Doc
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Post by Doc on Jan 29, 2023 12:23:57 GMT -5
Good Sunday morning on a wet, rainy day in late January from the boonies of Louisiana!
A quick follow up from yesterday: the rainbow clue on its surface looks promising.
ROY G BIV.
I combined the letters from the answers from the ROY cards: R = LATIN O = WHITE Y = SECRET
SECRET TALE WITHIN.
G = EIFFEL TOWER. Two possibilities (that might go together)
The straight anagram: FEELER OF WIT The homophone/anagram: EYE FULL WROTE (anagram of TOWER)
EYE = I. FULL = SATED = DATES = TIMES = SMITE: HIT
I WROTE a HIT
FEELER OF WIT I WROTE A HIT
Lastly: BIV = B IV = BEFORE (IV = Roman numeral 4)
Does 'before' together with an 'I' and a TIMES possibly imply ONCE UPON A TIME?
SECRET TALE WITHIN
FEELER OF WIT I WROTE A HIT
ONCE UPON A TIME
I realize I'm reaching,
Doc
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Post by Doc on Jan 29, 2023 22:10:55 GMT -5
Related to the last post--I think there's an ordering mechanism as well as a confirmation we're doing this right. In the course of the game, we were exposed to the ICEBOX--the card in the freezer. Be aware that the I is equivalent to an A, and that makes the ICE BOX an 'ACE BOX'. The secret box contained inside the challenge cards represented card 26--the Z card. An 'A Box' and a 'Z Box'. 1. SECRET TALE WITHIN. TALE = TAIL = ASS. WITHIN = WITH N or '+ N'. ASS + N = SANS or 'WITHOUT'. This phrase encompasses both 'within' and 'without', and it's describing the location of our boxes. The 'A Box' and the 'Z Box'. 2. FEELER OF WIT I WROTE A HIT The first line is the anagram and the second line was obtained through homophones. Anagram first, and homophone last. 3. ONCE UPON A TIME. This was clued by BIV or B-4 (BEFORE). Be aware that B-4 is also equivalent to '24' or the letter X. 'Once upon a time' is a fairy tale beginning. 'X marks the spot' is the ending of a treasure hunt. Putting it together: 'I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.' Revelation 22:13. It's a REVELATION line. Following the ordering of the bible verse, our final answer should be as follows: SECRET TALE WITHIN Once upon a time Feeler of wit I wrote a hit. Feeling like a nitwit, but enjoying the exercise, Doc
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Post by Doc on Jan 31, 2023 22:30:03 GMT -5
Good evening on a cold north Louisiana night!
I've been rummaging around with this game the last two days, and I wanted to post a summary. I still don't quite know where this is headed, but I'm feeling better about it. This is metapuzzle results--the derivatives are verbose; the wordplay ferocious--I'll post them later. I feel I'm back in the cab of Chubb's Towing with Mike and Mike's mom with no idea where I'm headed, but settled in to enjoy the ride. (That's a different story. LOL.)
I. Right and Left Alone
The Star has a secret...
BINGO!
FOLLOW THE WHITE HARE TO BARE THE HEIR
ALAS, NO HEIR WAS THERE, BUT ALICE AND A LASS
(A red herring)
SECRET TALE WITHIN
FEELER OF WIT I WROTE A HIT
ONCE UPON A TIME
(Finished in first place)
II. Reverse One
I LEAD TO HEIR ____________________
There's a lot of moving parts to this, and I haven't solved all the intermediate puzzles that I'll need to complete these metapuzzles.
Enjoying the view,
Doc
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Post by Doc on Feb 2, 2023 15:17:29 GMT -5
It's a wet, cold afternoon in the northeastern corner of Louisiana. Good evening!
I spent a couple of hours writing notes covering the section I summarized above--I'll post them later. Not expecting a lot of folks (ie, none) to understand all of this because none of this may be true, but I think the mental gymnastics are good brain food, and I'm having a blast doing it.
I also started trying to work out the next part in my head, and I'm encouraged it's still on track. I've got to write down all of this in my handy-dandy notepad to organize my thoughts. Here's where this appears to go:
I LEAD TO HEIR is also I LEAD TO GOLD (same concept as before--follow both the white rabbit and the white hare because both are correct).
Following the gold path leads to Fool's Gold--Iron Pyrite. (Get it NOR I; PY RITE = Zero right. LOL)
It appears to 'disappear without a trace' and 'into thin air'--which becomes HEIR HINT.
This part continues the story that started with 'Feeler of wit, I wrote a hit. Once upon a time.' That might mean the original 'The Fool's Errand'. This second part deals with 'missing kin' and 'disappear without a trace into thin air' and Fool's Gold. I think this might be talking about 'The Fool and His Money' which was 'The Fool's Errand II.' It didn't do as well as 'The Fool's Errand'.
GOLD = GOALED.
If I'm correct, we've again created a EWE by traveling from E to W with the original 'opposite yew' instructions and now traveling along the same path back to the E again at the end of this set of directions and will complete the Second Key.
The next step will finally open the box bottom, and we start where we ended: The EXIT, the ENTRYWAY, and KEY II (B = E using the back of the card in conjunction with the box bottom.)
Random musings:
1. I found 'WROTE' as noted a couple of posts ago, and that certainly suggests MEMORY. The big thing that puts me in mind of is ravens, with the missing one being TH'OUGHT or the O. But, the only one-eyed guy I've noted is NPH on the box cover.
2. I realize the original 'Secret Phone N.' was a PHONY (Phone E), but the 1 with 9 zeroes and Card 1 with its hint of '9 circles' is a total of TEN DIGITS (fingers and toes play a role), but I'm still wondering about a phone number.
The original 'Secret Phone N'--And the missing card 26 or 'Z'. The Z is an 'N' on its side. One might describe the 'N' as 'listed' because it's on its side as a 'Z'?
Much work to be done and SO loving this,
Doc
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Doc
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Post by Doc on Feb 2, 2023 22:29:04 GMT -5
Unused Puzzle Pieces That May Not Be Real Pieces
1. 'A Whole Key': A Hole Key. a. A'hole key = asshole key = URANUS key b. The 'hole key' was the PEN. NPH on the pen makes this a 'pen name'. SWAN is a 'pen' name, and one can see the letters in SWAN are PART OF ANSWER. Emma Swann was the heroine in a wonderful ABC series 'Once Upon a Time'. Her real name is J. MORRISON. THE DOORS are part of the answer. (The map on the inside of the box bottom.)
2. If we're about to work on a map through the stars, we're going on a STAR TREK. a. PICARD was the 'captain of the enterprise'. b. PI CARD = O CARD or possibly 'Hole card'.
3. From the bar code, PEE-KING = DUCK. a. The most famous duck is DONALD. b. Donald = TRUMP. We would need to locate the TRUMP card. c. The letters of 'trump' are PART OF COMPUTER. d. The 'computer part' card is the 'CPU' card (which corresponds to being with the CPU code) and anagrams to CUP card.
4. Jean Luc Picard. a. "John" is the captain of this enterprise: Johnson b. LUC homophone 'LUKE' = SKYWALKER. Another reference to being a 'star trek'. c. STAR WARS: The letters of WARS is once again letters that are PART OF THE ANSWER.
5. Cards 5 and 6 a. PARIS = PAIRS that was composed of CAPITAL LETTERS from card 5. b. Pairs of capital letters implies PLAYFAIR cipher. c. The words that formed the capital letters on card 5 read PLAY ALL RIGHT IN SET. 'All right' = OK. The set would be OK LA HO MA. d. The opposite of 'Play Fair' is CHEATER which anagrams to TEACHER. e. TEACHER is the definition of ECCLESIASTES. f. Pairs of TIMES
6. Card 8 a. The initial quote's missing letters are TRIFLE. b. Its anagram is FILTER. c. Possibly referring to POOL. d. The opposite of POOL is LOOP or a SNARE. e. The letters of SNARE are part of the word ANSWER f. 9-ball?
7. Card 11 a. HARRY POTTER. Wizard? As in Wizard of Oz? b. EMMA Watson. Referring to the EMMA we discovered above?
8. Card 13 a. The Lion King = 'The Lyin' King'? or the 'Nil O King'?
9. Card 17: The blanks a. OE = O EAST or O RIGHT b. DOLAR = L ROAD. West or Left road c. BILL = GATES
Pondering the imponderable,
Doc
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Doc
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Post by Doc on Feb 4, 2023 22:23:44 GMT -5
I. The Three Boxes and 'Directions to the Z's' 1. The Keyhole--the opposite of 'a whole key'. a. The keyhole on the front of Box One has an EYE IN THE MIDDLE. This is a reference to a playfair key that has an 'I' in the middle box. b. The keyhole on the back of Box One has the keyhole IN THE MIDDLE OF an EYE. That's a reference to the letter 'Y' I and Y = One and 25 2. Box Two: Inside Box One. The box of Challenge Cards a. Consists of 25 cards and one box--the secret box b. 25 and one again. 3. Box Three: the 5 x 5 grid. The BINGO card a. Consists of 25 boxes and one card b. Again, 25 and one. All three of these boxes are equivalent to 25 and 1: A total of '26' or the letter Z. From back at the very beginning I posted several moons ago, the PEN and PAD solution was 'Direction to the Z's'. I think this derivation is what the 'direction to the z's' were leading to--directions to the three boxes. II. The LOYALTY Card 1. This is one of the anagram/homophone puzzles. LOYAL anagrams to ALLOY or a 'combination of two or more elements.' The 'TEE' part is back to our lower case 't' and signifies DIRECTIONS The Peanut Butter LOYALTY Card contains 'directions to combine two or more elements.' III. What I'm currently working on 1. When one arrives at what appears to be the culmination by opening the box bottom and starting work on the map, I have three unused circled words: STORIES, OXYGEN, and FLASH a. STORIES is one of our anagram/homophone puzzles: STORIES = TALES = STEAL = STEEL b. FLASH = GORDON = Commissioner GORDON = BATMAN The Flash, Batman, and a man of Steel = Justice League of America, or 'JLA'. c. OXYGEN in a circle is a rebus puzzle that means O2, or 'O', too. 2. This tells us the four letters we need J, L, A, and O. These correspond to cards 10, 12, 1, and 15. a. Card 10 = WATSON. The letters we will need are DR for Dr. Watson. b. Card 12 = SCAR c. Card 1 = INHALE d. Card 15 = WHITE 3. Creating the riddle/puzzle a. DR + INHALE = HARDLINE b. SCAR + WHITE = A SWITCHER 4. There are a ton of LINES in this: Missing Line, Phone Line, A Line in the Sand, A Red Line, a Deadline, a Straight Line Wishing making steps in the puzzle was equivalent to FitBit steps--I would have dropped 50 pounds by now, Doc PS--If the 'O' represents a missing letter, the four letters J, A, O, and L are in JAIL, or 'IN THE PEN'. Ink is in the pen as well as a set of directions. This is another example of WRITE DIRECTIONS or RIGHT DIRECTIONS which might be a confirmer that we're on the right trail.
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Post by Doc on Feb 5, 2023 14:57:38 GMT -5
It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon in rural northeastern Louisiana!
Greetings.
1. Antecedents and 'The Fool's Errand' and a hard line
a. If we 'put it TOGETHER TO GET HER', who the dickens is the 'her'? I've worked with queen, princess, bride, and Ursula Andress to no avail. ASSEMBLE HER or A SYMBOL for HER b. 'The Fool's Errand' ultimately required finding THREE KEYS to unlock the final puzzle of The Book of Thoth. I'm curious that THOTH is part of THOUGHT. c. I'm considering that HARDLINE means at least two different things: The 'hard line' is the MISSING LINE from the I-II-III directions, and as a friend reminded me, a 'hardline' also refers to a PHONE LINE. d. Putting this together gives me a MISSING PHONE LINE. I'm very slow on the uptake, but it finally dawned on me that when we traversed through the nine keys of a telephone keypad, there's a MISSING PHONE LINE: The last line consisting of the STAR KEY, the OPERATOR KEY, and the NUMBER KEY.
I think this is all going to tie together
1. The STAR KEY was the first key we found starting with the Bingo card and working our way to Follow the White Rabbit and Follow the White Hair.
This was a 'STAR'S KEY and a HUTCH'. The hutch was a 'rabbit box'. Following the white rabbit took us to Box One where we found Dorothy, not the heir.
The I key is 'right and left alone'. The 'star's key' is correct (ie, right), it's 'left' (it's the left-most key of the three keys), and it's 'alone' (it leads to Box One). (It's also an angram of A NOEL which leads to FIRST NOEL and might be ALL ONE with a 'first noel'.
2. The 'operator' key. Look on your smartphone at the operator key. It's a O with a + under it. It's the symbol for FEMALE, and I think that's the correct antecedent for the HER I was trying to find.
3. The number key. Working on it. Hopefully will reveal where to use those blasted numbers from the fortune we found in the black envelope--a Beale-type cipher. With all the different 'lines' suggested by HARDLINE, I'm looking for nine lines.
Still no clue about the destination of these travels, but very much enjoying the journey,
Doc
PS--From my previous post, using the letters of J-A-I (O)-L gives the correct sequence of using the cards. J + A yielding HARDLINE which is supposed to be first and O + L yielding A SWITCHER. Definitely 'in the pen' as discussed in the previous post--the 'right directions'.
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Post by Doc on Feb 6, 2023 8:25:45 GMT -5
The beginning of another week in February 2023 from a country town in northeastern Louisiana--Good morning on a clear day!
I feel I'm reaching a sort of culmination here (if I haven't dreamed this whole enterprise):
1. The three keys of The Fool's Errand opened the final set of puzzles in the Book of Thoth where we found the final answer of The Gift of Wisdom
2. The three keys in Box One correspond to the last three keys on a telephone keypad: the star key, the operator key, and the number key. Their solutions have a common denominator that appear to unlock the final set of puzzles: a. The rabbit hole puzzle used VIOLET BEAUREGARD, a character from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, to be completed. I think these three keys represent her three companions (sans Charlie). b. The first key, the STAR key, was solved with STARSKY AND HUTCH. It was a show on TV. Recall the character from Willie Wonka, MIKE TEEVEE. c. The second key, the Operator key, was solved with DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE. (I never posted the derivation of the second key, however, because I haven't written it all down yet.) TRACE = SLIVER = SILVER = Ag (chemical symbol for silver) = initials for AUGUSTUS GLOOP, which 'disappeared without a trace' in the movie as well. d. The third key, the Number key, was solved with LINES. LINES = VERSES = VERSUS = VS = abbreviation for VERUCA SALT. Anagrams to A CURVE LAST. A CURVE = ARC = ARK = the abbreviation for an ACT of RANDOM KINDNESS. Recall the congratulatory video from NPH in Box One (I had pointed this out many posts ago) that his speech is a duplicate of Willie Wonka's congratulating Charlie: 'So shines a good deed in a weary world....' It's the definition of an act of random kindness. e. The MIKE from TV = MIC = I'm C. Namely CHARLIE and THREE. We have found the MISSING HEIR, and if you're familiar with Cliff Johnson's classic '3 in Three', we have also found the missing '3' once again.
I'd point out that for Charlie to win, he returned the everlasting gobstopper to Willie Wonka. If there's an equivalent here, the 'everlasting gobstopper' would mean to stop someone from talking forever. (I obviously haven't consumed one. LOL.) It's referring to some sort of Non Disclosure Agreement, or NDA. My wonderful 'AND' again, and it would have to be signed. WRITE DIRECTIONS again.
Combine the letters of our three keys: TV + AG + VS = A V G V S T. It's a 'roman August', or a ROME IN AUGUST.
a. SUMMER = This is the sum of our work b. ROME = MORE in 'August'. Namely AUGUST + US for Augustus Caesar. US = WE = OUI = YES = AYE = I.
Way back at the beginning we found MISSING AIR and MISSING ARI (a right eye). Finding Charlie and now finding a missing right I, we're reaching the end here.
This is also leading us to some sort of Caesar shift, or that's my current working theory.
The answer for AUGUST that sent chills over me was the fact that this is MONTH EIGHT. Abbreviating this is M. 8.
Guys, that's MATE (as in CHECKMATE).
I have a lot of work to do--I think we're about to work on the list of passwords we obtained by traveling through the bottom of the box. Analogous to the final set of puzzles in the Book of Thoth.
Hoping I'm not delusional,
Doc
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Post by Doc on Feb 6, 2023 21:49:57 GMT -5
The Names of the Boxes
I'm still working on the 'M8'. I realized this is M-EIGHT or M - ATE, then M-TEA which is the homophone of EMPTY. That's when I realized the three boxes have names.
As a refresher, Box Two is inside Box One. It's the Box of Challenge cards. Box Three is inside Box Two: the secret box.
The reverse is also true: Box one is a 1x1 box and is inside Box two: the 3x3 grid . Box 3 is the 5x5 grid and contains the 3x3 grid.
Considering the I-II-III rule, I've always wondered what was the III-missing portion of this. Now, I understand.
The three boxes have NAMES which connect the other boxes. The names are 'in the middle' of the other two. MEANS NAMES? Middle names? NOM 'means names' and are the letters of the six key on a telephone keypad? IS X?
Nevertheless, the names of the boxes:
1. The name of the first box is SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX. It's related to Box One with its anagram of DEPOSIT = TOPSIDE. The top and the sides of the box were the location of clues--the box of four symbols on the top and the bar code on the side. The description of this that relates to the 1x1 grid is that the TOP and SIDES of the box contain an 'EYE IN THE MIDDLE'. The 'I' in the middle is our 1x1 box and contains the letter 'I'--it's referring to the pigpen cipher key.
2. The name of the second box is ICEBOX. Box Two is the box of challenge cards and is simply 'A BOX', but in this context means ACE BOX. The 3 x 3 grid was solved with the four symbols on the top of the box--a BOX, and the four evens which formed a DIAMOND as well: A 'DIAMOND BOX' or an 'ICE BOX'.
3. And now, the name of our third box is EMPTY BOX. The puzzle is to figure out how this relates to Box Three as well as the 5x5 grid. Here's where I'm at, and I'm still thinking it over: a. Box Three is the secret box that represents the letter 'Z'. It's the 'Z-Box' or a 'last box'. Anagramming LAST to SALT and we see it's referring back to VERUCA SALT. I was wondering why Violet, Mike, and Augustus had their various demises as part of the clues, but not Veruca. Well, I think this is where Veruca's faux pas shows up. If one remembers from the movie, she stood on a scale that usually measured a GOOSE EGG. Down the chute went the bad egg. LOL. Thus, the 'goose egg' is the empty box. b. The 5 x 5 grid might be derived from the MT = MATE conversion. On a chess board, and king and its MATE are both positioned in the same file, or line, which is the 5 LINEs. This is good description of our bingo card and the resulting 5 x 5.
Something else odd about the A V G V S T clue. If you combine the two V's, you'll create a W. That looks like a W. STAG anagram as well--a WHITE STAG or TAGS WHITE next?
Taking my time and trying to do this right,
Doc
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Post by Doc on Feb 7, 2023 12:29:31 GMT -5
The Names of the Keys
After realizing the three boxes have names that appear to complete a set of three, I realized the keys might have different names as well.
The Missing Phone Line were the STAR KEY, the OPERATOR KEY, and the NUMBER KEY
I realized each box has a KEY NAME as well:
1. The first box yielded the 3x3 grid, and X, and the E. When you realize the morse code equivalent of E is a DOT, the set of the grid, X, and dot are the outline of a PIGPEN KEY.
I'll point out I used PIGPEN as STY to create the 3 x 3 grid of letters I posted eons ago:
I T S N O T K E Y
2. The second key was when I found the OPPOSITE YEW: a RUNE KEY
3. Now, with the advent of A V G V S T, I appear to have a CAESAR SHIFT KEY, which goes along with the various 'keys' used on the code wheel in Box One. For example, U = A is a CAESAR key.
I don't know how to integrate that as yet, other than AUGUST becomes AUGUSTUS CAESAR. Maybe Caesar shift the letters in AUGUSTUS or AUGUST or AVGVST?
Time will tell, and I'll continue to ponder,
Doc
PS--I'm rethinking this. There's a ton of codes mentioned throughout the game. From finding the 'i' and exclamation point being MORSE CODE for AN (alphanumeric) to others. Lots of code KEYS here.
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Post by Doc on Feb 7, 2023 20:18:47 GMT -5
Good evening on a warm February night in northeastern Louisiana! I've stumbled through so much Mr. Larson has asked me to replace Mr. Majors. LOL. 1. Several years ago, I was walking through a local park hunting Pokemons for Pokemon Go, slipped, and wound up with knee surgery. 2. I was looking for the game 'Operation' in Barnes and Noble and stumbled upon Box One on an end cap. 3. I've blundered my way throughout this whole game--I wasn't even able to solve the normal Box One without getting hints from a walkthrough video--cards 24 and 25. 4. And now: URSULA ANDRESS I had originally posted that as a tongue-in-cheek reference to starring in 'SHE', but good heavens, I think this was it. URSULA is a SEA WITCH. S.WITCHER. From HARDLINE and A SWITCHER. HER SHE = HERSHEY. The chocolate factory. I had started down a path from M8 to I WATCHED to UATU (A Watcher) to U A, too. U = Card 21 = 23 and A = Card 1 = INHALE. U + A = W (letter 23) + INHALE = IN WHALE. The UA means UNITED ARTISTS as well. UATU is homophone of YOU OUGHT TO = YOU SHOULD = YOU HOLD US. I've got a lot remaining to stumble through, Doc PS--I forgot to mention the biggest confirmer (this is what happens when I post without writing stuff down first): CAESAR SHIFT homophone is SEES HER SHIFT. Her DRESS. A very long time ago I found A RAIMENT--I think this is all tying together.
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Post by Doc on Feb 8, 2023 22:09:51 GMT -5
It was a dark and stormy night in here Louisiana!
I'm beginning to think I haven't stumbled; I've been pushed by some higher power.
It's happened again: the game OPERATION.
Abbreviated version:
1. The STAR KEY is URSULA ANDRESS 2. A 3 x 3 letter grid:
HER SHE EWE
Females. The OPERATOR KEY
3. EWE = MINUS SIGN. Equivalent to a morse code 'T' or again my lower case '+'.
+/- are math OPERATORS. Missing X. This series is equivalent to a 0-1-2-3 sequence was the 'operators' for the game.
4. The NUMBER KEY. 'Operation' uses a SCALPEL anagrams to L PLACES or W. PLACES. Wicked Witch of the WEST. WWW places.
The game operation with its RED NOSE = RED NO'S. The Lucky numbers from the fortune slip.
Use the numbers in conjunction with the sequence of operators obtained above:
12x7+80/3-29 = 89
25.666 = HI
Card 25 = SECRET The 'dot' is an E or 'RIGHT' 666 = NUMBER OF THE BEAST.
This is our NUMBER KEY.
Derived from REVELATION 13:18
Card 13 = LION KING Card 18 = LATIN
The words 'lion' and 'king' in Latin are LEO and REX. It's left out SIC for the word EXCELSIOR. It's confirmed because the math equation = HI. 'Excelsior' is HIGHER in Latin.
Stan Lee or Stanley? Cup? Kubrick?
A lot of these 3 x 3 grids of letters are appearing now. I'm worried I need to find nine of them.
And this isn't even touching A BASSINET or IN WHALE yet.
Definitely not a mere stumble,
Doc
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Post by Doc on Feb 9, 2023 14:16:28 GMT -5
A beautiful winter evening in a country town in northeastern Louisiana!
I think I was wrong about needing nine of the 3 x 3 grids. In the original 'Fool's Errand' there were four of them that represented the four cards of the Queen's puzzles. I've found four of them, and that may be all I need:
ITS HER LEO PUC NOT SHE REX ORA KEY EWE SIC END
These appear to be creating puzzles when reading across the lines. The first line is ITS HER and COUPLE. The second line is NOT SHE REX (it's T-rex, and it's a DINOSAUR) and the missing letters ORA. The third line is making me scratch my head.
The first pass appeared to give me the name of a personal friend on the first line. LOL. I'll keep studying.
Doc
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Post by Doc on Feb 10, 2023 8:08:36 GMT -5
TGIF on an unseasonably warm morning from rural Louisiana! How incredibly appropriate today kicks off Super Bowl Weekend. My challenger and I have been round and round over many moons, and now we appear to be approaching a final excursion--this one through the stars, no less. We are sitting at the table, me in my warpaint (I'm definitely playing the role of the backwards savage here, LOL), and he in his finest motley and cockscomb. As the challenged, I set the metre and take the first move. (Turnabout is fair play. ) I'm playing WHITE and choose to play PAIRS. He plays a PLANET, namely MERCURY, with a picture of HOB GADLING in conjunction with a REVERSE OPERATOR KEY. I realize he's won this round by showing me a picture of a physician friend of mine--he knows me better than I thought. He smiles and gives me a stuffed ANIMAL to assuage my feelings. LOL. This ain't gonna be easy. But, in for a penny... Doc PS--I hope it's pound cake from my Aunt Dump.
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Post by Doc on Feb 12, 2023 12:14:00 GMT -5
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Disparate Thoughts 1. The Moon's Map. a. Cliff Johnson wrote 'The Fool's Errand' and 'The Fool's Errand II'. The first used a Sun Map and the second used a Moon Map b. Early on, I had posted the various SHAPES present in our game were odd, and I had noticed the anagram of SHAPES to PHASES. Namely, moon stuff, but really not able to have gotten past that. c. Now I understand that it's definitely the Moon's Map and it takes us through STAGEs of the game. d. The shapes are ordered by their number of lines. (A digression--this ordering of shapes was also a key to an old hunt, 'The Merlin Mystery'.) Starting with one line = CIRCLE, two lines = X, three lines = TRIANGLE, etc. e. We found the CIRCLE by playing Box One, then assembling in reverse, winding up back at the start. f. The X was card 24: The key card. g. The TRIANGLE and a SQUARE. Not sure about this one--a triangle represents CHANGE, and we did indeed CHANGE THE SQUARE to a DIAMOND. h. The STAR was the Peanut Butter Card and represented the BINGO. i. The HEX represented the puzzle: NPH ONE BOX 'Spell the right word' and 'Write the word down', then 'find the missing word'. This eventually leads to our four 3 x 3 grids of letters. j. There is 'NO SEVEN'. This means a couple of things: the word 'STAGE' with 'No seven' removes the letter 'G' and leaves with our EAST again--the right directions. I found a puzzle I'll get into later that yielded '7. O = U.' 'No seven' = number 7, and this was the seventh stage of our puzzle. k. OCTAGON showed up as a PASSWORD l. THE NINTH GATE was a film about the gates of Hell, and it has NO SHAPE. Confirmation bias is real, but I'm thinking this means HELL - O, NINTH = N. HINT, and AMORPHOUS is RIGHT (or E). Thus, the Moon's Map actually plots our all the STAGEs of our game. And of course, 'All the World's a stage', which is exactly where I think I'm currently situated. (Traversing through the solar system and its planets.) 2. LOTS to DIGEST a. These four 3 x 3 grids of letters are correct, but there's a TON of information to be gleaned here, and I'm still trying to figure this out. I originally approached this like a #2 from McDonald's, but this is meant to be a 16-course tasting menu, and every course has been exquisitely plated. Rushing this loses the nuances that are essential to the experience. b. This whole part starts with STANLEY, and it has three solutions: i. KUBRICK ii. CUP iii. Missing --to be determined. (Spoiler alert--it's Kowalski) c. Reading across the lines yields some of the base puzzles of this stage: i. ITS HER and an anagram of COUPLE ii. NOT SHE REX, and it's NOT ORA either. (The T-Rex gives us words EXTINCT and DINOSAUR.) iii. Homophones. KEY is the homophone of Spanish QUE which means THAT. EWE = YOU. SIC = SEEK. END = THE END. I'm considering these grids and the preceding puzzles very carefully and proceeding very carefully as well. LOL. May your favored team win this afternoon, Doc PS--I'm considering the 25th anniversary of 'Titanic' instead.
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