2.11 Locker Combo

Status

::FINAL-READY::

Location

Name And Address: Paine Memorial High School Principal's Suite, actually Registration Office, Highlands Rec Center, 1851 Lexington Ave. San Mateo

Parking: Free lot

Bathroom: Yes

Food: No

GC PoC: Erik & Melissa

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 causing Prof. Chronos to bounce randomly through time
• The players have fixed the time machine
• The players have figured out that she wanted to be sent to 5/31/1986 at 2:15 PM. Doctor When chose to send her to Paine Memorial High School.
• For some unknown reason, Prof. Chronos needs the combination to a school locker...and perhaps there are records of old 1986 combinations somewhere at the school in 2012
• By analyzing ghostly voices overheard within the Teachers' Lounge the players know that the combination records are in the Principal's Suite. (FYI, some tortoise teams may get sent directly to the Principal's suite.)

Props

• Set dressing, including
  • poster of Dirk Nowitzki
  • poster of 2011 NBA Playoffs bracket
  • mini plush basketball
  • mini basketball hoop
  • desk picture frame of June Cleaver
• 16 or 17 copies of picture frame insert
• Painter's tape

Plot Point to Convey

After this event, Chronos can get into the locker (for whatever mysterious reason she needs to do so).

Short Description

Teams need to figure out the master locker combo from the principal's notes.

Open Time Period

Sunday, setup 4:30 PM, open 5:00 till all teams (16 first weekend, 17 second weekend) pick up (estimated between 7:00 - 7:30 AM)

Staff Instructions

Your Role: Tiresias, the school janitor (and also mysterious game fairy of the universe).

What Your Character Knows: Everything--you're Tiresias! (but not letting on more than a need-to-know basis)

Setup:

• Hang poster of Dirk Nowitzki on wall behind desk
• Cover the bulletin board with the NBA playoffs bracket - make sure it's the 2012 version
• Hang basketball hoop on storage door, or nearby wall
• Place one locker combo sheet inside the picture frame
• Place the picture frame on desktop - to a seated person, it's leaning on the right side wall in arm's reach
• Place the basketball in front of the frame

Handout Instructions: Welcome teams by reminding them to think about why they're there:

Hi folks, what brings you to the Principal's office?

If they haven't solved the Christmas Party yet (and it hasn't already shut down), they might mumble something about seeing it on the map and wandering curiously. Turn them away:

I'm sorry, this area is private. I heard some funny noises coming from the teachers' lounge, though, you might want to check that out.

Only let them in if they know that the master locker combo is kept in the Principal's office (or Principal's Suite). One team at a time -- ask any others to please wait in line just a few minutes.

IF they were skipped over the Christmas Party, make sure to deliver the key hint:

Well, I know the master locker combo is written down every year, and stored somewhere in this room. And I've often heard the Principal say that if you just look at things in the right FRAME of mind, you always find what you're looking for.

• Discreetly keep track of how many teams have picked up...so you know when to leave!
• You're pretending to tidy up as a "normal" janitor would...but all-knowing Tiresias is really there to subtly help the visitors
• Only let one team at at time in the office.
• "Reset" the props after each team leaves, especially putting a new insert in the desk picture frame.

Site Close Down:

• Box up all props, and hide them in storage closet
• Clean up location
• Call GC HQ
• Go to gym

Other Instructions:

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

Detailed Description

The teams have discovered that the principal keeps the master locker combo in his office. They go to his office and find - lo and behold - a list of locker combos hidden away. However, the combination changes each year, and the list only goes back to 1987! Undaunted, the players figure out the pattern, and deduce what the 1986 locker combo was, and convey this to Prof. Chronus.

How To Give To Teams

GC member at principal's office can only let one team in at a time. Each team will snag a copy of puzzle from the picture frame. GC must replace puzzle after each team leaves.

Puzzle Answer

1-11-9

Puzzle Solution

Every year, the combo is chosen from The Finals of the NBA Playoffs. First two numbers are the MVP initials (in last-first order), third number is the date in June when the finals are played.

1985 playoffs were held on June 9. MVP was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 1 = A, 11 = K, 9 So the combo 1-11-9 would still be in effect in May 1986, as the June playoffs will not have been held yet.

(The reason it's 1-11 instead of 11-1, which would be more sensible, is that our ACTUAL LOCKER DIAL has physical constraints regarding what constitutes a valid combo. 11-1-9 would not work, but 1-11-9 does. The players will use this combo to actually open the locker itself later in Act 3, when they visit 1986 in person.)

Manager

Sean

Hints

Finding the combo list

Make sure they remember the key hint phrase, "look at things in the right FRAME". (The list is hidden inside the June Cleaver picture frame).

DO NOT LET THEM look behind the four decorative frames near the door!! They're a pain to re-hang. Just say, "That's a good idea, but I'll save you the trouble; you won't find anything, and these pictures are a pain to put back on the wall."

Discourage attempts to open storage closets, rifle through folders in the drawers, or analyze posters we didn't put there. A simple, "Nah, you don't want to mess with that" has proven sufficient.

Encourage curiosity about the props we planted, including looking behind them. Like, if they look hesitant, say "you can touch those, I don't think it'll do much harm."

DO NOT LET THEM LEAVE without the list! (Unless they're a rabbit team, totally smug about "finding what they needed" in 10 seconds) Some may assume it's hidden on the face of the bracket poster. "I don't think you've got it yet; there's an actual, written list in here somewhere."

Solving the combo list

If they don't realize there's a new combo written each year, have them count how many combos are listed. The most recent one, not yet crossed off, is current for academic year 2011-2012. Each one above is for a previous year, back to spring 1987.

Nudge them to notice which numbers in the combos stay the same from year to year and which change.

The bracket shows correct data for 2011, there's nothing to solve. It's a hint component, not puzzle fodder.

On-site help can point out what's important about each planted prop:

• It's all basketball stuff -- the Principal is a huge basketball fan.
• The bracket shows he cares deeply about the playoffs each year, and that 2011 took place on June 12.
• The picture frame shows Barbara Billingsly (initials BB, also = BasketBall), who is a basketball fan in real life. She played JUNE Cleaver on the TV show "Leave It To Beaver". The NBA playoffs are held in JUNE every year, without exception.
• Dirk Nowitzki was named MVP of The Playoffs, and is holding that trophy. The Principal cares about PLAYOFFS MVP, which is DIFFERENT from SEASON MVP!!

Phone help from GC HQ could know the Principal personally, and that he is:

• a huge basketball fan
• a devoted follower of the NBA playoffs each year
• attentive to The Playoffs MVPs (NOT the SEASON MVP, that's different)

Nudge them to notice which MVPs were the same from year to year.

The first two digits represent the MVP (initials, last name first, A=1 Z=26) and the third digit is the DATE in JUNE when the playoffs took place.

Response to Correct Answer

Initial Answer Screening By Lab Assistant

LAB ASSISTANT: Hello. Peach Frontier Laboratories. How may I direct your call?

VISITOR: We're the ____ team. We've got an urgent message for Doctor When.

LAB ASSISTANT: What is it?

VISITOR: He's supposed to send the numbers _______ to Prof. Chronos in the past.

If Answer Is Correct (1-11-9)

LAB ASSISTANT: That's way over my head. I'd better connect you to Doctor When. But first...are you on speakerphone?

VISITOR: Absolutely.

LAB ASSISTANT: Excellent. I'll connect you.

VISITOR: Hello, Doctor When?

DOCTOR WHEN: Great Scott! Our detectors show you at Paine Memorial High School. What are you doing there?

VISITOR: Uh...yes. Prof. Chronos asked us to go here to...uh...do a "research project" and then have you use the time machine to send the data to her in 1986.

DOCTOR WHEN: Heavy! What is the information?

VISITOR: Send her the following three numbers: 1-11-9.

DOCTOR WHEN: That sounds very technical...I'll do it!

By the way, it's quite a coincidence that you're at Paine Memorial High School. Our instruments have detected that there's some sort of chronotonic nexus at the school's gym where many different timelines intersect. I have absolutely no idea why that gym is so important. But it does mean that we'll get excellent reception for the View-O-Scope there!

So I sent over a lab assistant to set up a live feed. Please go to the gym now and as soon as we fix the time machine you can watch us finally rescue Prof. Chronos!

If Answer Is Incorrect (for example 99-70-30)

VISITOR: Could you send "99-70-30" to Professor Chronos?

LAB ASSISTANT: Sure. Let me write that down. You want us to send 99-70-30 back in time to Professor Chronos, is that right?

VISITOR: Yes, that's right...

LAB ASSISTANT (cutting the team off): Hold on, something just happened here, let me check...

[pause for 5 seconds] The cyclic tachyon detectors here at the lab just suddenly went haywire! It happened just as soon as I said 99-70-30 ... agh, there it goes again! You know, there's something in Professor Chronos's notes about this... lemme check... here we go. Oh, I see.

Apparently this means that some sort of temporal paradox is imminent and that the fabric of the universe is about to unravel. All because we're about to send Professor Chronos a slip of paper that says 99-70-30 ... ack.

(off-phone) TURN THAT ALARM OFF!

(back to team) You know, I'm thinking that maybe we shouldn't be sending her 99, er, those numbers. I don't know how you're getting them, but could you go back and recheck what you did? I'm guessing that some other numbers have to go on this slip of paper.

VISITOR: Uh, sure.

LAB ASSISTANT: Thanks! I sure hope that the next set of numbers you give us won't destroy the universe. Because that might [pick your favorite]:

• make our Grand Unveiling look bad.
• ruin my day.
• totally be a bummer.