Final Selection

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Description
Walkthrough
Comments

In this piece of interactive fiction, the premise is quite simple: you are the prime candidate for the position of Director of the Museum and Institute for Puzzles and Problem Solving. In order to prove your aptitude in this field, you must solve one "simple" puzzle yourself. Explore a single room, gathering clues and solving puzzles, until you finally reach the unknown problem's answer.

Walkthrough Guide

(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)

Here is a walkthrough. Notice that we don't have to pick up too many items, we just examine them for our notes and move on.

We'll start by examining everything that can give us clues - there are plenty!

ENVELOPE:

This is the only item on your person. Open the envelope to reveal a letter. Read the letter to discover the basic plot for the game, and mentions ringing a bell to tell the director the answer to the puzzle. You only get one shot at this. Also notice the Post Script: "I should tell you, firstly, that the answer is a single word; secondly, everything you need is in this room; and, thirdly, although there are many words in this room, you will be in no doubt when you discover the correct word."

DESK:

Examine Blotter: WHERE THINGS ARE CAN BE AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT THEY ARE. A good general tip for this game.

Pick up blotter: underneath is a blue paper which says "Dunce."

Examine Brown Book: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Inside the book is a brown paper which simply reads "5."

Examine Newspaper: "6 Across: Marxist found in shoals provides a clue of doubtful value (3,7)" From the interlocking words you can see that the second word of the solution begins with the letter "H".

Even a novice crossword puzzle enthusiast could tell you the answer to this clue is "Red Herring." Move along!!

Open drawer. Inside is a PDA, we can't use this just yet. But there is also a tin box which contains compasses, a set square, and a protractor, items which any technical artist can use.

Examine protractor: "Someone has made an ink mark on it at the 37 degree mark and has written the letter "N" on it." In other words, 37°N. This is not geometry, it's geography!

Examine Magazine: "WHEN, ROUND THE WORLD, YOUR SEARCH BECOMES DISTRACTED/LOSS OF MEMORY MAKES IT MORE PROTRACTED." This clue makes sense in light of the protractor. It will have to do with the globe.

FIREPLACE:

Examine painting. "John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Sir Joshua Reynolds."

Try to take the painting - even though you can't take it, you discover a post-it note behind the painting which reads "8."

Examine the fireplace: Wood and "Screwed up Paper." The wood is useless, however the paper reads: "He who hesitates is lost" "The early bird catches the worm" and the number "7."

There's a little more to the fireplace than the painting and the area with the wood. Examine the mantel for more clues!

Examine cigar tube. Look inside it and find tissue paper which reads "CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR!" Another red herring!

Examine brass ornament: There's invisible writing on this. Hmm, we'd better take this item.

Examine yellow cassette: "A Trick of the Tail" by Genesis. (A real song, by the way!) We'll have to take this item as well.

When we get to the stereo: Insert the yellow Genesis cassette and turn the stereo on. Surprisingly we don't hear the promised song but "Number 9 … Number 9 … " over and over until you turn off the stereo.

CUPBOARD:

Open the cupboard and look inside cupboard.
We notice that this is actually a mini-bar with an empty ice box.
Examine bottle: "Being."

CORNER SHELF:

Open wooden box. This is an unusual music box, with a missing key. Also the ballerina is in front of a mirror with unusual markings. There's a nondescript, mysterious bronze sphere here, so we'll take this.

BOOK SHELF:

At first I thought the book shelf was inaccessible due to the mention of glass doors, however I realized that I was wrong, the glass doors were irrelevant.

Examine blue book: a math book, not relevant to the solution.

Examine green book: Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book." There's a word find in here, but it's not terribly useful, it says something along the lines of "Not every clue is relevant, beware some thing false."

Examine weighing machine: basically it's a scale with a left slot and a right slot in which you can place weights, and there is already a metal disc weighing down the left side.

Look inside cardboard box: Weights for the scale!

MAIN DOOR:

There is a notice there: "IF YOUR FINGERS ON THE LID JUST SLIP/PERHAPS I NEED TO GIVE TO YOU A TIP"

TABLE:

Examine steel box. When you try to open it, you just can't seem to grab hold of the lid. Perhaps the clue from the door will help.

Examine stereo. We can listen to our cassette tapes here. Insert cassette and turn stereo on.

Examine exercise book. "WHEN AT LAST THE LITTLE KEY YOU FIND/A WEIGHT IS SURELY TAKEN OFF YOUR MIND"

Examine black box. There are fifteen numbered buttons and seven small unlit lights.

HATSTAND:

Examine umbrella: there is a ferrule at the tip of the umbrella.

Remove the ferrule.

Open umbrella. Green paper: "Cupid."

Look inside top hat. There are two items.

Examine laminated card: this would be a really great cipher based on the atomic chart, however this is actually not used in this game (as far as I could tell).

Examine blue cassette: "A Strange Clue" by a band called "Blue Wave Conundrum."

When you get to the stereo and listen to this tape, the lyrics are quite cheesy. "I have five fingers on my hand/Only five digits...Yeah, yeah!/Only five words to tell you/How muuuch eeeoooaannnggg..." This last part is where the tape peters out and stops. Basically this clue is letting you know that you need to find five words (if you hadn't guessed).

SOLVING THE PUZZLES
BRASS ORNAMENT & BRONZE SPHERE:

We have an item with invisible writing so let's see if we can't guess how to read that writing.

Let's put the brass ornament inside the ice box, then close the ice box and cupboard. Wait a couple turns and go back to check on our brass monkey. (You can always type "Z" to pass time.)

Examine ornament: "BY FREEZING, I WASN'T HARMED AT ALL; NOT SO, FOR THE PROVERBIAL BALL" This is a clue to let us know that a certain ball will be affected by freezing.

What ball do we have that we're not sure what to do with?

Place the bronze sphere into the ice box, close the ice box and cupboard. This one will take a bit longer, so you might want to go work on another puzzle. The game will tell you that you hear something in the cupboard.

Open the ice box and you will find that while the bronze split in two, the contents of the bronze ball have frozen into an ice sphere.

Take the ice sphere and eventually it melt away to reveal: a memory card.

Examine the card: "FREEZING POINT OF W: 32 DEGREES" This is the other half of our geography puzzle!

THE GLOBE:

We have two halves to the globe puzzle, one a latitude from the protractor (37°N) and one a longitude from the memory card (32°W). Incidentally this location is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Turn the globe to the coordinates (ex. "turn globe to 32 degrees w") and the globe will open apart like a flower revealing a white note card. Incidentally I sometimes have trouble looking at the card depending on what items are around, the game seems to confuse this card for the memory card.

Examine white card: "In the beginning... Genesis Numbers Proverbs Joshua Daniel" A lot of these words ring a bell. We'll get back to this piece of the puzzle later.

THE BLACK BOX:

The answer to this puzzle is not obvious, and I did not come across a hint unless you count the mention of a math book as being a hint.

Technically you could just press the numbers sequentially until you found out the solution but there is a logical progression of numbers here:

Press button 1
Press button 1
Press button 2
Press button 3
Press button 5
Press button 8
Press button 13

This is the famous Fibonacci sequence, recently alluded to in pop culture by the films Pi (π) and The DaVinci Code. The sequence is made by adding the sum of the previous two numbers together. The black box opens.

Look inside the black box. There is a battery inside - take it.

THE SCALE:

If you play with the weights you can determine the weight of the disc on the left as

5 units,

then do a little addition to come up with the following:

Insert weight 10 in right slot, insert weight 4 in right slot, insert weight 6 in left slot, insert weight 3 in left slot.

Now the two trays will be level. Pull the lever and you will be able to look at the disc as it will be ejected from the scale with the rest of the weights.

Examine disc: One side has a series of numbers and the number "3" in the middle, the other side simply reads "Awash."

There's something else you shouldn't forget: remember the hint from the exercise book? "WHEN AT LAST THE LITTLE KEY YOU FIND/A WEIGHT IS SURELY TAKEN OFF YOUR MIND."

Have you examined the weights?

Open weight 10 and you get the key to wind up the music box.

THE MUSIC BOX:

We are going to wind that music box now. Insert the key into the hole and wind the key.

Press red button. Examine mirror.

Repeat these exact steps until it tells you that you have written down the sequence in your notes. The ballerina has given you a code:

X59631X.

It's not a stretch to figure out that the "X"s can be ignored - they were only a marker to tell you the beginning and the end of a five number code, 59631. This code will be used later on.

THE STEEL BOX:

As mentioned earlier, you can't quite grab hold of this box and the door gives you a hint about it: "IF YOUR FINGERS ON THE LID JUST SLIP/PERHAPS I NEED TO GIVE TO YOU A TIP"

Where have we seen a tip?

We remove the tip of the umbrella, the ferrule, which is machined similarly to the hole in the lid of the steel box.

Screw in the ferrule, and hey presto, a handle! Open the lid.

Look inside steel box.

Red paper: "Evade."

HANDHELD COMPUTER (PDA):

In order to turn on the PDA, you need to open it, insert the battery, and close it. Also you will need to insert the memory card into the recess.

When you do power up the PDA by closing it with the battery inside, you will get a prompt: TOUCH THE SCREEN TO ENTER THE FIVE-DIGIT SECURITY CODE: "You will surely find the answer, In the hands of the little dancer."

We already know that the ballerina in the music box gave us the code of 59631.

Type "touch the screen" and then you can type the numerical code.

You then get a really specific prompt:
1) Find 5 numbers and find the clue to get them in the right order.
2) Find 5 words and order them by their first.
3) Pair the last of each word with a number
4) You will now have five letter/number combinations such as A5 or I9
5) Look up each in the table below and find the letter at the intersection
6) This 5-letter word is the answer to the question

Below this is a matrix of letters which, eliminating some extra letters, reads: "THE CLEVER JOB SEEKER OUTFOXES THE CRAZY OLD MAN WHO POSES QUITE A SIMPLE CHALLENGE." This is just a little extra fun thrown in for our amusement!

Let's break down the solution one step at a time:

Find 5 numbers and find the clue to get them in the right order.

We have indeed found five numbers, and the clue to get them in order.

The clue is from the globe: "In the beginning... Genesis Numbers Proverbs Joshua Daniel."

Remember how I mentioned the names sounded familiar?

Genesis was the yellow cassette which gave us "9," Numbers refers to the group of random numbers on the back of the metal disc plus the number "3," Proverbs refers to the "screwed up paper" which gave us "7" ("He who hesitates is lost" and "The early bird catches the worm" are proverbs), Joshua refers to the painting "John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Sir Joshua Reynolds" which gave us the post-it with "8," and Daniel is Daniel Defoe from Robinson Crusoe which gave us "5."

93785.

Find 5 words and order them by their first.

Simply, the five words referred to by the song on the blue cassette, listed alphabetically:

Awash, Being, Cupid, Dunce, Evade.

Pair the last of each word with a number

The last of each word means the last letter. awasH, beinG, cupiD, duncE, evadE. HGDEE. Pairing them means with the list of numbers from 1) - see 4) for the detailed list.

You will now have five letter/number combinations such as A5 or I9

We get H9, G3, D7, E8, and E5.

Look up each in the table below and find the letter at the intersection

We simply use the matrix to find the answer. Also, as someone else mentioned, be careful of the matrix especially if you're using the web version, the letters may not be lined up with the correct number. It is not difficult to compensate for this discrepancy, just move over one row so the letters are lined up. The downloaded version seemed to look much nicer in this section. (Thanks Jay for pointing out the downloaded version!)

This 5-letter word is the answer to the question

Remember the end of the letter from the director?
"Although there are many words in this room, you will be in no doubt when you discover the correct word."

Ring the bell. (Yes, you're sure.)

He poses the question, "If we give you the job, tell me in one word what will be your top priority?"

And your answer to the question which you got from the letter matrix:

*drumroll please*

Your answer is

"PIZZA!!"

That has to be the best solution ever!

Posted by: ottoman | June 29, 2008 10:26 AM

124 Comments

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 12:53 PM

First Comment... w00t...

This game looks fun... gonna try it out...

chaos • June 25, 2008 12:57 PM

interesting game, now im gonna be stuck playing this for the next few days

dunno if this helps but you can save the game as well by typing (of course)save

fuzzyface

• June 25, 2008 1:06 PM

Am I the only when where the game complains not having a wide enough window? Since the JIG-Layout takes a lot of space left and right I would prefer smaller margins to get a bigger game window.

Also the Font looks quite smirky on my screen. The was it looks I guess Flash doesn't do any Font-Anti-Aliasing, Font-Hinting or Font-Kerning. If the unlikely event occurs a game dev reads this, I'd suggest especially in this case to go for GWT instead of Flash, since with GWT you can utilize normal browser capabilities, and in case of text displaying there is, on most browsers, a lot of tech inside them to make them look good.

However I guess this game might utilize a general purpose interactive fiction interpreter. Not?

Jay

• June 25, 2008 1:10 PM

Fuzzyface - a note was included in the review about the width. If you wish to have a wider screen you will have to download the game and use a standalone interpreter. The screen width does not affect gameplay as far as we could tell.

fuzzyface

• June 25, 2008 1:11 PM

Oh! Okay when I'm bored I'll write a z-Interpreter using GWT ;-)

Jay

• June 25, 2008 1:13 PM

Good luck with that. ;)

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 1:25 PM

I found some things out

the quote from the magazine is "WHEN, ROUND THE WORLD, YOUR SEARCH BECOMES DISTRACTED LOSS OF MEMORY MAKES IT MORE PROTRACTED"

If you examine the globe in the corner of the room, you find out you can spin it to diffrent locations (starts on 45N and 60E).

I asume that the two notes (brown paper and Post-it) with the numbers somehow give you a location on the globe... but so far I dont know the location

If anyone figures it out... Let me know

Canadiangirl

• June 25, 2008 1:44 PM

Ninjaz- try looking at

the protractor in the drawer of the desk, in the tin box

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 2:00 PM

This game is annoying to the fact that you can only hold a certain ammount of items...

To counteract this... put any item on the desk for review...

Thats what I'm doing so everything I've used is in one place...

Jay

• June 25, 2008 2:13 PM

About that element of the game, here's some helpful advice from the author:

"The above can result in objects being 'automatically' dropped in different parts of the room (on the table, the shelf, the hatstand, etc) so I have provided a 'WHERE IS' command that allows the player to locate any object that should be visible in the room. For example, typing 'WHERE IS THE HAT' (or just 'WHERE HAT') will elicit a response such as 'You can see a top hat on the hatstand'."

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 2:15 PM

For those of you stuck on the weight machine...

You need to make the pans level...

The metal disc helps make it level...

All of the weights are used...

The metal disc weighs 5...

Put 6+3 in the left, 4+10 in the right, then pull the lever...

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 2:32 PM

How do you load a saved game?

nortie • June 25, 2008 2:45 PM

I've got a problem where typing in "notes" causes the screen to go black, and nothing seems to be able to bring the game back. I think I had just gotten to the point where my notes screen was full - maybe this somehow causes it? Maybe it has to do with the window width warning?

Has anybody else had this happen yet? Any idea how to recover?

nortie • June 25, 2008 2:48 PM

Has anybody else had this happen? Any idea how to recover?

Jess

• June 25, 2008 3:02 PM

Ninjaz,

To load a saved game, type "restore." :)

Josh • June 25, 2008 3:15 PM

hey guys there is not limit to how much you can put in the hat ... also I've opened the black box if anyone needs help. I'm pretty far into it but also hopelessly stuck ...

Anonymous • June 25, 2008 3:30 PM

Um.. I can't figure out how to put weights in the machine. What is the exact command to do this?

I really like the idea of this game, but it's poorly implemented. For example,

if you're holding the memory card, it's impossible to take or look at the white card until you put the memory card into the computer. It doesn't matter if you specify "white card". I had a similar issue with the two tapes.

joe9415 • June 25, 2008 3:36 PM

I've found that it helps to read the description from "look", look at everything referenced there, and then look at everything you get from looking. I've assembled huge amounts of random clues from this.

Here's pretty much everything I've found so far...

Open the drawer in the desk.
All the stuff on the Director's desk.
Post-it behind the painting above the fireplace. (I fond this with "take painting", but "look at painting" might work.)
The wood and paper in the fireplace.
Everything on the bookcase.
Everything on the table.
For the black box on the table, use the Fibonacci sequence of buttons (1,1,2,3,5,8,13). This will light up the lights and open the box. Take the battery and put it inside the computer in the desk drawer... yet to find the memory card though.
Note on the main door references the steel box (IF YOUR FINGERS ON THE LID JUST SLIP PERHAPS I NEED TO GIVE TO YOU A TIP). You can't open the steel box because your fingers can't grip the lid tightly... maybe use a coin to open the box (As in a "tip", money)?
The stereo will play the tapes you find (I found the yellow and blue so far.)
Canadiangirl said that the protractor had the clue on where to spin the globe. Still need the E/W clue though.
The hatstand has an umbrella and hat. You can look at the umbrella and unscrew its furrel or whatever it is. For the hat, I wore it and felt something inside. Look inside and you'll find... something, I forgot what it was.
Looking at the brass ornament from somewhere reveals that it could have invisible ink.
The corner shelf has a music box. You need a key to wind it, and you need to open it to reveal the dancer. I think you need to open it, get the key, wind it, then press the red button.
The cupboard is actually a minibar. Open it, look inside. The wine has a clue, but the ice box is empty.

Anonymous • June 25, 2008 3:53 PM

Supposedly, there's a (non-useful) clue

"in the soot behind the fireplace"

Anyone know how to get to it?

Josh • June 25, 2008 3:55 PM

big spoiler alert

ferrule is tip of the umbrella duh
Also i found and decoded a message inside the fireplace :-) not sure what it means yet

Pnx • June 25, 2008 3:57 PM

So here's a few things I know.

The newspaper is obviously a red herring, and after going through the word search in "The Jungle Book" I found that the words rearranged come out to say:
BEWARE NOT EVERY CLUE IS RELEVANT SOME ARE FALSE

As for the tapes... Wasn't revolution nine by the Beatles? And can't you wind back a tape to fix one that's been stretched?

Bloatedsack

• June 25, 2008 4:20 PM

@nortie

It happened to me, too.
I hadn't saved in ~30 (useful) moves...
=(

Pnx • June 25, 2008 4:23 PM

Ok, one thing about a few clues.

So the blotter has a clue written in green on it. Could it be applied to the green note that you find in the umbrella? So the paper says Cupid, and it' in the umbrella. What does that mean?

Canadiangirl

• June 25, 2008 4:54 PM

I also got really far, and then the "note" page went blank and I couldn't return to the game. I guess I should have saved, seems like a lot of work to do over :(

Hanoj • June 25, 2008 5:16 PM

Man, that was fun. And all the things that had me stuck ended up being pretty legitimate puzzles, too. I never had the "oh, well I never would've tried THAT" feeling that I often get with point-and-click adventures. Lots of nice "a-ha!" moments all the way through.

Sorry to hear that people have been having trouble with the Flash version. I downloaded the z-code file and played it through Zoom, a Mac-based interpreter. I definitely endorse that route.

I will give a few hints to address questions/ideas people have had so far.

The colors don't really matter all that much. I think they're mostly put in so that you can actually distinguish between the many, many pieces of paper in the game.

As far as I can tell, the only two red herrings are the cryptic clue (which clues "red herring") and the Jungle Book puzzle (which suggests that there are more red herrings). Pretty much everything else ended up having some use.

The rhyming couplet hints are really really useful. I probably wouldn't have gotten three or four of the puzzles without those hints.

And, maybe a little more spoiler-y than the last:

There's one big puzzle you have to solve at the end. This is where you end up using most of the numbers and words you've been collecting throughout. I was missing one of these words, but I was able to extrapolate based on the other stuff. So when I say that everything has a use, I'm sort of guessing that the three things I never used, namely

the compass, the set square, and the blue tape

end up getting used for the last word.

Bloatedsack

• June 25, 2008 5:16 PM

Anyone gotten anywhere with...

...the metal ball? Try shaking it.
I'm not sure what to do with that info. I'm currently trying to freeze it in the mini-bar's ice-box

Jay

• June 25, 2008 5:31 PM

I apologize for the 'notes' bug in the Flash version. We are working on a fix for it.

Jay

• June 25, 2008 6:01 PM

The 'notes' bug is now FIXED in the Flash version.

Make sure you reload the page to be sure you get the new version. You should be able to restore from a save without issue.

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 6:36 PM

Okay, so Bloatedsack was right.

Putting the metal ball in the ice box and waiting for a while makes it crack.

Then you can take the two bronze hemispheres and the ice sphere, wait for a while and the ice will thaw, giving you

a memory card with the other part of the globe coordinates. Put the memory card in the PDA, and turn the globe to match the coordinates, and

it will open and reveal a white card containing biblical references.

Also, thanks to Ninjaz, I got the weight machine done (although I don't know how he figured out the weight of the disc). Take all the weights and the disc, and examine the disc.

It has a bunch of 3 digit numbers, and a 5 letter word. I have found 3 other cards, also containing 5 letter words, and I believe they are linked to the

paper with the periodic table. I figured each word could be split up into abbreviations for chemical elements, and their atomic number could be added to match one of the numbers on the disc, but unfortunately that didn't work out.

As for the weights,

examine the weight marked 10. It can be opened and inside is a

little key. That goes into the musical box. So put the key in the hole, turn it and push the red button.

The ballerina will dance, and if you examine her, you will see that she points to a new number on the mirror. Do this 5 times and

you will get 5 digits, 59631. I'm sure those are for the PDA, but I tried putting them in forwards and backwards and it didn't work.

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 6:41 PM

Bloated

I had read your comment and am also trying to freeze my ball...

I am going to now try shaking other things...

- The Ninja(z) of Deth -

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 6:50 PM

OMG!!!

stuck on E/W of globe?
examine the memory card....

I felt so stupid when I finally did that...

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 7:18 PM

I figured out how to open the steel box.

As joe9415 mentioned, the notice on the door contains a hint for opening the steel box. But it's not a coin.

The description of the ferrule mentions it being a brass tip and having a thread. Same goes for the hole in the steel box. Put the ferrule in the hole and you can open the steel box.

Mercuria

• June 25, 2008 7:30 PM

big spoiler re: globe:

as Themepark says, you get a card with biblical references from inside it. this seems to be where some of the other clues come together, and there are numbers for each one:

Genesis

the yellow tape: 9

Numbers

the disc: 3

Proverbs

7 fireplace paper

Joshua

8 post it from painting (painter name)

Daniel

5 - paper from Robinson Crusoe (author)

5 digits again, just like for the PDA (which I haven't gotten into yet) and what the blue tape sings about... any ideas?

Jason Harper

• June 25, 2008 7:36 PM

I've reloaded the game after the notification about the fix, but it still locks up when doing NOTES with more than a screenful of notes taken.

Also, there's a major bug in the Update button of the new comment system: any spoiler boxes in the new comments are initially open! Using Safari 3.1.1, in case that's relevant.

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 7:43 PM

I tried that code on the PDA Mercuria, but that's not it. :( Could be that either of those two codes or both of them are red herrings.

Either way, I found out something interesting.

There are 4 notes with 5 letter words on them, and another 5 letter word on the disc. Also they are in alphabetical order, starting with A through E.

I'm thinking this may also have some relation to the PDA code.

Mercuria

• June 25, 2008 7:52 PM

Re: Themepark

yeah, I noticed that too -- and it occurred to me that the decoded message from the word find in Robinson Crusoe -- Some clues are FALSE -- has another 5 letter word, next in alphabetical order. so -- a 5 letter D word? Digit? Demon? Donor? Doubt? Dunno. Not that that gets us into the PDA unless we can turn it into numbers; periodic table's the only obvious one there. I have figured out one use for it however:

look at the soot in the fireplace. rather depressing message to decode, however.

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 8:06 PM

Mercuria:

The D word is Dunce, and it comes from the blue paper on the desk. Interesting notion with FALSE though. And I'm wondering if there's any significane to the numbers on the disc. Checked the soot now as well, and I see what you mean.

So all in all, I'm sure the PDA is close to the solution if not the solution, but I'm clueless as to its code.

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 8:07 PM

Hmm...mental note: Double lines need to be replaced by BR tags to stay inside the spoiler.

Mercuria

• June 25, 2008 8:17 PM

Themepark, I didn't find the

blue paper. went back and checked the desk again. any further hints on that?

I wouldn't be surprised either way

with the disc numbers, whether they were just there to give the biblical reference, or had an extra meaning to decode.

Also, I wonder if the unused letters from the word find are useful -- so many Qs though, it would have to be a Caesar cypher or something similar.

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 8:21 PM

No, it just says in my notes that it came from the desk. Try looking in everything you've found on the desk, the envelope and everything else.

LizM

• June 25, 2008 8:34 PM

Mercuria:

Try looking

under the blotter

Hanoj • June 25, 2008 8:43 PM

Themepark,

your first instinct for the PDA is correct. It's the numbers the dancer points at. Maybe you entered them incorrectly?

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 8:58 PM

Quite possibly Hanoj.

But I double checked, and I got the numbers in order 59631. I even tried backwards since they were on a mirror. And now I can't check it again, because when I restored the key was completely gone from the game. :(

Jay

• June 25, 2008 8:59 PM

Jason Harper - Thanks for the bug report about the update button in Safari. I've been able to reproduce that one, so I'll take a look at what might be causing that.

As for not getting the new version of the Flash interpreter, you might have to empty your browser cache to be sure Safari replaces it with the new one. Sounds like that's not happening by just reloading the page.

Lou • June 25, 2008 9:17 PM

@ThemePark

I was wondering where the key was - thanks.

As for determining the exact weight of the disc in the machine, you could have:
-put weight 4 in the right pan
-notice that that the left pan is still heavier
-remove the weights
-put weight 6 in right pan
-notice that right pan is now heavier
-disc must have weight of 5

Not terribly relavant at this point, but I was wonding myself how Ninjaz did it.

Canadiangirl

• June 25, 2008 9:24 PM

How do I empty the browser cache? I'm using vista with firefox...I'm not computer smart...sorry if the question has already been answered. It's a great game

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 9:33 PM

I found the message in the soot translated from the periodic table

F O O L(i) A(l) H

N O

H O P E

or Fool(gibberish) no hope...

Pretty grim meaning I'd say...

LizM

• June 25, 2008 9:35 PM

Themepark:

I get the same number--I even reloaded the game in a new window to make sure--and it doesn't work in the PDA for me either.

This is driving me crazy. Must finish game.

Hanoj:

You didn't have to rearrange the numbers or something??

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 9:40 PM

Odd

If you enter a code that is wrong into the CPU... It emits beeps with diffrent emotions... (anxious, concerned, cheery, ect...)

Maybe its part of the game

Josh • June 25, 2008 9:45 PM

it just occured to me that the mirror image of the the number the dancer points at should be the opposite number on the clock ... 12 becomes 6, 1 becomes 7 ... haven't checked the code yet ... if thats wrong than the mirror isn't really round as in encircling the ballerina ...

Ninjaz

• June 25, 2008 10:07 PM

Thinking about the white card...

Genisis = 9 because of the yellow tape...
Numbers = 3 possibly cause of disc...
Proverbs - havent found out how many but it could possibly be the number of sayings given...
Joshua = 8 because of Post it...
Daniel = 5 cause of brown paper...
all a maybe

or maybe not...

and the newspaper

The answer is REDHERRING.
A big misleader... lol...

Anonymous • June 25, 2008 10:08 PM

Ninjaz,

The

message in the soot

should read:

F O O Li S H
N O
H O P E

ThemePark

• June 25, 2008 10:22 PM

Josh:

There are only 10 numbers plus X, so they're not put on the mirror like a clock.

Mercuria

• June 25, 2008 10:40 PM

Thanks everyone, I have the paper I was missing now. Ninjaz, try taking another look at

the screwed up paper from the fireplace

about the ballerina -

I noticed that in addition to an X (which seems to just be a space to let you know that she's completed her cycle of 5 numbers) that there's a 0. which means that in addition to 5 digits that she points to, there are also exactly 5 digits that she doesn't point to. maybe the circle thing is relevant.

Matchu

• June 25, 2008 10:59 PM

Gahh. I'm hating the ballerina.

I can't think of any real ways to mirror the code =/

Zace

• June 25, 2008 11:02 PM

the scecurity code must be from the dancer because of the clue the pda gives you, "you will sure find the answer in the hands of a little dancer" so if your looking for the code start there please. (I need it too)

Zace

• June 25, 2008 11:06 PM

wow, seriously someone tell me how to edit my posts, and

the answer really is in the hands of a little dancer.

Jay

• June 25, 2008 11:14 PM replied to Zace

There isn't any way (yet) to edit your own posts, but that should be coming soon to those with JIG (casual gameplay) accounts.

If you want something edited, just mention it in a comment and our moderators will usually take care of it for you. :)

Zace

• June 25, 2008 11:16 PM

lolol xD roflmao complete! that director rocks!
and SERIOUSLY let me edit my own posts... I don't appreciate myself for triple, let alone double posting, or at least a way to merge them! >.<

Cave Johnson

• June 25, 2008 11:30 PM

Awww man, ive been trying to do this whole game without any help, but now im stuck. I got the globe open, and am trying to get

white card

but every time i try to examine or take it, i keep taking the

memory card.

Any ideas on what im doing wrong? Thanks.

zbeeblebrox

• June 26, 2008 1:19 AM

Huh... this question may or may not be spoilery, depending on the answer:

Where do you get the weights for the weight machine? Are they hidden, or is the game being rude? I ask because I randomly stumbled upon one while in front of the bookcase, because I accidentally typed "x weight" instead of "x weighing machine" But it never showed up on any of my other examinations of the bookcase or the weighing machine. And it doesn't give me any context as to where this weight (the #3 weight) is on the bookcase. Very confused by this.

Also, higher up, someone mentioned that there's a bottle of wine in the cupboard/minibar? It never told me that when I examined the open cupboard. Why would the wine be hidden?

Is this game leaving things out on purpose, or did I just get lucky?

Ten

• June 26, 2008 2:08 AM

Cave Johnson: as someone else mentioned, the game has a bit of an implementation problem. You will need to

either drop the memory card somewhere, or put it in the computer

before you can pick up the

white card.

Zbeeblebrox: For some boxes and other containers, "x [container]" will only give you a general description - try "look in [container]" to see what's inside.

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 8:03 AM

zbeeblebrox:

The other weights can be found in the cardboard box.

Zace:

If you happen to have gotten the password for the PDA, a better hint than that would be much appreciated. There is only one dancer, the ballerina, and there is nothing in her hands when I examine them.

Matchu

• June 26, 2008 8:05 AM

Same. Since the clue can't refer to anything other than

what the ballerina points to

and there don't seem to be any clues as to just how I need to mangle the code to get it accepted... I'm kinda at a loss right now =/

Matchu

• June 26, 2008 8:08 AM

However, I do note that the clue refers to

hands rather than hand... what could the other hand have to do with this?

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 8:14 AM

Cave Johnson and Ten:

I wouldn't really call it an implementation problem, it's just about being specific when there's more than one of the same things. For instance, there are 3 boxes, the brown cardboard box, the black box and the steel box. And 2 cards, the memory card and the white card. So when you want to take the white card, you need to specify it as WHITE CARD, not just CARD.

mixedmetaphor

• June 26, 2008 8:22 AM

when i examined the desk chair, i got, "On the leather chair is ."
is this a glitch? is there something on the chair? i just started playing, so i don't want to look under spoiler tags to find out if anyone's mentioned this.

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 8:23 AM

mixedmetaphor, I got the same and it appears to be a glitch because I haven't found anything on the chair.

Mercuria

• June 26, 2008 9:40 AM

I concur with Themepark and Machu, it sounds like Zace and Hanoj are the only ones who've figured out the connection

between the dancer and the PDA security code and absolutely everyone else is stuck on this one.
The only other vaguely construable things I can come up with as a dancer are the globe (its gearing mechanism could be taken as "dancing", but it doesn't have hands, and it seems to be devoid of anything now that the Bible card is out, and while that did give us 5 digits, that doesn't work as the PDA code either); the monkey ornament (it has hands, but again, can't seem to get it to do anything) and the blue tape (song references having hands and having 5 digits; then it talks about 5 words which we seem to have from the alphabetical ones.)

Mixedmetaphor, I also got that problem, but if I dropped something on the chair, and then took it away, it seemed to fix it. Another one I noticed was in the menu for the notes, an item I obtained from the steel box was referred to as being from a wooden box (although when I selected it, its detailed description was correct).

as far as general progress goes,

at this point, we seem to have a lot more answers than questions. "what's the periodic table for" seems to have been answered by the code in the soot, but the question that "Foolish no hope" is supposed to answer is still unfound (unless it's also a red herring, but Hanoj indicated that only the newspaper and the word find were); the cigar tube and its message of "close but no cigar" also would seem to be useless for now; we have 5 (or maybe 6) words all of 5 letters beginning with the first 5 (or 6) letters of the alphabet, which Hanoj indicated were for the final puzzle, as well as the 5 digits that one gets by putting numerous clues together starting with the card from the globe and using the blotter's hint. Is it all depending on unlocking that PDA, or is there something else that can be figured out for now?

Ten

• June 26, 2008 9:41 AM

Re: the ballerina

I also got the code 59631, and it's worked twice for me. Are you guys still getting the prompt to enter the five-digit security code? If not,
x computer
open shell
put battery in computer
close shell
touch screen
59631

Entering the code seems to work even if you haven't done anything with the ballerina yet.

Dan B • June 26, 2008 9:48 AM

Now, for the PDA code, I did this:

I wound-up the music box, then repeatedly examined the ballerina or mirror each time it stopped, until I got the code 59631, only this code is rejected by the PDA.

I don't know why it's rejecting it for me....

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 10:03 AM

Thanks Ten, but

I still get INCORRECT PASS CODE when touching the screen and inputting 59631 (without any spaces) and pressing Enter. Even tried restarting the game and just using the ballerina, battery, memory card and PDA, and still INCORRECT PASS CODE.

But at least I know I understood the code correctly.

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 10:16 AM

Ten:

If you haven't already done so, could you try starting a new game and only doing the things necessary to get the PDA and battery, and see if the pass code still works for you?

Ten

• June 26, 2008 10:23 AM

Mercuria:

To get the code from the ballerina in the first place:

There's a hole in the side of the music box. Put the key in it. Turn the key to wind up the box. Press the button. X ballerina, and notice what number she is pointing to. Repeat "wind" "press button" and "x ballerina" until the game adds the code to your notes.

False clues:

I found that the "FOOLISH NO HOPE" message in the soot, crossword clue, note in the cigar tube, and the recording on the blue tape were all red herrings. I never actually used the clue from the blotter, but it's likely I just didn't understand it.

And for general progress:

It looks like you've gone as far as you can right now. You should have just 5 words beginning with the first 5 letters of the alphabet, and you said you'd already gotten the 5 digits from the white card in the globe. You're right in thinking that you need the computer to put them together. You should find that part pretty straightforward.

Themepark:
You may have to download the game in order to finish. I've been playing it using Gargoyle, and the code did work there. Just tried it in the JIG interpreter, and got the same INCORRECT PASS CODE message that you did. No idea why this might be.

Ten

• June 26, 2008 10:29 AM

Quick addendum, Themepark:
I did what you mentioned, and it still works in Gargoyle, if that helps. I hate to make you start over, but it looks like downloading the game might be the only way to finish.

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 10:36 AM

Thanks Ten. I guess that explains it, the problem being in the Flash Interpreter somewhere. And the ones who have been able to use the code, have likely all downloaded it.

Ninjaz • June 26, 2008 10:42 AM

Stupid computer... Mine wont work either...

Are you sure its

59631?

I'd prefer not to download the game to get it to finish...

Mercuria

• June 26, 2008 10:55 AM

That does seem likely -- I don't have my own interpreter, I was playing through the flash one also.

Ninjaz

• June 26, 2008 11:31 AM

anyone find the solution...

The question is:

"Well, here's the question. If we give you the job, tell me in one word what will be your top priority?"

I can't figure it out but the letter says its painfully obvious when you find it...

Also... if you dont have enough items... he wont ask you...

Bloatedsack

• June 26, 2008 11:34 AM

I, too, am stuck trying to enter the code using the flash version.
Are we really blocked by a bug in the interpreter?
*sigh*

Ten

• June 26, 2008 11:39 AM

Ninjaz:

Once you get the computer working and assemble all the clues, it's very straightforward. You'll be using the clues to spell the solution out letter by letter, rather than trying to guess a word from a riddle.

That said, I thought the final solution was kind of funny. It made me laugh, anyway.

Ninjaz

• June 26, 2008 11:50 AM

Sigh... if the flash is never fixed... I'll never know...
:(

NG • June 26, 2008 12:02 PM

Actually the flash version works also:

For some reason, you only use 4 numbers for the code, drop the last number the ballerina gives you and it works -- this worked in the downloaded translator also -- I accidentally only entered 4 numbers and pressed enter and the computer opened -- not sure why though ...

Bloatedsack

• June 26, 2008 12:13 PM

@NG
Wow, you're right!
Thanks for unblocking me.

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 12:17 PM

Awesome! Thanks a bunch, NG! :D

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 12:23 PM

Okay, just finished it, and I agree with Ten, very funny ending. ^^ I would've never guessed that word in a million years.

Bloatedsack

• June 26, 2008 12:25 PM

This game was fun.

I'm a fan of IF and I appreciate JiG providing the flash interpreter, so I can waste time at work instead of waiting until I download it at home.

Please, keep 'em coming!

Cave Johnson

• June 26, 2008 1:22 PM

Thanks for the help, i finally got the card, but now im stuck again. I cant figure out how to open the black box, and i cant find the

battery or small key.

Could anyone please give me a few hints to point me in the right direction.

Jay

• June 26, 2008 2:38 PM

Again I apologize for the quirks of the Flash interpreter. It's still a work in progress since many of these scenarios are difficult to test for until they come up within a particular game and how it's implemented.

That being said, I am please to report:

The PASSCODE issue with the Flash interpreter has been FIXED.

Check to see if you have the latest version in the right-click Flash context menu (Release 20080626).

You may have to empty your cache to get the new version or, if you're on Windows, CTRL-F5 to hard reload the page (not sure how to force that on a mac).

Dan • June 26, 2008 2:44 PM

There is a typo in the inventory (enclosed here in spoiler tags to avoid mentioning an item that isn't immediately reachable)

The two bronze hemispheres appear in inventory as "two bonze hemispheres".

Ten

• June 26, 2008 2:46 PM

Cave Johnson, some hints for you:

Black box:

I first pressed 1, and one of the lights turned on. After a while, I figured out that the sequence 1,1 would turn on a second light. Look familiar?

It's the beginning of the Fibonacci sequence:

1,1,2,3,5,8,13

Key:

Try taking a closer look at the weights.

The 10 weight looks as though it could be opened. The key will be inside it.

jakay • June 26, 2008 3:26 PM

ok...i've gotten pretty far, but I'm stuck...

can someone help me find the EW coordinates of the globe??

sonicscrewdriver

• June 26, 2008 3:53 PM

I loved the puzzle element, and I love ifiction, but I had to give this game up, the actual gameplay drove me crazy!

For instance, I had the same experience as zbeeblebrox where I could do stuff with things I hadn't discovered yet (like the weights). On the other hand, every time I tried to put something in the weighing maching slot, it repeately acted as if I was trying to put them in the stereo! No matter what I did! And I found hidden notes, then couldn't use them or read them - it just repeatedly said they weren't there. And then, the next sentence described how they were there.

Arrgh!

Too buggy for me. Pass.

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 4:04 PM

sonicscrewdriver, as said before, you need to be more specific than just using the word slot. In that case it will assume what you mean, since there is more than one slot. So try left slot or right slot to use the weighing machine.

As for the hidden notes, you probably found them with the WHERE command. Disregard that command, forget it ever existed. Or you have found a note hidden in something, but you have to actually take it out of the thing to be able to read it. So TAKE it, then READ or EXAMINE it.

momruoy • June 26, 2008 4:40 PM

I had a really hard time figuring out the final puzzle. Maybe it's better for those using the offline viewer?

In the message on the PDA, it displays the number 1 above the left-hand column, instead of starting with the letters in the array.
I was one place off and I couldn't understand why for a long time.

I also may have used the wrong C word, but I still could guess from having the other 4 words.

Here's what I had:

Numbers:

Genesis - 9
Numbers - 3
Proverbs - 7
Joshua - 8
Daniel - 5

Words:

AWASH
BEING
CLOSE <- maybe wrong?
DUNCE
EVADE

Paired up:

H-9 = P
G-3 = I
E-7 = R <- this is why the C word is wrong
E-8 = Z
E-5 = A

And the solution to the final puzzle:

PIZZA

I wish that could be my top priority!

momruoy • June 26, 2008 4:48 PM

I got messed up on the final puzzle because I read the matrix of letters wrong. I should have just counted from the left instead of relying on the row across the top. I was one place off and couldn't figure out why for a long time. Eventually I got it.

Also I had the wrong C word, but I could easily guess from the other 4.

Here's what I had:

Numbers:

Genesis - 9
Numbers - 3
Proverbs - 7
Joshua - 8
Daniel - 5

Words:

AWASH
BEING
CLOSE <- I think this is wrong
DUNCE
EVADE

Pairs:

H-9 = P
G-3 = I
E-7 = R <- this is definately wrong
E-8 = Z
E-5 = A

The Final Solution is:

PIZZA!

I wish that could be my priority!

ThemePark

• June 26, 2008 4:52 PM

Yes, that's the wrong C word, momruoy.

The right one would be CUPID, which you get from a piece of paper, although since my saved game was deleted, I can't remember where it was.

I saw the problem with the table not being aligned correctly as well, but fortunately it's written in a fixed width font, so it's easy to count your way to the right columns instead.

koalarazorclock • June 26, 2008 4:57 PM

a hint about finding the final word-

the top row of numbers on the final hint sheet to get the answers is off by one. You have to actually look at the letter to the right of the one in each column where the numbers are shown

Gar

• June 26, 2008 5:48 PM

I'm good with some puzzles, but bad with ones that involve math or decoding messages. Thank you, JIG staff, for keeping text adventures accessible long after their time in the spotlight!

sonicscrewdriver

• June 27, 2008 6:39 AM

But that's exactly what I did do! That's what made it so frustrating. I'd got the note and was actually holding the note while I tried to read it, and all the stupid game kept saying was 'I understood you as far as that you wanted to read the note'.

And I said 'left slot' or 'right slot' and went and stood by the weighing machine first before I did it, but it kept insisting on taking me back to the stereo!

I tried many more options as well. Nothing worked.

Thanks for trying to help though.

ThemePark

• June 27, 2008 7:10 AM

sonicscrewdriver, hmm that's odd. What exactly did you write in those cases?

For the weight machine:

Try writing PUT WEIGHT MARKED 3 IN LEFT SLOT. I checked that on the Flash Interpreter and that puts the weight in the left slot of the weighing machine, regardless of where in the room you are.

Ninjaz

• June 27, 2008 10:27 AM

I saw the comment about the code for the flash people and was all like "woohoo!" but when i went to load my game... It wasn't there...

Matchu

• June 27, 2008 11:06 AM

Alright, I beat it! Woohoo!

In order to be fair, here are a few glitches that you might want to know about. They are in spoiler tags, yes, but it really is vital information if you want to beat the game through the flash interpreter. Seriously, it won't spoil anything - it's just better safe than sorry.

1. If you are ever asked to enter a 5-digit code, only enter the first 4 digits. I found nothing hinting toward this really, really bizarre situation of the 5-digit code being 4-digits, so I'm assuming it's a glitch. [Edit: This has already been fixed in the Flash version. -Jay]

2. Some of the text isn't aligned correctly for the final puzzle. Make sure that you shift the column labels one to the right if there is a column with no label above it :)

Good luck! It was worth it :D

Gar

• June 27, 2008 12:27 PM

Critical thinking is the key to success!

...I'm just glad that I was able to solve something as complex as this with only one spoiler-tagged hint (which basically just encouraged me to examine/look in/behind/shake everything) as well as wearing the top hat for the entirety of the game.

...Another puzzle solved, and all that...

TheHeat • June 27, 2008 5:04 PM

We ran into a problem similar to sonicscrewdriver's very early on in the game. One of the first things we did was

open the umbrella. A "slip of green paper" falls into your hand. Subsequently, it is referred to in the inventory as "green paper". Typing "examine paper" made me pick up the blotter. So did "examine green paper". Luckily, I remembered that it had initially been described as a "slip". That enabled me to examine it. But I think it's a big error when the precise description given in the inventory leads to a different object. This problem is compounded when there's no way to figure out that it's a "slip" after the initial description.

The other awkward parts of the interpreter were just inconveniences.
All in all a fantastic game. The puzzles were really satisfying and well put together. I really enjoyed it. Except the ending seemed awfully quick, especially in comparison to the polish and detail put into the descriptions of the room. A bit of a let-down. 4 and 3/4 stars?

Ninjaz

• June 27, 2008 5:40 PM

I need help...

Since my flash (after the cpu code for the game was fixed) wont let me load... I am kind of running through to see what you absolutely need to beat the game... I have everything but one of the papers...

To answer the Directors question you need:

-The Computer (Battery (black box) and memory card (ball))
-The ballerina's code (either find out or just imput it... either way works...)

-The white card (globe... if you know the coordinates, you dont need to x the memory card or protractor)
-Listen to the yellow tape
-Metal disc (weight machine)
-Screwed up paper
-Post-it (back of painting)
-Brown slip of paper

-Metal disc (a repeat, I know)
-Lable on the bottle (cupboard)
-Green slip of paper (umbrella)
-*(I am missing this peice currently, preventing me from beating the game)
-Red paper (Steel box)

And the bell of course...
Hope this helps any on a run for least moves...

This could be considered a walkthrough... It doesn't tell you what to do, but the absoulte needs to answer the final question asked by the director...

Edit: Spoiler tags corrected. -Pam

Ninjaz

• June 27, 2008 5:49 PM

I found out what the solution is without the last paper...

OMG it is so random that I almost wet myself...

I just have to say to Mr. Gordon... Way to go... Just way to go...

ottoman

• June 28, 2008 6:04 PM

That was one of the most well-written puzzles I've ever played, it was really hilarious and genuinely challenging but logical. For an avid puzzle solver it's hard to hit a brick wall, because there's always a new avenue to pursue. The clues are just enough to help you make sense of the rest of the info you've gathered. The interface is pretty easy to use, aside from a few little nuances I didn't like dealing with and the display was a little buggy looking. Mostly I just wish I could download this game, I've always hated playing text adventures in a web browser!

I don't think anyone has yet posted a full walkthrough, maybe if I have time I will attempt to write one. Great job Sam Gordon!!!!

Jay

• June 28, 2008 6:12 PM

ottoman - you can download the game, there is a link where you can do so following the review above.

ottoman

• June 29, 2008 10:26 AM