Hello from RPG.stackexchange. We have a querent who wants input for their puzzle design but I think their question might be too broad for Puzzling.SE's standards. Anyone mind if I direct them here for advice?
I have read the Q&A Designing puzzle-based mysteries.
I'm specifically interested in how to design such a chain in a classroom for 8-10 teenages in a team.
My attemp is:
Let say there are two types of cards: action (A1 -- turn and read, A2 -- solve and find extra piece, A3 -- ask Ceasar) and i...
Hey! so you're looking for something that needs all of the pieces to be solved?
The first thing that comes to mind is just nesting the technique - the cipher decodes to a different cipher's name, which is applied to a different card, etc. (Though make sure you don't apply multiple ciphers to the same text - better to make each cipher decode to something understandable, so people have confirmation of their decodings)
Another option is a classic "Einstein's Riddle"-style grid logic puzzle. Each piece can be a clue, and you can use the solution to tell people where to go next in any number of ways.
Another possibility might be, for example, apply different sets of cards to each word of the full answer. You want "red" and "room", so use 3 pairs to derive "red" and a different 3 to derive "room". Varying the text, the cipher, and the key or the count for each set of cards, so the overall concept is the same but the particulars are not.
well. I see @Nick in here but not sure if Nick is actually in here? hehe
You're welcome. Not sure if that helps; Deusovi also had some good suggestions to consider, if you want to ensure all clues contribute to a single solution
A puzzle that requires team communication? Do you need something that absolutely cannot be hypothetically solved by a single person, or do you just need something that will prompt communication and discussion?
I personally often find that communication is best appreciable as a theme when it is restricted somehow, eg. if the game is adversarial (so there's an opposing team that could benefit from eavesdropping your discussions) or if it's limited in a straightforward manner, eg. "no talking, only use these pre-made cards to communicate".
Another good way to enforce communication is to separate the information. Maybe two people are on opposite sides of a curtain (or something else that blocks vision), and each one has a bunch of cards with symbols on them -- you have to find which of your symbols matches one of your teammate's by describing them.
@Deusovi, most of task can be solved by a single person. To divide 25 players into three teams, I use colored Velcro bracelets. The bracelet can be fastened on the wrist in two ways: with twist (Moebius band) and without twist. I want to use these bracelets, but I don’t know how yet. I think players can use bracelets for solving a team communication task. But I like your idea "prompt communication and discussion" in the team.
well. this is RPG - there's probably nothing preventing the DM from privately disclosing to each of several players what their card has on it, without actually giving anyone a physical card
this means for them to do anything, step 1 is talk to each other about what they saw
The game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes may be a good source of inspiration for this - it's a game exactly about that kind of information-limited communication.
It's a cooperative game played with two people: one person is at the computer and sees a bomb, with a bunch of buttons and wires. The other person has a manual for how to defuse the bomb, but cannot see it themselves.
And the manual is confusing, too. So you have to think fast and communicate efficiently to win.
The "defuser" sees four of those symbols, and has to communicate which four. The "expert" has to figure out which order to press them in, and communicate that back to the defuser.
I think the bomb game was absolutely at its best when we just started it. I had no idea what was on the screen, my companion had no idea what's in my manual. The confused exchanges of "what do you see, does it look like this?" were absolutely golden
I think this kind of thing would be perfect for a team-building exercise in a class.
(oh yeah, it's brilliant - the game gets different when you sort of know what's going on. not necessarily worse, but that first experience isn't really able to be replicated)
@Deusovi, thank for idea. I have the Soma cube and a lot of schemes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma_cube). I can give the scheme to the "defuser" , and has to communicate which elements should be used. The "experts" have to figure out which order to use them in, and build the item from the scheme.
This puzzle is part of the ‘Twelve Labours’ series, but can be solved independently. Previous instalments can be found here: Prologue | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06
Emerging from the barbers with a new look that he really hadn’t planned on, Hercules was relieved to see from his to-do list that...
In the following algebra puzzles, replace the same characters by the same numerals so that the mathematical operations are correct.
ABCB - DEFC = GAFB
: + -
DH x AB = IEI
-------------------
GGE + DEBB = DHDG
Note: Hikikomori is a Japanese term for "reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from society and seek extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. The affected individuals refuse to leave their parents' house, do not work or go to school and isolate themselves away from society and family...
My firsts signify education
My seconds axial examination
My thirds medical location
My fourths denote radiation
My fifths state abbreviation
My whole is blood contamination
My parts each two in variation
My consonants lack reiteration
When I am shaped like my first
Rows from my parts that may ...
Across
1. Kind of direct language; used in the Middle Ages (8)
8. Stadiums are small beyond the limits of NBA (6)
9. A blowgun destroyed small house (8)
10. Frog King decapitated a kind of crab (6)
13. In Arabia, spirit of radio host appearing near tavern (5)
14. Never tell h...
@Avi These are only “ASCII art” in that the answer is being written in text on a computer. If I take a piece of paper and follow the directions, I end up with a perfectly valid solution that has nothing whatsoever to do with ASCII. These puzzles are much more about the spatial arrangement of letters, not so much about actual ASCII art.
As an answer for a whole cryptic crossword, two clues are way too few to suffice as an answer, not to mention these answers have already been posted before. Please delete this to prevent duplicate answers. — Omega Krypton24 secs ago
Thanks @hexomino! (For the record, I finished the grid after seeing just your first comment solving 3 down, figuring out both 1 across and what Tnergu ZpPnhtuna said.) — Rand al'Thor59 secs ago
@Gareth "Tnergu" would be a great name for a character in a fantasy novel. I should keep calling you that.
[concrete] - Similar to concrete poems, this tag describes puzzles or riddles where the solution is related to or derived from the proper placement of text characters in a specific arrangement.
I am an event,
relations I set.
Make most to fret,
threat because they get.
I sound like evil,
but actually I'm not.
Maybe as a concept,
but it is not my fault.
I sound like fact,
reality, exact.
Nothing do I have
to do with all that.
Honor and villainy,
beauty'n'unsi...
I do not want to verbally tell you what the question is.
However I do want to non-verbally tell you, by showing you some simpler problems in the spoiler below.
Please do not spoil the "question" of these problems if you have encountered similar problems before.
This is my original work.
I woul...
I found this nice problem in A.C. White’s 1912 book “The Theory Of Pawn Promotion” the other day. Enjoy!
It’s White to move and checkmate Black in 5 moves, Don’t forget to explain the title!
Wolfgang Pauly, Münchner Neueste Nachrichten 1909
This is my own work.
If you would like to see examples of similar problems, to help you understand what to do please see my other posts. (e.g. What's the question to this and what its answer?)
I have read the Q&A Designing puzzle-based mysteries.
I'm specifically interested in how to design such a chain in a classroom for 8-10 teenages in a team.
My attemp is:
Let say there are two types of cards: action (A1 -- turn and read, A2 -- solve and find extra piece, A3 -- ask Ceasar) and i...
Brothers and sisters I have none but this man's father is my father's son.
Who is the man?
What special property is shared by 56198 and 57494 and no others?
My firsts signify education
My seconds axial examination
My thirds medical location
My fourths denote radiation
My fifths state abbreviation
My whole is blood contamination
My parts each two in variation
My consonants lack reiteration
When I am shaped like my first
Rows from my parts that may ...
Across
1. Kind of direct language; used in the Middle Ages (8)
8. Stadiums are small beyond the limits of NBA (6)
9. A blowgun destroyed small house (8)
10. Frog King decapitated a kind of crab (6)
13. In Arabia, spirit of radio host appearing near tavern (5)
14. Never tell h...
I am an event,
relations I set.
Make most to fret,
threat because they get.
I sound like evil,
but actually I'm not.
Maybe as a concept,
but it is not my fault.
I sound like fact,
reality, exact.
Nothing do I have
to do with all that.
Honor and villainy,
beauty'n'unsi...
I found this nice problem in A.C. White’s 1912 book “The Theory Of Pawn Promotion” the other day. Enjoy!
It’s White to move and checkmate Black in 5 moves, Don’t forget to explain the title!
Wolfgang Pauly, Münchner Neueste Nachrichten 1909
