The Dreams of Gerontius – Page 6 – Games, puzzles and armchair treasure hunts

Having fun with Pokemon Go

2016-10-15 Computer Games

Pokemon Go

It’s difficult to justify writing a blog about treasure hunting without mentioning the biggest treasure hunt of the last 12 months: hunting Pokemon with Pokemon Go. You gotta catch ’em all!

For some, catching Pokemon is an obsession. Others dimiss the game as childish nonsense. As usual, the best option in life is to find a happy medium between two extremes. It’s a digital treasure hunt, not something to get worked up over, and hunting Pokemon can be a lot of fun.

This post is about finding the fun in Pokemon Go if throwing red balls at weird Japanese monsters isn’t your cup of tea.

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Merlin Mystery Solution: Part 3

2016-10-14 Merlin Mystery

The 7 Solid shapes

Go to the Merlin Mystery Solution Index.

This is Part 3 of my solution to The Merlin Mystery (“MM”) by Jonathan Gunson and Marten Coombe.

This post looks at the 7 solids that appear on the shelf on page 4 (P4). They each represent a mini-puzzle that needs solving to reach the final solution.

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Enigma Escape, London

2016-10-10 Escape Rooms

Enigma Escape

Escape Rooms are popping up everywhere. Locked into a confined space with some friends, you typically have one hour to find clues, solve puzzles, crack codes and escape. They’re an unusual experience that brings point-and-click puzzle computer games into the real world.

I visited Enigma Escape in London in early 2016. At the time, they had only a single room available, The Killer. Since the entire point of the experience is mystery and surprise, I promise this is a spoiler-free review.

The set-up for The Killer is that you and your friends are gassed during a visit to the cinema and wake to find yourself in a locked cage. Can you escape before the killer returns to deal with you? Thus begins a tense hour trying to break free.

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Son Et Lumiere, a puzzle

2016-10-09 My Puzzles, Quick Puzzles

Son Et Lumiere puzzle

Can you solve this fiendish picture puzzle which emerges from The Dreams Of Gerontius? Click the image for the full size version.

Your only clues are:

Pairs point to a wheel of colour circling five tones.
The true answer leads to a road of sound and light.

The table on the right is there to help those who are colour blind.

Good luck.

Leave a comment if you get the answer. I’ll let you know if you’re right but will edit out spoilers for those who come after.

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Escape

2016-10-08 Board Games

Escape the Cursed Temple

“ESCAPE!” Say it in a loud, low, resonating voice with a trace of a German accent and you get some idea of how each game of Escape begins. For it comes with a CD soundtrack that acts as a timer for this frantic, real-time dice rolling game.

It brings back memories of the old Atmosfear games, where a video character interrupted you at random moments. But while I found Atmosfear to be enjoyable once for the gimmick then instantly forgettable, Escape has been brought out at a few parties and family gatherings and has always proved good fun.

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Merlin Mystery Solution: Part 2

2016-10-07 Merlin Mystery

The Merlin Mystery

Go to the Merlin Mystery Solution Index.

This is Part 2 of my solution to The Merlin Mystery (“MM”) by Jonathan Gunson and Marten Coombe.

This post introduces all the important symbols used in the book and my shorthand notations for them.

MM is filled with symbols. An important step to solving the puzzle is to be able to recognise them and know which of several different categories they fall into.

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Masquerade by Kit Williams: The Solution

2016-10-05 Kit Williams, Solutions

Page 1 of Masquerade – Click for larger version

Masquerade is the quintessential armchair treasure hunt book: beautiful to look at and filled with many small, easy puzzles as well as one large one that is nigh impossible to solve.

This post goes through some of the little puzzles in the book (as much as can be covered in a single blog post). It also gradually reveals hints to how the main puzzle works, before giving away the full solution. Skip to the end if you want, or try to work it out for yourself once pointed in the right direction.

The clues start right on the title page: “To solve the hidden riddle, you must use your eyes, / And find the hare in every picture that may point you to the prize”.

Indeed, there is a hare hidden on every page, and hunting them down is the first bit of fun to be had in the book. But this clue has two deeper, double meanings: eyes are important, and the hares point, literally, to the answer.

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A Collection of Riddles

2016-10-03 Quick Puzzles

Voices, The First Book

I have in my collection of books a series of anthologies called “Voices”, put together by some chap called Geoffrey Summerfield in the late 1960s.

The books contained a mix of obscure, anonymous poems as well as lesser-known scribblings by famous writers. Among them are various riddles, some ancient, some modern.

The answers are written in “white text” under each riddle. Highlight the text to read it.

Decapitations by ‘C.C.’

Behead a small animal
and find a river in England

Answer >> (M)ouse <<

Behead a loud call
and find a plaything

Answer >> (W)hoop <<

Behead a stream of water
and find a bird

Answer >> (B)rook <<

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News and Updates for October

2016-10-01 Armchair, News

This is a monthly update of treasure hunt, game and puzzle tidbits.

“Harry Hid It, But Where Is It?” is an armchair treasure hunt with a prize of at least $5000. Harry has hidden his stolen treasure and the challenge is to find where. Entries can be submitted between 1 March and 15 June, 2017.

Clues to the treasure are found in an adventure novel which can be bought for $9.99 as a download or $19.99 for a physical copy. The first five chapters are available for free to check if it’s your sort of thing.

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