2.04 Chronomentometer 1

From DoctorWhen

Status

::FINAL-READY::

Location

Name and Address: "Clocksmith Technologies"...outside of Clocksmith, 806 El Camino Real, San Carlos

Parking: free street

Bathroom: No

Food: No

GC PoC: Erik, Wei-Hwa (415) 475-8463, lab@peachfrontier.com

Parking: Free on street

Type

Mandatory Puzzle

Plot Setup

  • All evidence of Trenchwood Institute and its timeline has mysteriously disappeared.
  • Peach Frontier Laboratories has taken its place
  • Iconoclast scientist Prof. Chronos has attempted to demonstrate her time machine before an audience of VIPs.
  • But it malfunctioned due to faulty key components--quantum chronomentometers.
  • The malfunction is causing the Professor to bounce around randomly in time from era to era, facing untold dangers!

Props

How To Give To Teams

Puzzle motivated in person at the end of Invalid Permits. See its Staff Instructions.

Puzzle handed out in person--see Staff Instructions

Plot Point to Convey

  • Doctor When can't design himself because he is good on theory; only Prof. Chronos was driven to implement.
  • Help of another expert is needed.
  • Once done, the machine is closer to being fixed.

Short Description

The players need to help Doctor When design a new quantum chronomentometer.

Open Time Period

Sunday 12:40 AM till all teams (16 for Game 1, 17 for Game 2) have picked up (estimated 2:05 AM)

Staff Instructions

Your Role: Lab assistant at the Clocksmith Technologies, known for their practical expertise in developing chronomentometers.

What To Wear: lab coat + Clocksmith Technologies name badge

What Your Character Knows: You are collegial with Peach Frontier Laboratories, but you didn't know Prof. Chronos had created a (semi) working time machine nor that it malfunctioned.

Puzzles At This Site: Only Chronomentometer 1

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

  • Call GC when you are ready for teams

Handout Instructions:

Discreetly keep count of the number of teams who have picked up their puzzle so that you know when to close down.

There is only one puzzle to hand out here: “Chronomentometer”. The interaction should go something like:

TEAM: We need your help! Prof. Chronos has become lost in time because four the chronomentometers within her time machine failed. We have to design new ones so that we can rescue her.

LAB ASSISTANT: I'm sorry, who sent you here again?

TEAM: Doctor Wesley When

LAB ASSISTANT: Doctor When? Here?! I thought he was in New England. But that's terrible! Of course we'll help. Unfortunately we've never created a complete quantum chronomentometer; the materials are way too finicky. But I do have a design kit that should help.

Unfortunately, this won't do you much good unless you have the right Chronomentometer Restricted Arrangement Particulars. There are millions of configurations and I'll need to know the specific chronomentometer numbers to get you the right pieces of CRAP. You wouldn't happen to have the numbers of the chronomentometers that were broken, would you?

TEAM: Numbers 50, 87, 104, and 134.

LAB ASSISTANT: Ah yes, I should have guessed. Doctor When always knew those were some of the most fragile. Let me pull out Chronomentometer Restricted Arrangement Particulars for those four. With those and the kit, you should be able to figure out good designs to send to Doctor When.

Then hand out all the components of the puzzle: 4 design kits, blank grids, and four Chronomentometer Restricted Arrangement Particulars.

Site Close Down:

  • Clean up.
  • Return your name badge(s) and lanyard to GC HQ at the end of your shift

Other Instructions:

  • Stay in character.
  • Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.

Detailed Description

Jigsaw puzzle with constraints. Physical pieces given to players to model the "real" one in the time machine, along with four partial maps on paper. They submit their completed arrangements to lab staff, who will confirm the solution.

Technical Setup

Here's the steps for resetting this event:

  1. Make sure that http://weihwa.com/~whuang/nodir/doctorwhen/gross/teams.csv has the correct teams.
  2. Go to the working directory: cd /home/www/doctorwhen/peachfrontier.com/public_html/cmm
  3. Clean out the logs: rm /home/www/doctorwhen/peachfrontier.com/public_html/cmm/log/*
  4. reset all the database crud:
    1. mysql -u laboratory --password=forscience < resetteams.sql
    2. mysql -Dpeachfrontier -u laboratory --password=forscience < puzinfo.sql
  5. Go to the admin console at: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/nimda.html
  6. In the "Team Info" section, click on "Release" next to each team name. (Try to spread out the roles a bit instead of doing all the same roles together.)
  7. For good measure, have some fake teams solve some unclaimed puzzles (click the tiny buttons in the "auto-solve" area, but only next to red numbers).

Details for what's in those sql files is at: http://weihwa.com/~whuang/nodir/doctorwhen/gross/more_notes.txt (see the bottom of the document)

Puzzle Answer

There are four grids, numbered 50, 87, 104, 134 (there is no significance to the numbering).

Use Username: tester Password: streetsetter to access these urls.

Status for teams, as they solve this, is available at:

http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/parta.html

We should monitor this regularly and notify teams as necessary.

Puzzle Solution

Each set consists of unique hexaxgonal 4-ominoes (and some 3-ominoes) that tesselate into the Trenchwood "T" logo shape. For each puzzle sheet, some of the pieces are given fixed positions, and the others must be figured out.

Budget

 Scrap Acrylic, about 2.2 puzzles per $1 sheet = $58
 Printer Ink = $9 (est.)
 Label Stock, about 1.9 puzzles per $0.4 sheet = $26

Credits

Manager

Wei-Hwa

Hints

Ask teams what they have done, probing details if necessary (often this will get a team unstuck by themselves).

Kind of hard to give logical-based hints. One general hints that one could give:

  • Each piece has 3 or 4 hexes. So, if you place a piece and divide the remaining space into an area that has 1, 2, or 5 hexes, that placement can't be correct.

Other than that, if a team is stuck on a particular puzzle, give them the first letter of nonogram #2. Then the second, then the third, etc.

Response to Correct Answer

When a team emails to say they've completed all four, check their work at http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/parta.html. Although the page should refresh every second, you may have to explicitly click on the Refresh button to be sure. In case something goes funky with the color display (happened during the playtest), look at the log at the bottom of the page (which you'll also need to refresh).

If it's correct then, email team

Your new designs for the quantum chronomentometer modules worked! Thank you so much.
Doctor When is tied up in calculations. But he taped instructions on what he needs you to do next. We don't have the View-O-Scope working well enough to view the past. But it can patch you into his recording.
Please launch the View-O-Scope Computer Remote Access Program (it should autorun on PCs; view index.html on Macs) and enter access code 849943.

Make sure you set the return email address to lab@peachfrontier.com.

Note that there is a second follow-up email that must be sent shortly afterwards, see 2.05 Mix Tape Puzzle#How to Give to Teams.

To Do

Other Notes

This is a "trainer" puzzle for a series of them appearing later in the act.

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