2011 Microsoft Puzzle Hunt

[Zag]

Zahariel invited me to join his Microsoft Puzzle Hunt team, which was this past weekend. My first response was, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather invite PuzzleScot or someone like that?" but he was loyal to his dad. Anyway, it was fun, though exhausting.

I know that others have posted complete Puzzle Hunts here before, but I find that overwhelming and I end up not really doing any of them. So I will post the puzzles in this thread, one at a time. When one is solved, I'll post the next one. That way, we can have the fun of group solving them.

Many of them I have hardly looked at, so I'll be participating, too, in those.

The theme is that you are chasing a crook across the country. Each set of puzzles was titled with the name of a city.

Seattle, WA
555 Answer: BOX
Chuck Goes First Answer: BRIDGE
Ekadvigram Answer: INCONSPICUOUS
Name Brand Answer: ENGINE
One Thing Leads to Another Answer: IN BETWEEN
Pace Car Answer: BOB
Sam Loves "T" Answer: ENCODED
Train Tracks --- Here is the audio Answer: SWAYING or MEET VIRGINIA
Twister Answer: CHOW
Wedding Answer: MATRIMONY

Los Angeles, CA
Note, this first one is impossible online. It included a step where you go to a particular room on the Microsoft campus and solve part of the puzzle there.
Color Me Crazy --- Additional Content Answer: MARMALADE Answer link
Connect the Dots Answer: EXPERIMENTAL
Duckworth Chant Answer: LIVE AND LET DIE
Gathers No Moss, sends you to a specific room on the Microsoft campus, where you find this drawing. Answer: BEATLES
Orlando Answer: CARDINAL
Road Trip Answer: PLACES
Seven Sandwich Surprise Answer: BICYCLE
Star Chart Answer: MARS ATTACKS
Take That! Answer: KISSER
Undersea Railroad Crossing Answer: CONNECTIVITY

Chicago, IL.
A New Kind of Science Answer: WILLIAM BELL.
Crossed Tracks Answer: JUNCTION
Ducket to Ride Answer: COLORADO
Logic Square Answer: TENSE
Love Triangle Answer: HELENHUNT They had it as one word. I'm not sure if that matters to the meta.
Nickel Backtrack Answer: HEADS or OBVERSE You had to go see it. Here's the answer
Open Frame Answer: ACCORD
Pictionary Answer: SUNBLOCK
The Social Network

[jesternl]

Hmm I don't get waht I'm supposed to do. I guess that means this puzzle is too hard for me

[3iff]

It looks like you have to pack them all into a square/rectangle and the dots will (might) have some relevance. They look like pentominoes?

[ralphmerridew]

My guess is that, for each color, pack the six pentominoes of that color into a 5x6 rectangle, then see if the pattern of dots forms anything.

[Suspence]

If that is the case, then here are the possible solutions for red.

446, LLYUUU LYYUPU LTYPPV LTYPPV TTTVVV
447, LLYUUU LYYUPU LTYVPP LTYVPP TTTVVV
448, LLYVVV LYYPPV LTYPPV LTYUPU TTTUUU
449, LLYVVV LYYVPP LTYVPP LTYUPU TTTUUU
471, LUUVVV LUTTTV LUUTPV LLYTPP YYYYPP
521, PPPTTT PPUUTY VVVUTY VLUUYY VLLLLY
537, TTTUUU YTLUPU YTLPPV YYLPPV YLLVVV
538, TTTUUU YTLUPU YTLVPP YYLVPP YLLVVV
539, TTTVVV YTLPPV YTLPPV YYLUPU YLLUUU
540, TTTVVV YTLVPP YTLVPP YYLUPU YLLUUU

The red one below is #471, but I'm not sure how to know which one is correct.



These are the blue solutions (#43 is pictured above):
8, FFPPPI LFFPPI LFXUUI LXXXUI LLXUUI
43, FIIIII FFFXLL PFXXXL PPUXUL PPUUUL
44, FIIIII FFFXUU PFXXXU PPLXUU PPLLLL
46, FLLLLI FFFXLI PFXXXI PPUXUI PPUUUI
62, IFFPPP ILFFPP ILFXUU ILXXXU ILLXUU
67, IFLLLL IFFFXL IPFXXX IPPUXU IPPUUU

Looks like green only has one solution (pictured above):
13, FFUULL YFFUVL YFUUVL YYVVVL YIIIII

As does yellow (pictured above):
229, IIIIIZ VVVZZZ VNNZUU VYNNNU YYYYUU

Orange has several that will work (solution #117 pictured above):
117, IIIIIT LLPTTT LPPWWT LPPYWW LYYYYW
239, ILLLLT ILPTTT IPPWWT IPPYWW IYYYYW
263, ILLPPY ILPPPY ILTWYY ILTWWY ITTTWW
330, ITLLLL ITTTPL ITWWPP IWWYPP IWYYYY
347, IWWTTT IYWWTL IYYWTL IYPPPL IYPPLL

Unfortunately, my little spreadsheet can't handle purple, as there are two N's.
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[Suspence]

Actually, it looks a bit like braille, maybe? The two ones we would then know for sure would be yellow and green, and there is only one possible solution for each.

Yellow would be "MBL" (you'd need to rotate it from how I have it pictured), and Green would be "EIN". Seems promising at least.

Orange as I have solved it above spells "SSE". Blue as I have solved it above spells "SID". Red as I have solved it above (and flipped) spells "REA". Purple gives "ES"

That gives REA SSE MBL EIN SID ES, or "reassemble insides".

Not sure if that is a solution or a direction for the next step to take. I'll wait for Zag to weigh in...
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[Suspence]

Image replaced with a link so it doesn't make the screen scroll horizontally.
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[Zag]

I don't know. I didn't work on this one and I haven't looked at the answer. However, it looks to me as if each of your completed puzzles has exactly one piece that doesn't touch an edge. I think you should use just those six pieces and make a rectangle of those, then read what it says.

[Suspence]

Good call...


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[Zag]

(Checking the answers) That's it!!

Next puzzle: Chuck Goes First

I have looked at this one, and it is a good one for a bunch of people to participate.

[groza528]

Looks like first letters are going to spell a new Chuck rule.

1. C anasta
2. H ive
3. U no
4. C ribbage
5. K iller Bunnies
6. O thello
7. N im?
8. C itadels
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. S et
14. S ettlers of Catan
15.
16.
17.
19. F luxx
20.
21.
22. E uchre
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31. M onopoly
32. P uerto Rico

[Suspence]

Removed double-post
_________________
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[Suspence]

1. C anasta
2. H ive
3. U no
4. C ribbage
5. K iller Bunnies
6. O thello
7. N im?
8. C itadels
9. O ceania
10. C afe International
11. R ace For The Galaxy
12.
13. S et
14. S ettlers of Catan
15. R oll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age
16. U rsuppe - Primordial Soup German edition
17. F unkenschlag - Power Grid German edition
18. F luxx
19. E lfenland?
20. D ominion
21. S amurai
22. E uchre
23. V egas Showdown
24. E l Grande
25. N etrunner
26. N exus Ops
27. O nce Upon A Time
28. T igris & Euphrates
29. R age
30. U nion Specific
31. M onopoly
32. P uerto Rico

"Seven No Trump" is the highest bid allowed in the card game Bridge.
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[Zag]

Well, that was quick. The answer was 'Bridge.'

Next Puzzle: Ekadvigram

[ralphmerridew]

1) Tea - ate
2) Enact ?
4) Mocha ?
5) Rang ?
6) Gait ?
11) Set ?

[Suspence]

3 - Extremely ethocentric - RACIST?
7 - One might be positive - ION
9 - Lowly laborer - PEON
10 - Mock - RIB? KID?
12 - Tellers behind one's back - GOSSIPPERS
14 - Twisting the wash back and forth - AGITATING?
15 - It might mean putting things in order - COLLATING?
16 - Events sometimes feature these unflattering artists - CARICATURISTS
17 - Those with ailments - AFFLICTED
19 - Op. 20 by Beethoven, and others - SEPTETS
22 - Not necessarily fact - FICTION

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[groza528]

FWIW, 9. in the Chuck puzzle must be wrong because the phrase is "Chuck once cross-ruffed seven no trump."
For those non-Bridge players who are wondering what that means, "Ruff" is a term meaning to trump a trick. A "cross-ruff" means that you and your partner are alternately trumping by leading known voids back and forth. It's a method to double the efficiency of your trump cards, but with the risk that the defenders will eventually overtrump. "No trump" is just what it sounds like; there is no trump suit, so for mere mortals ruffing (let alone cross-ruffing) is impossible. Seven no trump is the highest bid you can make and requires you to take every trick.

[Suspence]

1) Nice with jam and bread - 3 - TEA
2) Say it's not law - 5 - ENACT
3) Extremely ethnocentric - 6 - RACIST
4) Over-priced coffee with milk - 5- MOCHA
5) Sent for the butler - 4 - RANG
6) It's how you walk - 4 - GAIT
7) One might be positive - 3 - ION
8) Percieves - 6 - SENSES
9) Lowly laborer - 4 - PEON/SERF
10) Mock - 3 - APE
11) Every bridge defender's goal - 3 - SET
12) Tellers behind one's back - 11 - GOSSIPERS
13) Chain end to end - 11 - CONCATENATE
14) Twisting the wash back and forth - 9 - AGITATING
15) It might mean putting things in order - 9 - COLLATING
16) Events sometimes feature these unflattering artists - 13 - CARICATURISTS
17) Those with ailments - 9 - AFFLICTED
18) Wisdom it ain't - 13 - SENSELESSNESS
19) Op. 20 by Beethoven, and other - 7 - SEPTETS
20) Utterly mollify - 7 - APPEASE
21) See-thru print stock - 7 - I keep coming back to "vellum", which doesn't fit
22) Not necessarily fact - 7 - OPINION
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[ralphmerridew]

18-8: LESSNES?
19-11: PETS
22-7: FICT?
2-1: NC?
14-6: ATING?
16-3: CATURIS?

[Suspence]

each word in 12-22 contains a word from 1-11 twice, plus the letter we'll end up with.

AGITATING - GAIT = N
CONCATENATE - ENACT = O
CARICATURIST - RACIST = U
SEPTETS - SET = P
SENSELESSNESS - SENSES = L
APPEASE - APE = S
OPINION - ION = P
ARRANGING - RANG = I
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[Zag]

Would you like me to tell you which words are correct?

[Suspence]

Not yet, it's fairly easy to work out which ones are right and which ones need work.
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[Suspence]

Inconspicuous - COUSIN PLUS P

1) Nice with jam and bread - 3 - TEA
21) See-thru print stock - 7 - ACETATE
C
2) Say it's not law - 5 - ENACT
13) Chain end to end - 11 - CONCATENATE
O
3) Extremely ethnocentric - 6 - RACIST
16) Events sometimes feature these unflattering artists - 13 - CARICATURISTS
U
4) Over-priced coffee with milk - 5- LATTE
12) Tellers behind one's back - 11 - TATTLETALES
S
5) Sent for the butler - 4 - RANG
15) It might mean putting things in order - 9 - ARRANGING
I
6) It's how you walk - 4 - GAIT
14) Twisting the wash back and forth - 9 - AGITATING
N
7) One might be positive - 3 - ION
22) Not necessarily fact - 7 - OPINION
P
8) Percieves - 6 - SENSES
18) Wisdom it ain't - 13 - SENSELESSNESS
L
9) Lowly laborer - 4 - SERF
17) Those with ailments - 9 - SUFFERERS
U
10) Mock - 3 - APE
20) Utterly mollify - 7 - APPEASE
S
11) Every bridge defender's goal - 3 - SET
19) Op. 20 by Beethoven, and other - 7 - SEPTETS
P

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[Zag]

nice!

Here's the next one: Name Brand

[Quailman]

2 (3)
3 (8) American Airlines
3 (2) Amoco (American Oil Company)
1 (8) Bank of America

2 (2) Best Western
5 (2)
2 (1) Chase Bank
7 (7) Chevron Oil
2 (2) Circle K

6 (8)
2 (5) Continental Airlines
1 (1) Days Inn
6 (6) Doubletree Hotels (part of Hilton)

4 (5)
1 (10) Hewlett Packard
3 (3) Hilton Hotels
6 (2)

4 (2) Intel
1 (2) Kentucky Fried Chicken
1 (2)
5 (6)

4 (5)
3 (7) Mastercard
2 (6) McDonald's
3 (1)

4 (4)
5 (8) Phillips 66 (Oil Co)
4 (8) Quick Trip
1 (1) Shell Oil

5 (8) Southwest Airlines
5 (8) Sun Microsystems
6 (6) Texaco (Oil Company)
3 (5) TGI Fridays

4 (1) United Airlines
5 (4) Visa (Bankcard)
7 (2) Wells Fargo

When i started, i thought I knew more.

[ralphmerridew]

5(2) could be Carl's Junior or Hardees (both have that star)

[Suspence]

Complete list:

2 (3) Adobe
3 (8) American Airlines
3 (2) Amoco (American Oil Company)
1 (8) Bank of America

2 (2) Best Western
5 (2) Carl's Jr.
2 (1) Chase Bank
7 (7) Chevron Oil
2 (2) Circle K

6 (8) Commodore
2 (5) Continental Airlines
1 (1) Days Inn
6 (6) Doubletree Hotels (part of Hilton)

4 (5) Fidelity Investments
1 (10) Hewlett Packard
3 (3) Hilton Hotels
6 (2) ING

4 (2) Intel
1 (2) Kentucky Fried Chicken
1 (2) KLM Airlines
5 (6) La Quinta

4 (5) Marriott
3 (7) Mastercard
2 (6) McDonald's
3 (1) Nvidia

4 (4) Olive Garden
5 (8) Phillips 66 (Oil Co)
4 (8) QuikTrip
1 (1) Shell Oil

5 (8) Southwest Airlines
5 (8) Sun Microsystems
6 (6) Texaco (Oil Company)
3 (5) TGI Fridays

4 (1) United Airlines
5 (4) Visa (Bankcard)
7 (2) Wells Fargo

The question is....now what?
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[Nsof]

5 (6) La Quinta

They logos are presented in alphabetical order
_________________
Will sell this place for beer

[Suspence]

I had La Quinta, I just forgot to type it in.

Found something interesting. Each "type" of business has only one company with each first number. There are restaurants, bank/financial, computer/technology, gas stations/convenience, hotels and airlines.

If you take the gas stations, put them in order, then take the designated letter in parentheses, you get SIMPSON.

I've gotta step away for a bit, so I'll finish up the legwork on what you get from the other groupings later, unless someone beats me to it.
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[Suspence]

GAS STATIONS
1 (1) Shell - S
2 (2) Circle K - I
3 (2) Amoco - M
4 (8) QuikTrip - P
5 (8) Phillips 66 - S
6 (6) Texaco - O
7 (7) Chevron - N

COMPUTERS
1 (10) Hewlett Packard - C
2 (3) Adobe - O
3 (1) Nvidia - N
4 (2) Intel - N
5 (8) Sun Microsystems - O
6 (8) Commodore - N

AIRLINES
1 (2) KLM - L
2 (5) Continental - I
3 (8) American - N
4 (1) United - U
5 (8) Southwest - S

HOTELS
1 (1) Days Inn - D
2 (2) Best Western - E
3 (3) Hilton - L
4 (5) Marriott - I
5 (6) La Quinta - N
6 (6) Doubletree - E

RESTAURANTS
1 (2) Kentucky Fried Chicken - E
2 (6) McDonald's - A
3 (5) TGI Fridays - R
4 (4) Olive Garden - V
5 (2) Carl's Jr. - A

FINANCIAL
1 (8) Bank of America - M
2 (1) Chase Bank - C
3 (7) Mastercard - C
4 (5) Fidelity Investments - L
5 (4) Visa - A
6 (2) ING - N
7 (2) Wells Fargo - E

These seem to spell out last names.

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[Quailman]

I think it should be KFC, giving FARVA, a character from Super Troopers. Good work!

[Suspence]

Combining them with the first names in the sentences, I recognize:

Lisa Simpson - The Simpsons
John McClane - Die Hard
Sarah Connor - Terminator

I came up with the rest through trial and error and Google:

Benjamin Linus - Lost
Ed Deline - Las Vegas
Rod Farva - Super Troopers (as Quailman mentioned, it looks like "KFC" was intended, making it Farva, not Earva)

Not coming up with anything when I connecting the numbers at the end of the sentences to the TV show/movie names yet.
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[Quailman]

Oh sure, edit your post while I'm typing mine.

[Quailman]

Right! Split your edit into a separate post while I'm typing my "Oh sure" post

[Suspence]

Just to have them here, the sentences are:

Sarah CONNOR met one of their employees and didn't care for him (4)
Ed DELINE was their manager for a while (3)
Rod FAVRA’s favorite! (8)
Benjamin LINUS didn’t use them (6)
John MCCLANE’s wife worked for them (1)
Lisa SIMPSON visits them often (5)

Looks like the sentences point us back to companies within each show. Don't know any of these off the top of my head...time for Google.
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[Quailman]

skyNet
ciA
maple syRup?
?
Nakatome?
?

NAR_N_?

[Suspence]

I wonder if the companies will fall back into the same six categories.

Terminator Skynet is "Computer/Technology"
Wikipedia says Ed Deline managed Montecito Resort & Casino, so that would be "Hotel"
For Die Hard, Nakatomi appears to be "Financial"
Lost is probably "Airline"
_________________
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[Quailman]

That last one, I think, is Oceania

Rod's might be the restaurant Dimpus Burger

Thaty leaves Lisa at the gas station - Kwik-E-Mart?

Taking the Nth letter of each one, you get:

N Skynet
N Montecito Resort & Casino
U Dimpus Burger
I Oceania
N Nakatomi
E Kwik-E-Mart

I don't get anything from that.

[Suspence]

Googling "Rod Favra restaurant" gets me Shenanigans. So:

E Cyberdyne N Skynet
N Montecito Resort & Casino
G Shenanigans
I Oceania
N Nakatomi
E Kwik-E-Mart

Meaning we probably have Skynet wrong, and the answer is ENGINE

EDIT: Wikipedia says Cyberdyne made Skynet, so that would give us the "E" for "ENGINE"

I already thinking about how all these - BOX BRIDGE INCONSPICUOUS ENGINE - will come together into the larger puzzle.
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[Zag]

Impressive! Very well done! I'm pretty sure I never would have gotten there.

Next Puzzle: One Thing Leads to Another

I spent a fair bit of time on this one, and even was the person to come up with a couple of the insights that helped us make progress. However, it wasn't until fairly late that I started on it, and we ran out of time. (The next one is the one I worked on early, and we got enough of this first set of puzzles to go on to the next set. This puzzle languished until we were just stuck.) I do think we would have gotten there, if we had had more time, because we were (finally) on the right path.

The way that the hunt worked was that you get the first set of puzzles, then you don't get the next set for 8 hours. However, for every one from the first set you solve, you deduct one hour. I think we got 5 of this first set within three hours, so we moved on.