The First Key

[Jenny]

Hi all..... so we have received the 'Starter Puzzle' which gives us the place to start in the lamp.

Then we got the 'Clue for the First Key' which seems to give the 'exact place' to start within the 'cords', along with other hints on how to find the 'first key'....



I think I know exactly where to start...anyone else?

[GeneticBlend]

I think I know the section of the lamp, and the color.

I don't have anything more "exact" than that.

I have not been able to solve the second part of the first clue that is supposed to help us get started on Key 1.

If anyone has solved that, does it give you something more than the section and color?

[lampwithfourkeys]

A hint for the "empty" boxes on Clue 1, and also for the First Key:

When you are stuck with tangled cords that you have to untie, how do you do it? Sometimes the cords are in a tight knot. It's confusing because they are going in all different directions. First concentrate on the outer edge of the cords all around this knot. Then you will find the rest!

Another hint: Something is tangled here. What is it? And what's missing? And is there one thing extra somewhere?


This relates to all the other recent hints. If you get what my other most recent hints have been referring to....look at what I'm saying here. What could be in a knot? What's the outer edge around it?

[lampwithfourkeys]

I'll post another hint for the First Key tonight at 8 pm Eastern!

[lampwithfourkeys]

Hint/clue for First Key. (This will help you figure out the "empty" boxes in Clue 1, too!)





There's something that is all out of line, tangled up. All the clues refer to it. To solve the puzzle for the First Key, it has to sorted out. What could be mixed up? This clue (and the other ones) show how go get it in line! First you have to understand what it is that is tangled.



Then after you figure out what is missing, and why one of the cowboys has a double, you're all set to solve the First Key!

[lampwithfourkeys]

Watch for a new clue for the First Key tomorrow night 9/11 at 8 pm Eastern!

[lampwithfourkeys]

Another clue for the First Key:



If you are really stuck and nothing at all clicks in any previous clues and hints....Here is a a pic that is hiding something that can help you.






You may have already found this in the previous clues. And you may clearly see the starting zone. But do you also see that there are two starting places, one opposite the other, where you start both at the same time? If you are confused about EXACTLY where to start, then look up at the top,, left and right, and then maybe now you can get a handle on it!! Now look back down at the place where you were. Now do you see the two exact starting places? 

(By top, I mean the top of the lamp! This is supposed to be a nudge... By the way, this place does not contain any puzzles by itself, but it is a guide for the rest of the lamp.)


Also....there are two very important things missing here in this clue, and they also happen to be missing from practically everything else I have posted here about this hunt. They are important because they have vanished from the whole scene. You won't find them anywhere, for the duration of this hunt. What could these two items be?

[lampwithfourkeys]

Monday 7/15 at 8 pm Eastern

[lampwithfourkeys]

You could consider it together with the clue from two weeks ago:



And also with the Starter Puzzle solution. 

The roundup missed two. But one of the cowboys has a double (from a previous clue). Where else do you also see exactly one extra?

[lampwithfourkeys]

Here is a new clue for the First Key!

It will help if you follow these directions! This is a really simple message, nothing you have to figure out here, besides what is obviously here. No letters to count or anything like that!

No, the puzzle does not use a DNA code in case you are wondering! It came up by accident. But, completely by coincidence, the "Two Dozen" things in the lamp do go around in a shape a bit like the DNA helix....

And remember the previous clue that happened to have the word "Pook" in it? That was also an accidental word. But actually the Pook puzzle from "A Treasure's Trove" does have one (and only one) thing in common with the First Key.

[lampwithfourkeys]

Announcing a new BONUS for the First Key!





Including this month -- July! What is this?

I had really expected the First Key to be solved before now. I didn't think it would be this hard for people....to me, it seems so obvious! That's probably because I had it in my head for so long. I think it would have been solved by multiple people if I hadn't added some creative twists of my own that you have to get through to the end! I'm sure that many people know the general solution method, because I have tried to make it clear in several recent clues. I know that people are working hard on this.

I know how it is to be stuck on puzzles, because I myself am working on a hunt right now, and it is driving me up the wall....I am so close but yet so far away! I want to make it worth your while. So for every month until the First Key is solved, I will add one of THESE as a bonus (along with the regular $100 prize for the First Key) for the first lamp owner to send in the correct solution, and the correct solution method. I'm adding one for this month, July. If it isn't solved by the end of August, another one, and so on. I really want the Lamp With Four Keys to be solved by the end of the year, because I am planning to do another hunt next year! Can't start that one until this one is solved! 😎

P.S. This image is not an actual clue for the hunt. Try Google Images.....

[lampwithfourkeys]

Here it is -- a new clue for the First Key.  

It all fits in the end.  That is, except for the two that are missing.

[lampwithfourkeys]

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!  We have a first finder!!  Someone has actually found the First Key.  I was beginning to worry no one would ever find it!  Congratulations to Brian Poeppelman and Genetic Blend, who worked on it as a team.  The prize for the First Key has been awarded.  

But everyone else keep working, because the other 3 Keys are yet to be found, and then there is the final puzzle that has to be solved, for the final prize.  I am not posting the First Key or its solution until after the final puzzle is solved at the end. Everyone must find the Keys in order, in their own time, and then at the end use them all to unlock the final puzzle! None of the Keys uses the exact same solution method....so the first finder of each Key will not necessarily have the best advantage to be the first finder of the next Key.


I will keep giving out weekly clues for the First Key! Remember, everyone still has time to solve the other Keys and the final puzzle. None of the Keys have the same solution method (although they have a few elements in common.) Everyone has to solve the Keys in order.

So for that reason, I will not post the solution to the First Key until the end, when the final puzzle is solved.  

[lampwithfourkeys]

Watch for a bonus hint here tonight!  Remember, you can still e-mail me your submissions for the First Key.  If it is correct, I will verify it.  Keys only. I can't verify or comment privately on anything else. If you find the key, send me an email, and then you'll know whether you can go on to Key 2!  Although the prize for the First Key has been won, you can still be the first finder of Key 2!

[lampwithfourkeys]

Bonus HINT for the First Key...

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