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Post by phrabbott on Dec 2, 2020 1:01:21 GMT -5
I wrote him a quick message to thank him for the hunt, and mentioned that I looked forward to hearing the solution. In his reply he thanked me for the note and attached this.
I'd say technically, visual and verbal accounts for the 'numbers open' verbal portion + the visual method for finding the numbers.
We have the star pointing leading to the pseudo instructions to find numbers. This is in tandem with the folding/compass forming that then reveals these numbers. They are better recognized via further yellow longitude and red latitude tips across the book. (red yellow book being oriented as vertical and horizontal, red yellow extra piano keys being arranged vertical and horizontally, color code of actual longitude and latitude on map, compass, etc.)
I'd say this technically qualifies as many methods working together.
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Post by phrabbott on Dec 2, 2020 1:53:42 GMT -5
, wtf was the falling apple about? I associated it with newton from masquerade. As it’s in the key on pg11 and in the vicinity of many elements from Harley’s image (globe, compass, blue eye), I tied him to the same role as newton—the key to the puzzle. As he has the color coded coordinates on his map, I’d say this might have been the intention.
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Post by seamus on Dec 2, 2020 3:14:24 GMT -5
This is almost as good as the ending of Forrest Fenn's chase. Ouch
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stones
New Member
Arm Chair Treasure Hunter
Posts: 44
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Post by stones on Dec 2, 2020 3:16:49 GMT -5
Hmmm, maybe it's just me but this seems very suspicious... I wonder why he would just attach the solution to some random guys email? Jenny,,, can you confirm this? author=" phrabbott" source="/post/56137/thread" timestamp="1606888881"]I wrote him a quick message to thank him for the hunt, and mentioned that I looked forward to hearing the solution. In his reply he thanked me for the note and attached this. I'd say technically, visual and verbal accounts for the 'numbers open' verbal portion + the visual method for finding the numbers. We have the star pointing leading to the pseudo instructions to find numbers. This is in tandem with the folding/compass forming that then reveals these numbers. They are better recognized via further yellow longitude and red latitude tips across the book. (red yellow book being oriented as vertical and horizontal, red yellow extra piano keys being arranged vertical and horizontally, color code of actual longitude and latitude on map, compass, etc.)
I'd say this technically qualifies as many methods working together.[/quote]
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Post by ILLUMINATINPS on Dec 2, 2020 4:51:03 GMT -5
Its not suspicious. i received the same solution from Stockwell via email. Its legit. As far as the solution, I would say i don't think having that solution was enough for me to jump on a plane and go look.
1) There are so many other numbers in the book that could have been used to form coordinates (including numbers with red and yellow, like numbers on red and yellow signs), and several people did just that
2) There was never and verbal feedback mechanism or hidden message to Hunters Cove. Without something like that, you are left with the numbers themselves. Hardly an "aha moment"
3) The coordinates didn't put you right on the treasure, you still had to search. Now, Im fairly confident "Two Together", and the 2 stones on Abnaki's pants were hints to the final boulders but thats a stretch.
4) There wasn't enough of a nudge to rip out your pages and start folding them, and to be honest, if there were, WHO IN THE HELL WANTS TO DESTROY THEIR BOOK?
Heres where i think he did good:
1) I think he did a great job of hinting to coordinates. "Lost in time", the clocks, DMS, the sextant on Harley's shelf. He was basically throwing a rock at our head.
2) The four symbols on the chest represented pages that had the needed components for the map and time, and fake rock. C=one clock X=2nd clock compass=harleys map signpost=the big rock on sams page with the arrow pointing under.
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Post by Jenny on Dec 2, 2020 6:15:59 GMT -5
Hmmm, maybe it's just me but this seems very suspicious... I wonder why he would just attach the solution to some random guys email? Jenny,,, can you confirm this? author=" phrabbott" source="/post/56137/thread" timestamp="1606888881"]I wrote him a quick message to thank him for the hunt, and mentioned that I looked forward to hearing the solution. In his reply he thanked me for the note and attached this. I'd say technically, visual and verbal accounts for the 'numbers open' verbal portion + the visual method for finding the numbers. We have the star pointing leading to the pseudo instructions to find numbers. This is in tandem with the folding/compass forming that then reveals these numbers. They are better recognized via further yellow longitude and red latitude tips across the book. (red yellow book being oriented as vertical and horizontal, red yellow extra piano keys being arranged vertical and horizontally, color code of actual longitude and latitude on map, compass, etc.)
I'd say this technically qualifies as many methods working together. [/quote] Yes, I have confirmed the solution with Pel. It is the solution.
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Post by samwise on Dec 2, 2020 8:24:49 GMT -5
When I look up the coordinates "W 68.1302, N 44.1757" it puts me in the water miles away from MDI. Can someone else verify that these coordinates work for them. I want to visit the spot the next time I go to MDI.
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Post by wgardner on Dec 2, 2020 8:29:10 GMT -5
When I look up the coordinates "W 68.1302, N 44.1757" it puts me in the water miles away from MDI. Can someone else verify that these coordinates work for them. I want to visit the spot the next time I go to MDI. Here's a google maps link to the coordinates. Note that it's using DMS format, which is different than the Decimal Degrees format you show in your post.
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Post by ronemund on Dec 2, 2020 8:48:48 GMT -5
I find it very unsatisfying that the so-called Master Riddle was
1. misspelled, which led a lot of people to think it wasn't the master riddle . I mean, Masquerade's master riddle not only spelled out the whole thing, but the first letter of each clue spelled out another clue 2. was more Vague Hint than Master Riddle. It's odd that the Master Riddle was figured out quite a while ago and it still didn't help. Pointing out numbers as a hint doesn't help that much in a book with so many, many numbers.
3. Wasn't a riddle at all
wgardner figured out the whole folding thing, and still didn't get it
Yeah, I even put together images like those shown on page 3 of the solutions document, but then got nowhere. The 3 kind-of looks like a 3. And maybe the 7 kind-of looks like a 7 (in the midst of a lot of yellow 1s). But I never would have seen the "real" 1s. And then there were pages that folded to 4 pointed red/yellow stars that had nothing in them (why bother doing that??). More red herring, even when you go down the right path
And then adding only the seconds of the clocks as GPS DMS seconds (but not doing the minutes in the same way)?? Similar to 'this yellow bar means one, but this yellow bar doesn't, not consistent
So the master riddle thing and the folding thing were figured out, and it still wasn't solved. That seems problematic.
2) The four symbols on the chest represented pages that had the needed components for the map and time, and fake rock. C=one clock X=2nd clock compass=harleys map signpost=the big rock on sams page with the arrow pointing under.
Not sure I follow c= one clock? What do the asterisk and plus sign mean?
Ok, I get the Apple = Newton hint. But what about Vitruvian man? Why all the zodiac and astronomy stuff? Was the zodiac stuff just more red herring cover for gemini, two pisces, libra with two scales, just more 'twos' when we already had two together, forever held?
If I was really cynical I would think the tearing out pages bit was just a way to sell more books. As I said before, the 3 and 7 are visible without even bothering to fold the pages at all, and the 'ones' don't really look any more like ones with an extra block added. Even worse, the yellow ones around the seven continue over the fold as well, which would have led me to believe that they need to be counted as well. Why was there no consistency in the approach? Even if you figure everything out, you're still left flailing about as to what counts and what doesn't. If a 'one' was only a 'one' if the yellow bar continued over the fold, that would make sense. As it is, what counts as a one and what doesn't isn't based on anything that I can see. If yellow means it counts, and there are yellow 'ones' that are supposed to count as ones, why on earth would you have other yellow ones that cross that fold that don't count?? How would anybody ever know this?
And wtf was PACE FORTY SOUTH about? More red herring, even when you figure something out?
I think the book's mascot should have been a Red Herring rather than a Red Fox. Too much detail on red herrings, and then too little care taken on the key part, the colored bars of different sizes that were meant to be read as ones in one place but not in another.
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Post by phrabbott on Dec 2, 2020 9:18:32 GMT -5
I agree, solution is unsatisfying and could have been better executed. re: "PACE FORTY SOUTH" If you plot it, 40 paces south or so does actually appear to put you on the over look vis a vis the coordinates. re: Red herrings. Definition of Fandango always bothered me with this hunt. "a foolish or useless act or thing." So, in some respects it was satisfying to see that was relevant haha Heres where i think he did good: 1) I think he did a great job of hinting to coordinates. "Lost in time", the clocks, DMS, the sextant on Harley's shelf. He was basically throwing a rock at our head. 2) The four symbols on the chest represented pages that had the needed components for the map and time, and fake rock. C=one clock X=2nd clock compass=harleys map signpost=the big rock on sams page with the arrow pointing under. I would add the abundance of Red horizontal and Yellow vertical to this list. Heck, major features of the puzzle that were discussed in depth--Red Yellow book, Piano Keys--ultimately had very simple reasonings it seems. I also had landed on the keystone of the key on pg11 being Gilmore Parkman and Sargent. GPS. Especially because Fandango added Gilmore and Parkman in relation to "Acadia the Story Behind the Scenery" which seemed to contain a hefty chunk of the source material for this book... including the end map. (credit to Deidra White for finding that book) But like most mention, the number of numbers made it very difficult to ascertain a way to be sure you'd found the GPS coordinates.
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Post by ronemund on Dec 2, 2020 9:33:38 GMT -5
from here? ibb.co/JyRgMD540 paces is about 100 feet. The scale of 20ft is at the bottom right of the picture. 5 of those looks like it puts you off the cliff?
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Post by ILLUMINATINPS on Dec 2, 2020 9:40:06 GMT -5
I find it very unsatisfying that the so-called Master Riddle was 1. misspelled, which led a lot of people to think it wasn't the master riddle . I mean, Masquerade's master riddle not only spelled out the whole thing, but the first letter of each clue spelled out another clue 2. was more Vague Hint than Master Riddle. It's odd that the Master Riddle was figured out quite a while ago and it still didn't help. Pointing out numbers as a hint doesn't help that much in a book with so many, many numbers. 3. Wasn't a riddle at all wgardner figured out the whole folding thing, and still didn't get it Yeah, I even put together images like those shown on page 3 of the solutions document, but then got nowhere. The 3 kind-of looks like a 3. And maybe the 7 kind-of looks like a 7 (in the midst of a lot of yellow 1s). But I never would have seen the "real" 1s. And then there were pages that folded to 4 pointed red/yellow stars that had nothing in them (why bother doing that??). More red herring, even when you go down the right path And then adding only the seconds of the clocks as GPS DMS seconds (but not doing the minutes in the same way)?? Similar to 'this yellow bar means one, but this yellow bar doesn't, not consistent So the master riddle thing and the folding thing were figured out, and it still wasn't solved. That seems problematic. 2) The four symbols on the chest represented pages that had the needed components for the map and time, and fake rock. C=one clock X=2nd clock compass=harleys map signpost=the big rock on sams page with the arrow pointing under.
Not sure I follow c= one clock? What do the asterisk and plus sign mean? Ok, I get the Apple = Newton hint. But what about Vitruvian man? Why all the zodiac and astronomy stuff? Was the zodiac stuff just more red herring cover for gemini, two pisces, libra with two scales, just more 'twos' when we already had two together, forever held? If I was really cynical I would think the tearing out pages bit was just a way to sell more books. As I said before, the 3 and 7 are visible without even bothering to fold the pages at all, and the 'ones' don't really look any more like ones with an extra block added. Even worse, the yellow ones around the seven continue over the fold as well, which would have led me to believe that they need to be counted as well. Why was there no consistency in the approach? Even if you figure everything out, you're still left flailing about as to what counts and what doesn't. If a 'one' was only a 'one' if the yellow bar continued over the fold, that would make sense. As it is, what counts as a one and what doesn't isn't based on anything that I can see. If yellow means it counts, and there are yellow 'ones' that are supposed to count as ones, why on earth would you have other yellow ones that cross that fold that don't count?? How would anybody ever know this? And wtf was PACE FORTY SOUTH about? More red herring, even when you figure something out? I think the book's mascot should have been a Red Herring rather than a Red Fox. Too much detail on red herrings, and then too little care taken on the key part, the colored bars of different sizes that were meant to be read as ones in one place but not in another. The C is first seen on pg11 being held by Virgo. The needed clock is also there. The asterisk is the compass from Harley's page, which is where you find the red 44 and yellow 68, as well as Cast not a Stone (fake rock). The plus is the sign post, or Sams page, which is where you discover RED YELLOW BOOK and the Big stone with the arrow pointing under it. Basically i think the 4 symbols on the chest directed us to main components to get some of the coordinate. I just think the need to fold pages and tear pages out of your book wasn't even presented at all in terms of a clue. It was a random trial and error move. And in the chance that you did get those numbers, you don't have any confirmation you were right because the coordinates put you in the woods and you have no verbal confirmation that Hunters Cove is correct. Comparing this with Lost Skull (which also used coordinates for the solution) there is a vast difference. With Lost Skull, the coordinate page showed a maze in the back ground. Once you punched the right coordinates in, Google maps brought you inside a hedge maze inside Hudson Springs Park. So there was a confirmation feedback mechanism. But the author also put an anagram in the back of the book, DRAGONS PUP SHRINKS, which anagrammed to HUDSON SPRINGS PARK. Just using that as an example to compare a similar solution (DMS coordinates), but also gave visual and verbal confirmers that you were undeniably correct. With Fandango, you didn't have any verbal conifirmers and the coordinates didn't even put you right on the treasure, you had to find the boulders, which I assume is what the grey triangles were on the Indians pants, as well as the concept of Two Together.
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Post by ronemund on Dec 2, 2020 10:07:33 GMT -5
Yeah, I guess all the clues are there, they're just buried under a mountain of colors and numbers and zodiac signs and stars and allusions to Masquerade.
And then even when you get the solution, you're not really sure if you have the solution. wgardner basically got there and still didn't know what to do. Even now, if you pointed out all the clues but stopped short of showing the right 1s and 7s in the borders, I think we would still have a problem, because I would count the two yellow bars of the exact same size and shape that connect across the fold around the 7 as valid ones before I would count the two random yellow bars of different sizes that connect across the fold as ones. I'm truly baffled as to why Pel made this choice. And the inconsistency in the coordinates format, it's just peters out at the end.
The Master Riddle doesn't help much, and even if you get to the folding, you're just left to run off the trail, it's indefinite at both ends, and in the middle there's a random idea of tearing up the book, even though you can already see the numbers in the border without folding. The real kicker is the folding doesn't actually do much, it actually even confuses things even more.
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Post by ripple on Dec 2, 2020 11:04:57 GMT -5
This was an attempt to put together an illustrated story book incorporating a treasure hunt to make it fun and to draw readers in. I put this together in my spare time as a hobby. Clearly from the comments it did not live up to the expectations of some readers. I had hoped that someone would solve the riddle. As no one did, I accept that the hunt was a failure.
I thought I could incorporate some clues and patterns that would identify a location. And I tried to keep the riddle simple. On the other hand, I did try to keep hunters distracted and yes, as part of the hunt, most of the book was meant to distract from the riddle.
As for the ‘ones’, I thought that once folding the pages was uncovered the ones would become apparent - I guess that was because I knew what to look for. After reading comments, I do recognize that they were not so clear and I apologize for not making them more obvious.
In regards to helping anyone in their quest, I did not offer anything other than an “incorrect” to the solutions that were submitted. I provided no additional clues or direction. But I accept the comment that I should not have responded to anyone.
I do think using longitude and latitude were legitimate to use as a means of identifying the location.
As the hunt just ended, I am still in the process of donating the money. I will post the recipients on this site. But as of now, the Jessup Memorial Library and Open Table have received donations.
When I created the book, I was not aware of the extent of treasure hunting sites and groups. Should I do another book, I will consult with the community beforehand. I apologize to those who are disappointed. The intent was to create a story that readers could have fun with.
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Post by thisjustin on Dec 2, 2020 11:35:37 GMT -5
This was an attempt to put together an illustrated story book incorporating a treasure hunt to make it fun and to draw readers in. I put this together in my spare time as a hobby. Clearly from the comments it did not live up to the expectations of some readers. I had hoped that someone would solve the riddle. As no one did, I accept that the hunt was a failure. I thought I could incorporate some clues and patterns that would identify a location. And I tried to keep the riddle simple. On the other hand, I did try to keep hunters distracted and yes, as part of the hunt, most of the book was meant to distract from the riddle. As for the ‘ones’, I thought that once folding the pages was uncovered the ones would become apparent - I guess that was because I knew what to look for. After reading comments, I do recognize that they were not so clear and I apologize for not making them more obvious. In regards to helping anyone in their quest, I did not offer anything other than an “incorrect” to the solutions that were submitted. I provided no additional clues or direction. But I accept the comment that I should not have responded to anyone. I do think using longitude and latitude were legitimate to use as a means of identifying the location. As the hunt just ended, I am still in the process of donating the money. I will post the recipients on this site. But as of now, the Jessup Memorial Library and Open Table have received donations. When I created the book, I was not aware of the extent of treasure hunting sites and groups. Should I do another book, I will consult with the community beforehand. I apologize to those who are disappointed. The intent was to create a story that readers could have fun with. Well I for one thank you! There are always going to be various levels of expectations, frustrations and delight. I hope you create another hunt as I had great fun in trying to solve this one. I'm sure some (including myself) would love to know what some of the nudges or confirmations were that were sprinkled throughout the book. Like what the treasure chest symbols meant, or SPF on the flag, or the start/end dates or the piano keys, etc. if they meant anything at all.
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