Escape Series #3: The Phone Booth

Oh bugger. I worked hard on a walkthrough, only to find out that I've been logged out while writing it and that someone has already beaten me to it :(

just a little easter egg,
Dial 8675309
the song "Jenny" by Tommy Tutone plays. xD nice

and that someone had already beaten me to it :(
Man, I couldn't even get this one right. Not one but two people had beaten me to it. But as they say, the third time is a charm, so here's my walkthrough:

Look around the booth. Obviously, the door is locked. Wonder how you could get out?

Click on the lower part of the screen. Pick up the yellow piece of paper.

The floor map is torn on the left side. Click on the torn part. Pick up the coin. Click on the blie rectangle - it looks like you will need a key to open it. Click in the upper part of the screen to return.

On the right hand side of the phone, you will see a red handle try pulling it - it won't budge. there are two nuts right next to it. Click on them to find out that they're tightly fastened down.

Click on the base of the phone. Pick up the piece of string.Then go back.

Click on the phone. Click the coin return button. You will hear a "thunk". Go back, then take a look at the bottom of the phone. Open the coin return compartment (it has "Push for return" written on it) and pick up the metallic thingie inside.

Turn to the left. Pick up the binoculars. Turn to the left again and take a look at the sign in the distance. Turn to the left once more and look at the fountain through the binoculars. There seems to be something written on it, except how can you find out what it is?

Take a look up. The light in the phone booth is not on. I wonder if it could be of any help?

Take a look at the phone again. Pick up the microphone. There's a voice telling you to "Please deposit 25 cents". Try inserting the quarter you have - no, it seems that you will have to find a way to re-use it.

Remember the string you have? Combine it with the coin. Et voila, you now have a re-usable coin.

You can now make phone calls. Simply insert the coin and hang up the phone after each call. But who should you "call 4 help"? Take a look at the yellow piece of paper. There's five numbers on it. Hey, I know, maybe the "Communications" people can help us? But no, there seems to be noone there...

Call the phone trace service. They will tell you the number of your phone booth.

The number is

2679532

. Note it down somewhere, for you will need it.

Let's do something about that light now. Call the electric services. They are closed, but if you're a technician, then you can enter your authorization code. But what could it be? Hey, I got a bright idea! Maybe it's NIGHT5? And...we're in! Press 2, followed by the booth number, then press 1. A light turns on in the ceiling.

Take a look at the light. There's something written on it - another code. Note it down.

Now go and use the phone again to call the water services. They're asking you for a password again. Hey, maybe it's GUSH7? And lo, we're in again. But now they're asking for the name of the street you're on. If you noted down (or remembered) what was written on the sign you saw in the distance, then you should know that it was ARCH street. Enter it, and you'll be informed that the water line has been closed.

Go and take another look at the fountain. You see that it's not working anymore, so you can see what's written on it. There's a sign that says "no money 5675 return TWICE". I wonder what it could mean?

Go back to the phone. Take it off the hook, then enter 5675, WITHOUT inserting the coin, then press the coin return button twice. You will hear a "clunk".

Go and take a look at the coin return opening. There's a yellow key there. Pick it up. Where could it fit?

Remember the blue box? Go and use the key to open it. Inside, you will find a screwdriver. Pick it up - you will have to put the key away first to do this.

Combine the round metallic thing you found with the screwdriver. You now have a socket screwdriver you can use to loosen the nuts on the right hand side of the phone.

Go back, then pull the red handle. The telephone will open to reveal an LCD screen. Click on it.

You are presented with a game called Letter Drop. Take a look at the instructions, then click Play. Type in the sentence one letter at a time. If you can't guess it yourself, then the answer is

THE TELEPHONE IS INHERENTLY OF NO VALUE TO US

. When you complete the sentence, you will find out who said this and when ;)

Leave the game and go look at the booth door again. The latch is open now. Click on the handle to open the door and leave.

OK, here's a walkthru:

1.)

On the opening screen click anywhere the bottom section of the phone. Take the piece of string. Return to the opening screen by clicking on the bottom of the pic (cursor changes to double arrow).

2.)

You see two green wires coming from the left side of the phone. Click where they meet the bottom of the screen. You're looking at the floor of the booth. You see a torn piece of yellow phone-book page. Left of it the gray carpet is also torn. Click on the torn part. It "opens" up and reveals a coin. Take it. Then take the torn phone book page. You'll need it later on a lot! Exit to the opening screen by clicking on the top part of the screen (this time the cursor doesn't change, but don't worry :)

3.)

Select the coin from your inventory (bottom of screen), and move it to the piece of string. Congrats, you combined these two items getting a coin attached to a string... and you're in a phone booth, right? What do you think you'll need it for? :D Click on the reciever. You get a close-up of the phone. Click on the reciever again to unhook it. It asks you to insert 25 cents. Do so. You'll hear the coin falling and get a dial tone. (The coin+string appears again in your inventory and you can reuse it any time). You can try to call any number but most probably you'll only get an "the called number is unavailable" message. Hang up the receiver and click on the "coin return" handle. Exit the phone-closeup screen by clicking on the right side of it and you're back at the opening screen once-a-more.

4.)

Click on the bottom part of the phone again. But this time don't continue to the floor but click on the "push for return" lid. You'll find a "socket" in it. Take it. Exit the screen (bottom click) and get back to the opening screen.

5.)

Click on the left side of the screen. You turned 90 degrees to the right. You see a pair of binoculars. Take them. (You also see "Call me 4 help!" scratced into the plexiglass pane, but that's for no use in the game). Turn left again. Noy you're facing the exit of the booth, but it's closed by some electric lock, so you're not just going to walk away :( There's nothing you can do with the lock until the very end of the game. Use the binoculars on the blurry blue sign outside the box left of those two wooden benches. You'll see "Arch Street Family Park Est. 1922" written on it. Superb. Exit this screen, and turn left again.

6.)

You see a street lamp and a fountain outside the booth. Use the binoculars on the fountain. As if there was something written there, but way too blurry to read. It can't be written ON the water, right? Maybe behind it? Too bad you can't turn the water off from your confinement, right? :( Exit this screen and turn left for the third time.

7.)

You're back to square 1, the opening screen with the phone. You've looked down, to the left, behind you and to the right. Only one direction remains - look up. You can see a big scratch left of the phone. Click on its top part and you see the ceiling. Click on the lamp. It informs you that the ceiling lights are off. (Hmm... Doesn't seem like it's dark in here, but OK...). Exit the screen by clicking the bottom part of the screen and you're back... well, you know where...

8.)

OK, it's time to use the booth people normally use it for - to call people. Click on the torn phone-book page. You see some phone numbers, all different services plus "Night5 is a bright idea!" message handwritten on the left side of the slip. Plus a light bulb... Light bulb... Lamp... OK. What else? WOW! "Phone trace service" in the upper-left corner of the sheet. What else do you need if you're helplessly stuck in an infernal phone booth than the number of the booth? So, call the phone trace service (555-49-22). It says the number of your phone is 26-79-532. You can see that the number used to be on the wall just in fron of you on a small plaque or sticker but has been ripped off. The first two digits are still visible, though and they match the number given by the phone trace service. Hurray! Hang up the receiver and click on the torn phone book page again.

9.

Who else can we call? It's hard to read the numbers in such a dark a booth... But the lights are off, what can we do, right? WOW#2: "Swain Electric"! Seems to be worth a call... So call them (555-73-28). The answering machine says they are closed, but if you are a technician, just give your authorization code plus a pound-sign. Well, you're not a technician (at least not in this story) and you know no such code :( - or do you? "Night5" plus a light bulb... worth a try. So, enter "night5" (means press the buttons 6-4-4-4-8-5) plus the doubly cross ("pound sign"?). YOU'RE IN! You're offered two options, choose the first one (service administration) and so press button 2. You're asked the phone number you're calling from. Enter it (26-79-532). Now you have the options to turn the power for the boot on (button 1) or off (button 2) - but it's off, so you can only turn it on - so press button 1. And God said let there be light!

10.)

OK, now you can examine the lamp, so go back to the lamp screen (opening screen, click on the crack left of the phone). Now it's definitely shinier, but there's more: "GUSH7" it says. Thank you. There's one more call to make. Why not make it now?

11.)

Select the torn page for one last time. WOW! "Maus street Water Company!" We were just wondering about turning off the water for that fountain, remember? Well, they probably wont just turn off the water for anybody, but let's give it a try - at least it's free, right? :) Exit this screen and go to the phone-closeup. lift off the reciever, feed the coin and call the Water company (555-52-53). It says all the operators are busy. Bust... But, it also says: if you're an employee, and you have a code, blabla... Well ,you have something that looks like a code, don't you? So enter GUSH7# (4-8-7-4-7-#). What luck! You are offered an emergency water shut off, you only have to type in the name of the street - and you know the name, right? "Arch street" the blue sign outside says. So type in Arch# (2-7-2-4-#) and you have closed the water line. Let's forget that all the people having a bath/shower are busy cursing your name right now, let's check that fountain again! Exit the screen, turn right and use the binoculars on the fountain. "No money. 5675. Return twice."

12.

I guess it's pretty starightforward. Go back to the phone-closeup screen, DON'T inswert the coin, call 5-6-7-5 and click twice on the coin return handle. (It'll keep asking for the quarter dollar while you're dialling, but pay no attention (nor c25 :) You won't hear anything special, but hang up the receiver, exit the screen and click on the bottom part of the phone. There click on the money return lid. A golden key is there. Take it. Exit to the opening screen.

13.)

Click on the bottom paert of the screen to go to the floor screen. There you see that small blue door with a keyhole. You've just obtained a key... Click on the blue door, once it's closeup, use key on the keyhole. You've got a socket screwdriver. Hurray again. Exit the screen all the way back to the opening screen.

14.)

Click on either of those bolts just left of that "red handle" on the right of the phone that "won't budge" (I'm sure it was the first thing you tried in this game :D) Once the screws are closeup, use the screwdriver on them. Nothing happens... Sure, because you forgot to attach the socket to the screwdriver! So combine the screwdriver with the socket and try to unscrew those nuts and bolts again! This time I promise the'y come off. Exit to the opening screen. This time that red handle WILL budge.

15.)

So the red hadle budged and you opened the phone. There's a small grey box inside. Click on it. It's an electronic "letter drop" game with a touch pen. You can click the instructions to read the rules of the game, but I'd say the instructions are rather vague. Click on "play". It's rather easy to get the hang of the game (by clicking on any of the empty boxes you are given the letters available for that box) and even solving it takes no ore than a couple of minutes. The solution is:

THE TELEPHONE IS INHERENTLY OF NO VALUE TO US

Once all the letters are put to place the game is completed and you can quit the game (the Letter-drop game, not the Escape the phone booth game :). Do so. Click Return than Quit. You are back on the opening screen. Turn left or right twice. You are just like all the calls you made were: free.

Hey, I was beaten to my walkthrough to!

I diddn't even relize the

me4help

And the 867-5309 thingg was hiklarious! Why diddn't I think of trying that?

When i started to write the wakthru there were no entries yet... I type too slow :)))

I got free in 19 minutes plus a couple of secs.

Wait, I just created the shortest walkthrough ever for this game;

Click on the phone. Punch in '5675' and press the coin slot twice. Don't listen to the lady telling you to put in a quarter.

Take the socket and the key from the return slot.

Look down and use the key on the blue thing. Take the screwdriver. Combine it with the socket.

Go use the screwdriver on the two bolts next to the phone. Then press the red lever.

Click the panel. Click 'play'. Punch in "THE TELEPHONE IS INHERENTLY OF NO VALUE TO US". Go click the latch to get out.

FIVE TAGS, BABY!

I need 25 cents to call 911? xD

Gee Denzel, do you have something against actually solving puzzles? :P

I got it in 17:32, with no help. I had my headphones on and the little air-horn type noise at the end freaked me out a bit though, heh.

Wow. Take a game that requires critical thinking and audio clues, and add a little Chinese water torture. Brillian decision! Besides that, great game.

Two minutes and Forty-Three SECONDS!!! YAH!

15:52. I rarely get through these on my own, but that's not a bad time for doing it myself.

867-530ni....e..ine...
Brilliant game...loved the easter egg. That's one of my favorite songs!

17:35 no cheating. Very good, for me- I usually have a hard time with these.

Hey Art, the phonebooth idea is yours! Very original, congrats. The game is very good, my favorite from the series so far.

15:02! I like this one a lot. Plus, this is the first game in this series I haven't had to cheat for.

i just did it in 13:29 with no help

15:47 seconds. No walkthrough help. Fun game.

About 25 minutes without using a walkthrough. The key to this seems to be

figuring out that most things will involve dialing letters rather than numbers.

1:42, just to show off my quick clicking =p

Thanks to Denzels walkthrough :

1 Minute 29 seconds

14:57.

I made it in 55 minutes without a walkthrough or a clue i know that's not fast

I know Artbegotti pointed this out in his review on the main page, but what's with no subtitles?

This seems a nice little game, and making a subtitle option wouldn't have taken long.

I'm deaf and other people play causal games in the office or on appliances that don't have sound.

i beat the game in 14:21, no cheating this is the best of the series so far

I agree with DeafTomato, not just for the hearing impared and office-bound, but also because of those who do no speak English well...

I love the little end game. I think that not enough people use little word puzzles like that, which I adore, and I have to give props for the use here. That was fun!

excellent, so much fun. so far my favorite out of ALL 1-room escape games. the letterdrop puzzle was actually fun in itself, and i would like to play a bigger version of that game. if anyone knows of anything like it, please let me know. kudos, a fine addition to the series.

I had to use a Denzels walkthrough. I don't have any sound on my PC

22:12 for the first time through, cool concept =)

4 minutes and 27 seconds!!!!!!! bob

I looked at the walkthrough twice...I know...I suck. But I finished in 30 minutes!

20:34 for me...but thats with a break halfway through...it was fairly easy, especially the puzzle at the end. its just a matter of getting the easy words first then moving on to the bigger ones.

i did it in 11:32 with no help

19:32 first time on my own :)

Id like a standalone version of that letterdrop game too! :)

59 minutes with help, not lying to be cool, just honest....though i got help only for the key.

this really helped for me to compleat the game it took me 2 weeks without the help and hint but with them it only took me 26 secounds! thank alot:)!

lol 00:46:13

I was lost without the walkthrough because I misunderstood a number on the phone. I couldn't figure out what I was missing. I double checked everything and three times I heard a "5" instead of a "9". I shouldn't do these with cheap earbuds in a noisy room.

One of the only games where I only needed one hint ie.

look up at the CEILING

Argh! Took me 30 minutes without walkthrough. Spend most time trying to figure out the password for the electricity company, and the word drop mini game. And the ticking clock made me even more nervous! Nice game :)

10 minutes no help, was hard but not that hard after thats i made it in 1minute 48 seconds with the 5 hints =D

If you liked this game, check out one of my favorite comics (by one of my favorite authors): Fleep

It will probably also appeal to you if you dig the cerebral calm of Prison Break.

The rest of his stuff at shigabooks.com is good, too.

24mins 31secs. Best of the series so far.

that walkthrough Denzel made was really helpful
thanks!!!!

-sallad

I didn't use the walkthrough but I came here for some hints.

I didn't realise I could look below the phone by clicking on the wires! A huge find from randomly clicking the wires in the main view of the phone.

Without the connection between the power and the water companies I would have totally lost. Thanks goodness for this comments page!

Working out the words for the drop box thing was ok. I figured out the little words first, so I could eliminate options for the longer, complex words. I didn't realise there was a clear function until I saw the red "X" for the particular box, and the top left corner "clear all" button.

i made it in 3:24 i promise no cheating u don't need the phone just hit 5675 and click on the coin return 2 times get the socket and the key use the key on the blue box (under the phone) then combine the socket and the screw driver click on the right of the phone use the screw driver on the bolts go back click on the red handle play the game and make it the phone has inherently of no use to us then turn around and click the latch

woah!!

first time i finish by myself and actually have fun anyway.. lol

23 minutes something (didn't check well..)

i especially liked the helping line.. lol

well good job! and thanks for making it playable!!

oh yea!!
first try: 00:17:19

no guides or walkthroughs or anything

thanks to that quick walkthrough i got it in 1 min and 28 seconds woot!

pretty fun game. probobly the best out of all of the escape games. i beat it in 6 min 27 sec

really if i was stuck in a phone booth... i would either punch a whole in the glass and walk out, or find something to smack the glass... yup... :)

Best AN Escape yet!

Can anyone tell me how to fix when the loading stops at a certain percentage and won't go beyond that no matter how often you refresh?

[Edit: Try emptying your browser cache. Generally that means you have a corrupted file in your cache, and resetting the cache will force your browser to download a fresh copy. -Jay]

i dont mean to brag but with a time of 9 min and 51 seconds i did great try to beat it you cant dont worry im telling the truth with no cheats

I got exactly 13:37...I am 1337!!! kickass game though, can't wait for more

OMG I did it in 2.32 without cheating hell yes!

2:28

Thanks Jay. Yeah, tried emptying all history and cookies... no luck. I guess it's my very own puzzle!

I can't get the quarter in the slot??

20.20 with no walkthrough.

I'm usually terrible at escape games, but I found this really, really easy.

It was quite fun.

Finished.
I had to try all of the numbers, but the game was fun.

i can beat 55 secs... Took me 23min to escape the first time no walkthrough. hardest part was letter drop really.
And changing letters to numbers i mean shouldn't a G be a 6??
10/10 great game

yeah! great game, swear the houses are easyer though :S 10.34 lol not very good

the anwser to the word game is

THE TELEPHONE IS INHERENTLY OF NO VALUE TO US

how u supposed 2 figure out the lil game if theres no clues?g

I completed it in 3:30!!!!!!!!! yay new world record

8:00 min beat that beanhead32

1:41 nuff said

I FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!! it took a couple of days and I used one clue from the walkthrough but I did most of it! I escaped the car with a freind with NO WALK THROUGH!!

Made it out in 15:33. Considering how much I goofed off in there, I'm pretty proud of that. I guess I was just lucky that I knew which number to call first.

walk through
go to phone
click return
go to return slot
go to floor
click raged shop
get yellow page
thats all i know

how do you use the quarter????

All you have to do is the end. First 5675 in the telephone (no money) then take the key and bolt thing look down and open the lock with your key take the screwdriver and look at the 2 nuts on the side of the telephone press then use bolt thing, and the screwdriver then you can take the nuts out. Press on the red handle bar, and type in "The telephone is inherently of no value to us" press return then quit. Then all you have to do is press the booths handle bar and you're done

heres what happens when you call the electric and water company

Electric(first):Turns on Phone Booth and the mini game behind the phone

Water(second):it turns off the fountain outside the locked phone booth so you can see the message to get you out

P.S you NEED to complete the mini game to get out because you see the green wires leading to the phone booth door handle

i finished it in 7 mins and 59 seconds cool game..

My favorite, by far, of this series so far. I loved the sense of interacting with the outside world.

Great use of phone numbers, but there's something you should know: 555 numbers have dropped out of fictional use since the phone companies ceased the practice of not issuing them, so that's a pitfall for fiction writers who want to have phone numbers in their works.

23.22 whooo hooo!

Man, this reminds me of one of those games where something jumps out at you at some random time, so when that airhorn went off, i almost pissed my self! lol, 14 mins no walkthrough

this game is so cool!

thanks all

VERY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!

19:07.. stupid me, I spent four minutes before I even thought that "Nights" might also be "Night5" and it might be the technician code, and another three before I realized the latch was open after I got the quote.. I was wondering what solving that got me.. ha.

ok uhm for the call me 4 help? ya if you take me 4 help and turn into numbers (6344357) then call it, it has a voice that says "try the electrical company first. there's a purpose for everything :D just thought id point that out

I Beat It in 8:23

I will give you hint

click alot

How Do You Pass The Letter Drop Thingy?

Wanna Know Water Company And Eeltric Company Codes?

Water : GUSH7
Eletric : NIGHT5

Whooo 9:12

piece of cake, 7min 24sec.....easy :P

Yay, 26:34 without cheating! Straightforward, yes, but still fun.

a lot of you keep going 'call me for help means nothing' but it actually does if any of you were smart enough to realise what it meant you would have typed

me 4 help into the phone keypad because it said to call - me 4 help you dont need it but it tells you to start with the electrical company

i got it in 6 minutes and 3 seconds :D

omg i suck!!! it took me 21:21 on my first try! feel free to cast shame on me...

Did anyone call the Grudge Gas number? Creeeeepy...

Here's A Quick Walkthrough

Go to the phone

Punch "5675 and press return twice" in to the keypad

Go to the return coin hole and get the SOCKET and the KEY

Go down to the blue lock thing and unlock it with the key

Get the SCREWDRIVER

Combine the socket and the screwdriver

Use the socket/screwdriver on the bolts near the red handle

Pull the red handle

Click on the touch screen thing and press play

The answer is "THE TELEPHONE IS OF INHERETLY NO VALUE TO US"

Turn around and pull the latch

Good Luck!

lol if you read this this aint a joke i tried it it works get the querter tie it to the string then dial 8675309 lol try it :D

first try with walkhrough 13:41

i beat it in 9 minutes and 5 seconds

This game was so weird i mean where did you find the passwords?

Call 8675309

54:37

1 minute 52 seconds