 25, 2023 17:05:39 GMT
Leaving our poor protagonist at Sid's beside for the moment, let's have a little number series, based on the puffin run. How to continue this series:
5, 4, 4, 2, 3, ...
Number series are always tough, because sometimes (such as in FF) there are different perfectly legal and logical ways to solve them, sometimes with the same outcomes. It's unclear to me whether 'based on Puffin run' is an indication this is in some way to do with FF Puffin titles, as opposed to a pure math problem. Scouserob, care to share your reasoning for those of us who apparently aren't geniuses?
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Post by scouserob on Sept 25, 2023 17:10:52 GMT
Donβt open unless you want to know the reasoning behind the answer to the sequence. Number of words in the titles of the Fighting Fantasy books in order of publication in the original numbered Puffin series.
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Post by schlendrian on Sept 25, 2023 17:29:41 GMT
After trying everything with those numbered tiles, and other puzzles, in Space Assassin it is great to have a brain teaser that makes sense. π Haha, I can imagine CharlesX , I personally find puzzles that provide "filler information" unused in the puzzle to be inelegant (obviously, the Sid puzzles do get some flavour text to set the scene). If I mention the puffin titles, most likely they have something to do with the solution.
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Post by CharlesX on Sept 25, 2023 17:48:09 GMT
After trying everything with those numbered tiles, and other puzzles, in Space Assassin it is great to have a brain teaser that makes sense. π Haha, I can imagine CharlesX , I personally find puzzles that provide "filler information" unused in the puzzle to be inelegant (obviously, the Sid puzzles do get some flavour text to set the scene). If I mention the puffin titles, most likely they have something to do with the solution. I did think it might be to do with the Puffin titles, but I kept thinking it was a highly complicated puzzle about numbers of vowels. I did actually think it was exactly what scouserob was suggesting, but kept misreading The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain by habitually skipping over the article 'the'. Like Derren Brown says we would all kill a kitten at the drop of a hat, because we're nervous, and more importantly, human.
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