Post by wgardner on Aug 11, 2019 12:14:30 GMT -5
This post describes a bit of what I've learned about the structure of the Lamp hunt. If you don't want any hints, please don't read it. Hopefully, the hunt's author won't be too upset with me for sharing these thoughts. 
The Lamp essentially has 4 puzzles and the solutions to the puzzles are the 4 keys. Then there's a final puzzle that presumably uses all 4 keys in some way.
Each of the puzzles uses a specific set of colored beads in a section of the Lamp structured in a specific way. From the About page for the hunt:
"QUESTION: Can I find the first key using only one area of the lamp, without using anything from any other section?
ANSWER: Yes, you find the first key using ONLY one area of the lamp without using anything from any other section. Each key has its own section in the lamp, and it is associated with only one color of bead. By section, I mean --
(1 lower cords
(2.upper cords, below the bottom ring
(3. bottom ring area
(4 above the bottom ring"
Note also that each answer is called a Key, not a Solution. This is because each answer/key is used in a critical way to solve the next puzzle to find the next key.
For those working on finding Key 1, you NEED the answer to the Starter Puzzle to find Key 1. IMHO, it's fair to call this answer Key 0. The starter puzzle solution includes a few words that provide a hint at the solution to Puzzle 1/Key 1, but the specific text answer to the Starter puzzle (= Key 0) is ALSO used in a critical way in finding Key 1(!). If you did not have the answer to the Starter puzzle, you would not be able to determine Key 1. And similarly, if you could not see the beads in the "(1. lower cords" section of the Lamp, you would not be able to determine Key 1. If your solution is not fundamentally using the text from Key 0, you're not heading in the right direction.
For those working on finding Key 2, the process is similar. Key 1 is a text phrase that provides a hint at solving Puzzle 2 to find Key 2, but Key 1 is also a critical, specific phrase that is used literally as a Key to unlock the solution to Puzzle 2 and provide Key 2. If you did not have the specific text of Key 1, you would not be able to determine Key 2. And similarly, if you could not see the beads on "(2 upper cords, below the bottom ring" you would not be able to determine Key 2.
IMHO, the design of the Lamp as a puzzle is ingenious. By releasing the starter puzzle after the Lamps had arrived at their destinations, the author ensured that no one could solve Key 1 before anyone else because the answer is needed in the solution. And similarly, for Key 1 to determine Key 2. It seems reasonable to assume this trend continues.
And as the author has stated, the ways that the keys at one stage are used to solve the next stage is different from stage to stage, so knowing one method to solve one puzzle does not necessarily help in figuring out the method to solve the next puzzle.
The Lamp essentially has 4 puzzles and the solutions to the puzzles are the 4 keys. Then there's a final puzzle that presumably uses all 4 keys in some way.
Each of the puzzles uses a specific set of colored beads in a section of the Lamp structured in a specific way. From the About page for the hunt:
"QUESTION: Can I find the first key using only one area of the lamp, without using anything from any other section?
ANSWER: Yes, you find the first key using ONLY one area of the lamp without using anything from any other section. Each key has its own section in the lamp, and it is associated with only one color of bead. By section, I mean --
(1 lower cords
(2.upper cords, below the bottom ring
(3. bottom ring area
(4 above the bottom ring"
Note also that each answer is called a Key, not a Solution. This is because each answer/key is used in a critical way to solve the next puzzle to find the next key.
For those working on finding Key 1, you NEED the answer to the Starter Puzzle to find Key 1. IMHO, it's fair to call this answer Key 0. The starter puzzle solution includes a few words that provide a hint at the solution to Puzzle 1/Key 1, but the specific text answer to the Starter puzzle (= Key 0) is ALSO used in a critical way in finding Key 1(!). If you did not have the answer to the Starter puzzle, you would not be able to determine Key 1. And similarly, if you could not see the beads in the "(1. lower cords" section of the Lamp, you would not be able to determine Key 1. If your solution is not fundamentally using the text from Key 0, you're not heading in the right direction.
For those working on finding Key 2, the process is similar. Key 1 is a text phrase that provides a hint at solving Puzzle 2 to find Key 2, but Key 1 is also a critical, specific phrase that is used literally as a Key to unlock the solution to Puzzle 2 and provide Key 2. If you did not have the specific text of Key 1, you would not be able to determine Key 2. And similarly, if you could not see the beads on "(2 upper cords, below the bottom ring" you would not be able to determine Key 2.
IMHO, the design of the Lamp as a puzzle is ingenious. By releasing the starter puzzle after the Lamps had arrived at their destinations, the author ensured that no one could solve Key 1 before anyone else because the answer is needed in the solution. And similarly, for Key 1 to determine Key 2. It seems reasonable to assume this trend continues.
And as the author has stated, the ways that the keys at one stage are used to solve the next stage is different from stage to stage, so knowing one method to solve one puzzle does not necessarily help in figuring out the method to solve the next puzzle.
