Box One: A Hidden Treasure Hunt

[Doc]

Greetings on a rainy day in Juneau, Alaska!

I stumbled across this game from Neil Patrick Harris while perusing Barnes and Noble for a new copy of Settlers of Catan and a copy of Operation to play with my six year old neighbor, and this caught my eye.

It’s a trivia game, and then it’s not. I don’t want to give anything away because I LOVED playing it, and it has extraordinarily high production values, but once you complete it and put it back in the box, you think you’re done.

We’re not done.

There’s a treasure hunt hiding here; from what little I’ve solved, it appears we’re looking for a secret phone number.

I’ve played several hunts in the past—A Treasure’s Trove, The Merlin Mystery, Mysterious Stranger, etc., and when I realized what this really was, I wanted to let everyone who enjoys well put together puzzles know about it.

This hunt appears to be a five alarm fire.

I don’t have a copy of the game at present—I brought some friends on a graduation trip and won’t return for several days—I’m working from memory—which can be faulty.

I’m having a STROKE to talk about this—but I don’t want to spoil stuff for folks who haven’t played the game. That would be akin to telling you whodunnit as you start a movie.

So, if you have completed Box One and want to start working on the treasure hunt aspect, let me know.

Doc

PS—I’m on a cruise ship with the internet capabilities analogous to carrier pigeons. If I don’t respond in a timely manner, it’s because the pigeon has further to fly when on the ocean. Lol.

[puzzledrifter]

I'm happy to work with you on this one- just played through this! The only thing is I HATE damaging game components with a passion so I don't want to do anything like that, e.g. tear apart the box lid looking for clues inside. One thing in particular that bothers me is that red Box One sticker on the outside of every box- it seems very deliberately placed to me, and I'm wondering if it hides something beneath, but I can't bring myself to pull it off. Honestly, I was really surprised when pulling it off wasn't required as part of the game!

Got a lot more thoughts about components that could be concealing more information- how would you like to communicate to avoid spoiling potential players?

And I hope you enjoyed the Alaska cruise! The scenery there is incredible!

[hyde123]

Jul 22, 2022 14:48:23 GMT -5 puzzledrifter said:

I'm happy to work with you on this one- just played through this! The only thing is I HATE damaging game components with a passion so I don't want to do anything like that, e.g. tear apart the box lid looking for clues inside. One thing in particular that bothers me is that red Box One sticker on the outside of every box- it seems very deliberately placed to me, and I'm wondering if it hides something beneath, but I can't bring myself to pull it off. Honestly, I was really surprised when pulling it off wasn't required as part of the game!

Got a lot more thoughts about components that could be concealing more information- how would you like to communicate to avoid spoiling potential players?

And I hope you enjoyed the Alaska cruise! The scenery there is incredible!

I played through Box One with a couple of mates and we loved it! If there is any additional secret gameplay I am VERY interested in finding out!

[Doc]

Greetings on a splendid autumn night in northeastern Louisiana!

Forgive my tardiness. I've been busy, and to be completely honest, I've been stuck and unable to make progress until the last couple of days.

We have been spectacularly and magnificently fooled.

I'm 100% certain there's a treasure hunt hiding here, and I'm 100% certain Neil Patrick Harris isn't the mad genius author of this hunt.

1. A Factoid We Completely Overlooked
We've wanted a Box Two. Guys, we already have it. Inside Box One is Box Two: the Challenge Cards. Inside Box Two lies Box Three: The Secret Box. Now that we've completed Box One, it's time to begin the work on Box Two.

2. Intuition and Unused Clues
Many of us found some of the secrets of Box One before the game directed us to find it: The letters on the card for the freezer without actually putting it in the freezer, the letters on the inside of the box top, etc. We might have located them, but were unable to do anything with them until the game directed us to do so.

While we were playing, some of us saw unusual things that appeared to be some sort of clue, but the game never instructed us to use them: the red seal puzzledrifter mentioned above, the extra circled word, the underutilized Peanut Butter card, etc.

I'm gonna take that a step further. I realized there were puzzle clues that were genuine clues, but I had neither hide nor hair how they're supposed to be utilized:

a. The cards that instructed us to use CAPITAL LETTERS to solve the word PARIS. The 'capitol letters' were derived from 'capital letters'. When one realizes that PARIS anagrams to PAIRS, we realize PAIRS OF CAPITAL LETTERS is indicative of a Playfair Cipher we'll find and decipher.
b. A photo on the web site that shows the pen and pad. When you realize the pad has a 'key' on it and the pen has the initials NPH on it, these become clues for a KEYPAD and a PEN NAME.
c. I solved a 3x3 grid of letters from a couple of clues in the game:

I T S
N O T
K E Y

I have sense enough to realize that CAN'T be coincidence, but I don't know what to do with it.
d. There are entirely too many SHAPES present in our game to be coincidence: the circled words, the triangle on the keychain, the box is a square, the star on the Peanut Butter Card, the word OCTAGON that showed up as a password on the web site. The shapes appear to be some sort of metapuzzle that I have no idea how to handle, especially when one sees SHAPES anagram to PHASES.

This illustrates the same problem from the original game. We might see these clues, but can't do anything with them until the game instructs us to do so.

We don't know where to start.

3. A Shamefaced Confession and an Overdramatization
I never solved Card 24 and therefore was unable to carry card 24's solution over to card 25. Card 24 was so wangdangled I was thrown for a loop and never solved it. Since we quickly discovered the secret box after that, I largely forgot about it. Major, major mistake and in retrospect explains why I've been stuck for three months.

I watched a walkthrough video recently, and they quickly found the simple solution to cards 24 and 25: The Letter A is also not in 'Secret'. NPH has a SECRET. Continue by using the clues in the cards below...

It hit.

I felt I was watching the end of the Prologue and the beginning of the Overture of 'The Phantom of the Opera' on stage. "...shine a little illumination.  Gentlemen!" BOOM! The pipe organ blasts out, the chandelier flickers to life, and the stage begins to construct itself.

Jen just slammed the Shard into the Dark Crystal. Good heavens, the shard is just a small piece, but I was unable to bring it to life without it.

I know where it starts. The end.

4. Setting the Stage
The last thing we get from Box One is a post script video that directs us to PUT IT TOGETHER IN REVERSE. We can start following that instruction right away. If you realize that a 'post script video' is abbreviated as a PS V (a PS 5), you easily figure out its opposite: An X Box One. For our game, this means an EX-BOX ONE. We've now reached the end of BOX ONE, and it's time to begin BOX TWO: The (very appropriately named) Challenge Cards.

Our deck of 25 cards are meant to be a true Challenge--we've been challenged to a DUEL. Much like Magic: The Gathering. Our DUEL cards are DUAL cards--we're using them again.

So, let me see if I'm getting this right:
a. We're sitting across a table being challenged to a duel with a deck of 25 cards.
b. We have absolutely no idea what the rules are.
c. We have no idea about the identity of our opponent.
d. We're clueless about the conditions to win the game.
e. We have zero idea if there's anything to win, much less what that might be.

An impossible task.

Challenge accepted.

We begin by playing the first card in reverse order: Card 25.

We have a very long ways to go, and I'm very much looking forward to the journey.

Doc

[Doc]

CARD 25: The Fork in the Road

NPH has a secret.
Continue by using the clues in the cards below.

The 25th letter of the alphabet is the 'Y'. Illustrates something divided into three parts. It's a 'fork in the road' and when one arrives at a fork in the road, we have to decide which way to go. Normally, we might have to choose to go left or right, but this is Box Two--we have to decide to go forwards or backwards. Going forward, we found the 'secret box' with its hidden stash. Going forward, 'Continue by using the clues in the card below' was false because there were no more cards. Going backwards, the admonition makes perfect sense.

And thus, we decide to go backwards and play our next card.

Doc

[Doc]

Card 24: The End

When we arrive here, playing from the bottom, we see a 'secret box' which helps confirm we're doing this correctly.

The Letter A is also not in:

I. Stash
II. Reward
III. Box scratched out and replaced with SECRET

Some notes about the overall card: you see the notches in the top of the card. We used this as a sort of 'key' to push the bottom of the insert of the box. The notches inform us this is a KEY CARD. And it's true both literally and figuratively. This is a hugely important card.

The 24th letter of the alphabet is 'X', as in X marks the spot. The end of a treasure hunt.

I would remind you that a 'keycard' inside the envelope was our reward for finishing Box One.

And now we have the words Stash, reward and a Secret Box. This 'secret box' will contain a stash and a reward for completing the treasure hunt.

And in the same way we discovered a 'secret box' as the next step going forwards, solving this card will direct us to another 'secret box' that's full of clues to help us continue our treasure hunt.

Continue moving up the card: we're going in reverse order and we need to find opposites.

II. Reward. What's the opposite of REWARD. DRAWER. A 'reward drawer'.

I. Stash. What's the opposite of 'stash'? It's a word puzzle. You have to realize 'stash' is slang for MUSTACHE. Split the word into two pieces and find its homophone.
MUST ACHE = 'Mistake'. The opposite of MISTAKE is RIGHT.

We have begun to solve the card:

I. RIGHT
II. REWARD DRAWER
III. 'secret box'

What sort of 'secret box' would be equivalent to a 'Reward Drawer' that could contain the stash?

It's a SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX. It confirms itself when you find each word's anagrams, and gives us the instructions where to go next.

Based on this, I'm thinking our treasure hunt is going to lead us to a key to a Safety Deposit Box. I have no idea what it might contain--I'm confident we'll find out as we progress through the game.

This card is giving us the overall directions for the game.

It's 11:30 pm here, and it's time for me to go to Sleepy's house.

Doc

PS--Any comments are absolutely welcome. I love the back and forth of these things. What I find hard (cards 24 and 25) others find easy. I'm particularly interested in anything that bothered you while playing the game--the red seal, underutilized clues, etc. If they're bothering you, I'd bet a buck they're going to be clues in Box Two.

Edit--I forgot to mention 'The Letter A is missing' which is needed.  It means ONE IS MISSING.  Taken together with "I.  RIGHT = One is right, we might be able to see THE RIGHT ONE IS MISSING.

The solution to this card now follows exactly what we did to solve it.

One is right and left alone
Two is opposite and equal (The roman numeral II turned on its side becomes an equals sign.)  Opposite and equal.
Three is missing.

When we arrived at this card we solved it from bottom to top.  'Secret Box' was right and left alone.  REWARD was solved by using the same letters in reverse.  (Equal and opposite).  The solution to STASH was missing and had to be discovered.

We're figuring out the rules to play our opponent's game. 

[Doc]

Happy Monday Morning at dawn with clear skies and fall temperatures from the Louisiana boonies!

Did you wake up excited it was Monday? Me, neither. LOL.

But, I have a cold Diet Coke, so life is grand.

I figured out our three boxes--Box One, Box Two, and Box Three--have secret names.

_______________________

Thinking Outside the Box

While playing through the game the first time, we discovered a 'secret box' with clues in it: 1/2 the Decoder ring, a letter, the keychain, and note that the box was UNLOCKED (as opposed to a LOCK BOX--wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

The name of Box III as we discussed above, is a SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX. Time to solve this clue.

SAFETY = FAYEST. It means 'Most Foolish'. We don't have all the necessary clues to solve this yet, but jot it down and keep it in mind.
DEPOSIT = POSITED TOPSIDE. It's also I POSTED. I think the I POSTED portion means MAILED which is MALE ID. Another something I'm jotting down, but I don't know what to do with it yet.

The DEPOSIT BOX = POSITED TOP SIDE BOX. Tells us exactly where to go next: Outside the box.

Lo and behold, hiding in plain sight, is the 'Secret Box' we discover by having played backwards. You'll notice the box containing four elements as well: the keychain, a key, the disk, and an open lock. When we finish solving this, you'll notice the direct correlation to the elements of the secret box we found the first time. This is a confirmer we're on the right path. You can already pick up on some of the symmetry: the disk contains 1/2 the decoder ring, the keychain is here, the open lock. We'll see how 'A Letter' nails it for the key.

When we played this the first time, we saw BOX ONE on the cover and never paid attention to the fact that NPH is peeking through the key. From card 24, we know BOX is replaced with 'SECRET', and we apply that here to discover the secret name of BOX ONE.

BOX NPH ONE
Scratch 'box' and replace with 'secret': SECRET NPH ONE
SECRET PHONE N.

Box One's secret name is SECRET PHONE N. And it's telling us we're looking for a phone number. From card 25: NPH has a secret... He does indeed. A secret phone number.

Also notice that the RIGHT ONE IS MISSING. ONE = Roman numeral I. The right I (eye) is missing from NPH on the box cover.

I'll add this factoid, but I'm not entirely certain how it plays out: We get the secret name of the box by using those three 3-letter words in a row, but something else occurs when we use them from bottom-to-top: Box One presented by NPH =

NPH
ONE
BOX

A rebus puzzle is created. Notice the word HEX along the right side. The rebus puzzle's answer: SPELL (Hex) THE RIGHT WORD. I'll tell you it also means WRITE THE WORD DOWN. This is incomplete--I'm not certain what happens. If you've read this far, you might remember I mentioned the preponderance of SHAPES in our game from an earlier post. And now we've found a HEX to boot.

We can start diving into the four clues of our secret box on the cover: the disc, the open lock, the keychain, and the key.

From card 24, recall we DISCOVER the COVERS' ID. So, I'm betting we start with the DISC COVER or the DISK COVER.

Amazing how much easier this becomes if we know the correct path to follow.

Thinking happy thoughts,

Doc

PS: I dislike cats, but I was worried mine was killed when I got stuck. Nah. I have at least four or five lives left. Once more into the breach. I HAVE to see where this goes....

PPS: Coming attractions: The end of a trilogy, A Star is Born, the boiling point of water.... I've missed this.

[Doc]

I wish to heavens I had discovered this game when it was actually released--it's been relegated to the dustbin for everyone, and I can't find any evidence someone else has seen what I'm seeing.

Spilt milk.

There's a CAD on the case--LOL. Flipping the 'Y' upside down and superimposing itself creates an asterisk--the STAR. Mother of mercy, it's going to be the beginning of the Star's Map.

Neil Patrick Harris is the STAR of our show.

So many puzzle pieces, so little time.

I hadn't realized how much I've missed a great treasure hunt and its puzzles.

Dear Mr. Harris--thank you SO MUCH for getting this out here. I feel sorry for both you and the puzzle's creator that you spent all this time and money and nobody's seeing it.

These hunts have always been like a great feast for me--they're much more enjoyed in the company of other folks.

My thoughts are jumbled, and I need to spend more time organizing them to convey what I'm seeing.

Ecstatically,

Doc

PS: If any gentle readers played 'The Fool's Errand' or 'Mysterious Stranger' treasure hunt, I HIGHLY H-I-G-H-L-Y recommend taking a look at this. (Wink wink nudge nudge)

[Doc]

DISCOVER THE COVERS' ID

1. From above, we have followed the directions of card 24 and arrived at the cover of our box. BOX ONE = SECRET PHONE N. This is the 'secret name' of Box One, and per our directions, we just leave it alone.
2. Equal and opposite. 'Box One' by NPH. In the same way we read card 24--from bottom-to-top--we create the 'secret' name of 'Box Two' as shown above.

NPH
ONE
BOX

Bottom to top, then top to bottom we see the word HEX. According to our directions, 'Hex' should somehow be related to the missing name of Box Three.

Our unsolved clue going forward is FAYEST = MOST FOOLISH. I would also point out the 'name' of card 24 is basically THE END

We now move to our new 'secret box' on the top of the box: the four symbols connected into a box on the box's cover. According to the lines, we should find connection to each.

(A quick digression: Games Magazine used to run puzzles of a similar variety. One had a grid of pictures, and the puzzle was to figure out the connection between each row and column and diagonal on the grid between the pictures.)

We start with the DISK COVER in the top right. (DISCOVER the COVERS' ID. 'DISC COVER')

There is an abbreviation on the disk cover: NPHSS. This took me a little while to realize it's an abbreviation of NEIL PATRICK HARRIS

The abbreviation is missing letters.

1. The first is EIL. That's the 'opposite of LIE' implying TRUE. It's also a name: ELI.
2. The second one is missing A TRICK.
3. The last one is missing ARI. Note that this is an abbreviation for A RIGHT EYE which connects back to the cover. Note that this anagrams to IRA which 'might' refer to the prize in the safety deposit box (hopefully not an advertisement to join the Provos, LOL). And the most important anagram AIR.

This is MISSING AIR--it signifies we're missing an element. As one can see it's also meaning MISSING HEIR.

And we now have the needed pieces to find the Secret Name of Box Three:

FAYEST = MOST FOOLISH. The '-est' suffix denotes superlative or third degree. It's a III.

THE END + HEIR + FOOL'S III =

THE FOOL'S HEIR-END III.

THE FOOL'S ERRAND III by no less than the greatest puzzle-maker/treasure hunt creator of all time: CLIFF JOHNSON

Edit:  The subtitle is THIRD TIME'S A CHARM.  The 'HEX' in the right column
_______________________

Proof There's One Mozart and Hundreds of Us Salieris

1. Early in the film 'Amadeus', Mozart is invited to court. Herr Salieri composes a little 'welcome march' to honor Mozart's arrival. Mozart arrives and having heard the melody played only once manages to sit down, play the tune verbatim, and begins to turn it into something far, far better than the original. Members of the court, hearing the tune, begin peeking around the corner to see who and what this could possibly be.

2. Several years ago during a now-defunct treasure hunt called 'The World's Greatest Treasure Hunt', I proposed a very similar mechanism to what appears to be showing up in our game. Naturally, I was completely wrong--an unfortunately frequent occurrence, LOL.

3. I don't know if Mr. Johnson saw this back in the day or came up with it on his own--it matters not one whit. I would NEVER been able to turn it into something as magical as cards in freezers or hidden compartments in a box. LOL. Mozart indeed.

4. Unlike Salieri, I ain't jealous. Just astounded. Like Salieri, I would attend every performance, just not in secret. In fact, I'm shouting to all the courtiers to please PLEASE come and see and hear what he's composed. This sort of conundrum is akin to the 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet for puzzles. I'm on the side of the wine--I'm screaming too. LOL. Out of joy, fear, pleading, madness--take your pick.

Folks don't understand what they're missing. I didn't realize what I was missing either.

And from the looks of it, there's going to be a lot more to be found that's 'missing' before this is said and done.

I foresee SO much enjoyment down this path and can't wait to see the wonderful stops along the way,

Doc

[Doc]

Top of the day on an overcast morning in the Bayou state of Louisiana!

There's SO MUCH going on in this game Warner Brothers called and asked me to substitute for Linda Blair in the sequel.

A TRICK

I thought that was just a magic trick. I had to look it up--a TRICK is composed of PLAYING FOUR CARDS. The first four cards appear inane but stop at, well--the STOP. Or the SPOT. The TOP'S STOP SPOT.

I'm taking a solo train trip in about ten days. I purchased an iPad to be able to work on this dratted game along the journey.

Happy Hump Day,

Doc

PS--If anyone reads all this jabberwocky and wants to contribute anything, please PLEASE feel free to post. People who talk to themselves generally wind up with medication. LOL. This forum helps me organize my thoughts and allow me to review my previous thinking and see if any errors crop up--they inevitably do with something this convoluted.

[Doc]

1. The Disc has MISSING LETTERS
2. The Lock is OPEN SESAME
3. The keychain MEANT A MAZE
4. The key is the '1' KEY on a telephone keypad.

And that's the very beginning of this Chinese Finger Trap of a puzzle.

Can't wait to see what's happening here.

Doc

PS--I never watch youtube videos. Thank you Lord for sending me to watch the video that showed the answers to cards 24 and 25. LOL.

[Doc]

Proof I Made the Right Choice Between Physician and Travel Agent
______________________________

As I happily skip down this road, I ponder what I did wrong before.

Early into this game, I saw those extra clues, and one I came up with on my own:

'The Difference One Word Makes. The Difference One Letter Makes'

PLEASE
PLEAS
PEAS
APE/PEA
AP (The Wire)
P

Every reader of stories knows what happens to those who stray from the path. Imagine not straying, but having no path at all, and thinking I was a good enough travel agent to create my own travel plans to connect these sites.

As it turned out, my path went straight to the Land of the Terrible, the Horrible, the No Good, and the Very Bad. All I found was Ms. Celie from 'The Color Purple' turned to me, pointed her fingers and cursed me saying: "Until you do right by me, everything you think of is going to burn!"

Needless to say, once I escaped, I was done playing Travel Agent. LOL.

People can keep their 'Trailblazers are great' to themselves, thank you very much.



Doc

PS--SO happy to have found that video. Having found the path, what do you think the chances might be of my straying? LOL.

[mali]

Hey,

A roommate from the States had this while I lived with him, and he was working on it one night and it intrigued me so much. (I am from the UK and having never seen this kind of game before and him struggling. I ended up helping him and working on this, so although I didn't play it myself, I know of the cards, clues and most of the solutions.)

I never saw it as a treasure hunt but upon reading your posts am inclined to agree. So much is unanswered and it feels like it should continue in some way.

I love your idea about working backward. It does make sense, although you lost me on some of your ideas I agree this most definitely could be a hidden hunt. I do not have a copy of the game and am working from memory but would like to note the things that stood out to me as 'clues' but were not 'used' and general observations/things that stand out to me now and then.

1 - THE BOX - The bottom which we discovered also had N/E/S/W on the edges this stood out as a clue but was never used, also I now wonder about the top of the box with the key and eye, if I am remembering correctly the was a bit of a depth that seemed odd to me at the time.

2 - The bottom of the challenge card box (E=O) It seemed like a sticker to me much like the 'red seal' on the front of the box but never asked about it at the time.

3 - SHAPES - This seemed to be a theme as was mentioned many times, 2 shapes as passwords, and one never used as when you go back on staff chat, he never asks for it.? - Triangle on the other hand stood out to me as it has quite a few anagrams that could be used in many clues in different ways. (I am not putting the words but google or ask and you will see!)

3.a - ANAGRAMS! - Also seems like a theme, I believe NPH mentioned this in his final congrats video with a big smile on his face. That stood out as I didn't seem to come across many other than PARIS-PAIRS. (But again I was just living and helping someone with the board game side of it.)

4 - The peanut butter card - it has to mean more than the shape it provided. I can not remember much more about that one other than stamps for a freebie. (This was also mentioned about 'not being used yet by NPH' in one of the videos, this struck me as odd at the time.)

5 - NOTEPAD AND PEN - Both must mean more, We used the pen and found what we needed from it but never used the pad as we had an a4 pad for notes. I never really saw the pad but note wonder if it has something in it at the back maybe or last page or maybe more in the pen?

6 - THE INK - So we had the clues with light/ the freezer etc, I wonder has anyone tried this with any other cards/final card, the box itself etc?


7 - THE FINAL VIDEO - If my memory is right, NPH ends the video with something about maps and things inside, anagrams about the character name then instructs to look at the final card, and then about awaiting further instructions.... Like it should continue!!!


Thats my lot for now and you and I may be way off and this is a massive rabbit hole or you are right about this being a treasure hunt! Things seem off and there is the box within a box thing going on!!!

Hopefully, it is a hunt and the clues become clearer to us all!

[Doc]

Thank you mali!

I'm headed to bed but you've given me a lot to think about.

Something I initially missed on the cover:

1. If the 'One is right and left alone'--the cover of the box has exactly that: The word 'one' is both left and right.
'A Game for One' is on the left and 'Created by One' is on the right.

2. One if by land, two if by sea. The game is by Cliff Johnson, or C J. SEA JAY.
It's from Paul REVERES Ride.

REVERES one: a Revolutionary. A 'revolutionary' is one who makes revolutions--our circles.
REVERES = REVERSE ONE is the turn we're currently on.

Hopefully will have time to think about this in the coming days,

Doc

PS--There's so much going on just on the box top it's difficult to organize. Looking forward to having free time to think and work on it--it's in short supply at the moment.

[Doc]

Thank you again mali--I just looked up the Triangle--I didn't realize it was called a 'trigon', and I didn't realize how many anagrams it has!

The 'ALTERING' = ALTAR RING goes together with the ITS NOT KEY clue.

I need to play through the game again and pay better attention--particularly to that pen and pad!

If opposites are playing a role--and they definitely are--we used a 'white light' to find a key in the freezer card--I see my acquisition of a black light in my future. LOL.

Thanks for reading and posting, mali,

Doc

PS--Anyone else seeing strange stuff in this game?