Success! My puzzling pal admitted that the second chapter puzzle of Cryptex Hunt hadn’t been enough for a full meal, so we agreed to do another one after he had a chance to eat dinner. This is good, and possibly saved our friendship, as I was already reading chapter three while I wheedled and probably would have gone bonkers trying to wait to solve it for another day.
In Chapter Three, Paige Parks joins a guild, almost gets kidnapped, and disappears through a door newly created in a parking garage. Because, of course. The Book keeps her one step ahead of everything though, so she’s prepared.
The puzzle at the end reads: wOrd hunt Seek each word Find passcode. To the right are a series of circled numbers (like page numbers...) and a number. I expect the O is deliberate - I checked and it’s not in the errata. It does say spelling mistakes aren’t puzzles. Is it a spelling mistake?
Being horribly impatient I try the same combo as last time: Page, word number.
In Chapter Three, Paige Parks joins a guild, almost gets kidnapped, and disappears through a door newly created in a parking garage. Because, of course. The Book keeps her one step ahead of everything though, so she’s prepared.
The puzzle at the end reads: wOrd hunt Seek each word Find passcode. To the right are a series of circled numbers (like page numbers...) and a number. I expect the O is deliberate - I checked and it’s not in the errata. It does say spelling mistakes aren’t puzzles. Is it a spelling mistake?
Being horribly impatient I try the same combo as last time: Page, word number.
- 49-5: TOO
- 51-5: THEY
- 54-7: A
- 56-11: BY
- 60-25: ABOUT
Hmmm, not happening. What does the capital O symbolize? The second pair of lines at the beginning reads “The Third’s Instructions Also Contain Your Goals”. Not as helpful as the prior two, for now.
So, what about page, character (page 49, 5th letter)?
- 49-5: T
- 51-5: T
- 54-7: I
- 56-11: I
- 60-25: R
Also no. Time to look at the broader picture. The image of the door is one of a standard word search, with words vertical and diagonal. But, there is no grid, and I can’t make my brain make one. I looked for micro printing in the Os. Nope.
What if it’s that # from the end instead? (Page 49, 5th word from end)
- 49-5: Human
- 51-5: Line
- 54-7: Be
- 56-11: And
- 60-25: Meet
Still no. Page and line, first word?
- 49-5: So
- 51-5: Stats
- 54-7: The
- 56-11: By
- 60-25: Kats
Page and line, Xth word? A hard leap I know, as that would be 25 words on a line. Nope
- 49-5: To
- 51-5: View
- 54-7: Man
- 56-11: (None)
- 60-25: (None)
Other rabbit holes filled in: There are not enough words starting with O on each of the pages to make it the xth O word. Is there an O word on every xth line? Nope.
We gave up and looked at the hints. They were unhelpful, making us go back and stare at where we were working, we were on the right trail, and then... Ugh. It is possible, on a VERY generous eyeblurring to find the words wOrd search, seek, etc. in the text, starting with the lines in question. And then we realized that the shapes of the words were telling us something
- 49-5: wOrd hunt - V shaped
- 51-5: seek - I shaped
- 54-7: each word - V shaped
- 56-11: find - Is
- 60-25: pass code - D shaped
Vivid.
The last one took a while, but does explain the crappy kerning visible in co de.
Per my puzzling partner, it was frustrating but more satisfying than the last one. I agree. Time for a brain break. Good hunting all :)
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