Round 281

Date Released: October 2nd, 2008.
Date Rewarded: October 9th, 2008.

Walking into Chesterdrawer's Antiques, you notice several clocks on the wall. The first clock reads 9:00, the second reads 6:07, the third 10:45, the fifth 7:45, the sixth 7:52, and the seventh 4:37.

What should the fourth clock read?

Prize


Grandfather Clock

Click to show/hide solution

First we convert the clock time into position of hour and minute hands of 12 hour dial face. Then, we use the Flag Semaphore Character chart [1] to decode the hands.

A	B	C	D	E	F
G	H	I	J	K	L
M	N	O	P	Q	R
S	T	U	V	W	X
Y	Z

9:00 => P
6:07 => E
10:45 => O
(the 4th clock)
7:45 => H
7:52 =>I
4:37 => N

The word would be PEOPHIN (which is a name of a pet species). Therefore, the 4th letter is P which is the same as the first one. The answer is 9:00.

Results: 1885 people guessed the correct answer earning themselves 1062 NP each.

References:
[1] Flag Semaphore Characters

Round 268

Date Released: June 26th, 2008.
Date Rewarded: July 2nd, 2008.

A Grarrl was walking down a path one day when Illusen appeared in front of it. "Solve this puzzle, and you may pass," she said.

Another ancient tomb in the Lost Desert has the following grid of letters engraved on the tomb door:

If the correct letters are engraved on the tomb door, it will open. However, the last column of letters is missing.

If you figure out what the missing letters are and read down the last column of letters, what will it spell? For example, if the last column's letters were A, B, C, D, E, and F, you would submit "ABCDEF". Please submit your answer with NO SPACES; do not submit ANY information other than the answer. Otherwise, your submission may be disqualified.

Prize


Basic Spelling Songs

Click to show/hide solution

If you convert the letters into numbers using the following scheme, you will get a grid of numbers.

A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, ... X = 24, Y = 25, Z = 26

The grid of numbers is:

3	11	19	1	9	17
3	13	23	7	17	1
11	23	9	21	7	19
9	23	11	25	13	1
10	26	16	6	22	12
16	8	26	18	10	2

Notice that in the first row, each number is larger than its previous number by 8, i.e. 11 = 3 + 8, 19 = 11 + 8... Also, if a number is greater than 26, it can be converted into a modulo [1] of 26 (or subtracted by 26). In this case 19 + 8 = 27 and 27 mod 26 = 1 (or 27 - 26 = 1). So, you can find the last number by adding 8 into the fifth number in the first row (mod 26 if necessary)

In the second row, similar to the first row, but you need to add 10 (and do 26-modulo operation if necessary). Third row, add 12 (mod 26 if necessary). Forth row, add 14 (mod 26 if necessary). Fifth row, add 16 (mod 26 if necessary). Last row, add 18 (mod 26 if necessary).

After you get all the numbers in the last column, convert them back into letters using the above mapping technique. The answer is QASALB.

Results: 5199 people guessed the correct answer earning themselves 385 NP each.

References:
[1] Modulo operation

Round 266

Date Released: June 12th, 2008.
Date Rewarded: June 19th, 2008.

A Chomby was walking down a path one day when Jhudora appeared in front of it. "Solve this puzzle, and you may pass," she said.

You are presented with the following gibberish:

WLTT ZXPYGWO WR IRKBPP PK BOX OPHBVUALPN XR OOX YFHOMXPTL BVCRVDH?

"Here's a tool to help you," Jhudora said as she handed this to you:

What is the answer to the coded question? Please submit only a single-word answer.

Prize


Heart Shaped Chocolates

Click to show/hide solution

Assume the first letter ('W') is correct.

Here is the step to decode: move the middle ring of the wheel (you can move it in the flash above) so that the next decoding letter match in that ring matches with the previous decoded letter in the outer ring. The red arrow will point to the next decoded letter in the inner ring. The below steps are examples for the decoding process:

Second letter:
Previous decoded letter: 'W'
Decoding letter: 'L'
Decoded letter: 'H'

Third letter:
Previous decoded letter: 'H'
Decoding letter: 'T'
Decoded letter: 'A'

Fourth letter:
Previous decoded letter: 'A'
Decoding letter: 'T'
Decoded letter: 'T'

Therefore, the first word is 'WHAT'. If you do the rest of the sequence of letters, the question is 'WHAT SPECIES OF NEOPET IS THE SHOPKEEPER OF THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY?'. The answer is Kiko.

Results: 3769 people guessed the correct answer earning themselves 531 NP each.