Props

TECH NOTE: The tables in this page are dynamically-generated from the individual event pages. If something weird shows up here it's probably because there was something screwy in the event pages. Feel free to edit these tables but if you don't understand what's going on, ask Wei-Hwa.

1.01 Introductory Lecture 1

• PowerPoint presentation on Erik's Laptop File:PPT for intro speech.ppt
• projector
• screen
• PA system
• time machine set with sound/light/smoke special effects.
• seats for players
• portable tachyon detector prop

1.02 Core Dump 1

• Physical "Toggle Burner" boards, one for each team.
• 32 or 43 copies of "core dump" word list, two for each team: [[1]]
• Trenchwood Institute Contact Sheet, 16 for Game 1, 17 for Game 2
• Poster with wifi signin information
• 4 copies of Staff Instructions (so multiple staffers may offer hints)

1.03 Tachyon Midi Ether Co-Keypad 1

• 55 or 58 blank keypad grid sheets (3 per team + 7 spares)
• 35 or 37 copies of Connections Requirements Analysis for Pad #34 (2 per team + 3 spares);
• 17 or 18 sets of keypad design kits (1 per team + 1 spare)
• Lab coat
• "Dorian Clair Laboratories" name badge and lanyard

1.04 Choose Your Own Adventure

poster of invention ideas

• Approximately 100 copies of CYOA puzzle books (1 per player)
• Removable painter's tape (for attaching set dressing)
• Set Dressing:
  • Real Genius poster
  • set D&D books
  • sheet & pillowcase
  • Poster of invention ideas (see right)
  • hat with buttons
  • Doctor Who scarf
  • funky phone
  • other childhood memorabilia?

1.06 Calibration

• 32 or 34 copies of Trenchwood Industries CDs, which contain the Calibration puzzle (2 per team, with 0 spares)
• 16 copies of optional TBD puzzle (1 per team, with 0 spares)
• 1 Lab coat (should already have from previous location)
• 1 Long Now name badge and lanyard (should already have lanyard from previous location; look inside the lanyard for this badge insert)
• 120 (7 per team) copies of blank co-keypad sheets (for use in 1.03.05 Co-Keypad Optional Driving Puzzles)

1.08 Send Me Back

(No new puzzle-specific props)

1.10 Locate the Letter

(No new props for this puzzle)

1.11 Fetch the Letter

Crazy Tracy

• reach grabber

• award certificate
• safety goggles
• pocket protector
• nerd glasses
• rubber gloves
• flask
• electric meter

• red tape
• agent badge
• sunglasses
• binder
• handcuffs

• fedora
• memo pad
• light bulb canister
• photography magazine
• microphone

• golf club
• prospectus
• piggy bank
• Wall Street Journal
• day planner
• tobacco container

Archeologist

• two copies of "1958 Log" per team ( http://weihwa.com/~whuang/nodir/doctorwhen/find-letter/LogBookV9.pdf )
• two copies of "Memorandum" per team ( http://weihwa.com/~whuang/nodir/doctorwhen/find-letter/MemoV4.pdf )
• storage tub, with lid
  • 15 "decoy" envelopes
    • contains paper towels
  • 18 "correct" envelopes, marked with code "LA" (but only one is in the tub at a time)
    • each contains a folded, empty, dirty envelope and a newspaper clipping (with handwritten note)
• 1 hint sheet (printed copy of this page)
• 18 coupons to Crazy Tracy's shop

1.12 Consolidation 1

• 40 + Any remaining blank co-keypad grids from 1.06_Calibration#Props
• Any leftover sets of keypad design kits
• Wei-Hwa + his computer + his phone + USB cable
  • Video in W-H's computer
  • Documentation from 1.03.05_Co-Keypad_Optional_Driving_Puzzles
• Screen
• Projector (perhaps we can use the projector at the location)
  • Projector-to-PC cable
  • Projector remote
• Sound system (including microphone)
• 2 Lab coats (should already have from prior locations)
• 2 Trenchwood Institute name badges and lanyards (should already have from prior locations)
• 2 copies of Act I lab assistant skit (reformatted for ease of reading)

1.11.02a Balance Sheet Puzzle

• Act I: 9 copies of Trenchwood version of Balance Sheet
• Act II: 16 copies of Peach Frontier version of Balance Sheet
• File:Balance Sheet Puzzle V7.pdf

1.11.02b Income Statement

• Act I: 9 copies of Trenchwood version of Income Statement
• Act II: 16 copies of Peach Frontier version of Income Statement

1.11.01 Intense Secrets

• Act I: 9 copies of Trenchwood version of Pulp Science Fiction
• Act II: 16 copies of Peach Frontier version of Pulp Science Fiction

1.07 Feynman Diagrams

Paper puzzle

1.11.03 Particle Zoo

• Act I: 9 copies of Trenchwood version of Particle Zoo
• Act II: 16 copies of Peach Frontier version of Particle Zoo

1.05.3 Wormhole

• 17 copies of Wormhole puzzle
• Lab coat
• Smith Laboratories name tag insert (you should find it hidden in your lanyard)

1.11.04 (REDACTED) Redaction Agency Puzzle

• Act I: 9 copies of Trenchwood version of Redaction Agency Puzzle internal email [2]
• Act II: 16 copies of Peach Frontier version of Redaction Agency internal email [3]
• 48 copies--A page from a scientific paper [4]. Give out three copies per team.
• 16 copies--A bunch of strips that assemble to form the first page of the secret agent's instruction document [5]. This should be printed out, the upper-left corner cut off and thrown away, and the rest run through Wei-Hwa's paper shredder. These strips are in a ziplok bag.

1.00 Registration

• Table
• Chairs for registration staffers
• 16 or 17 envelopes, each labeled with a team name
• Lab coat (one for each staffer)
• Trenchwood Institute name badge and lanyard (one for each staffer)
• (optional) Bin for waivers
• Spare waivers
• Pens

1.09 Fabric of Time

• 16 or 17 copies of Fabric of Time

1.07.05 Location: Letterman

• Puzzle instructions for Send Me Back (Mandatory)
• Puzzle instructions for Fabric Of Time (Optional)
• Lab coat (should have from previous site)
• Trenchwood Institute name badge and lanyard (should have from previous site)

1.11.00 Role Puzzles

• Staff instructions for Particle Zoo
• Staff instructions for Redacted Puzzle
• Staff instructions for Pulp SF Puzzle
• Staff instructions for Balance Sheet
• Staff instructions for Income Statement
• Team vs. Role Puzzle check off grid

1.03.05 Co-Keypad Optional Driving Puzzles

N/A

2.01 Introductory Lecture 2

Prof. Chronus gives a welcoming speech to the teams, parallel to Dr. When's speech at the start of Act I.

Your Role: lab assistants at Peach Frontier Laboratories (plus Prof. Chronos, Doctor When, Buffy, & Tiresias)

What To Wear: lab coat + Peach Frontier Laboratories nametag

What Your Character Knows: You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute nor the hi-jinks of Act I (it never happened in this timeline!). Similarly, you've never seen the players before. You have heard of Doctor Wesley When. He is a visiting scientist (traveling with his wife Buffy).

Puzzles At This Site: None during this segment

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

• Make sure portable tachyon detector is near the door of the time machine

Handout Instructions: When all the players have completed C.R.A.P., lab assistant says

Thank you all for completing your C.R.A.P. applications. We know it was a lot of work so we're grateful you didn't make a stink about it.

With that out of the way it is almost time to start the presentation. Thank you for your patience.

We then proceed with the entrance of Doctor When + Buffy, as detailed in the script.

Hints: n/a

Answers: n/a

Site Close Down: n/a

Other Instructions:

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

Prof. Chronus gives a welcoming speech to the teams, parallel to Dr. When's speech at the start of Act I. She (and the other actors) do not acknowledge that any events from Act I happened. At the conclusion of the speech, Prof. Chronus enters the time machine, something breaks down, and she is "lost in time".

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

n/a

n/a

n/a

N/A

2.02 Core Dump 2

Teams receive the "core dump" from Prof. Chronos's time machine, and try to figure out why it's broken.

Your Role: Lab Assistant at Peach Frontier Laboratories.

What To Wear: lab coats + Peach Frontier Laboratories name badges

What Your Character Knows:

• Only that the time machine has malfunctioned (but not the cause of the malfunction), and that the Professor is somehow lost in time, and it's very urgent to rescue her.

Puzzles At This Site: Several, but this sheet only covers Core Dump 2.

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions: n/a

Handout Instructions:

• Help Doctor When hand out one pack to each team when he indicates. Then usher them out the door to solve outside.
• After 10 minutes hand each team the supplemental data sheet.

Hints: See below.

Answers: When a team has its answer it returns to the lab and seeks out Doctor When. (The very bored Buffy is nearby.) The interaction should go something like,

VISITOR 1: The error code says the machine's quantum chronomentometer malfunctioned!

DOCTOR WHEN: Oh, of course! Prof. Chronos never was very good at quantum chronomentometers. But luckily I am the world's expert on the subject. I'll fix it right away!

BUFFY (to the visitors): Ha! Don't hold your breath. It took him two months just to get the new shower rods in.

DOCTOR WHEN: That's not the same thing!

BUFFY: Whatever. Can I go to the reception now? I don't have to wait for what's her name to show up, do I?

DOCTOR WHEN: No, you can't go yet. I have to work on the chronomentometer.

(to the visitors): Thank you so much for your help. While I work on the chronomentometer, would you please see any of the lab assistants and ask what research project you could tackle next?

VISITOR 1: Sure thing!

Site Close Down: n/a; site remains open for next event.

Other Instructions:

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

In contrast to Act I's Core Dump puzzle, a set of apple cores are presented as a pun on the phrase "core dump". The solution to puzzle points toward the quantum chronomentometer as the problem.

Players arrange a jigsaw puzzle of apple core shapes, guided by some ASCII-art printouts, to reveal a plain-text message.

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

When players first get the tiles:

• Sort (group) tiles by color

• Can you match a group of tiles to a picture and spell something? Not quite? For example, players may notice they have a picture of a SQUID and a group of tiles that anagrams to QUID.

When players are starting to spell words missing a letter:

• What do the missing letters spell? "ASSEMBLE." (That assembly is required is probably obvious without this clue.)

• Can you assemble each word/color by itself? If players are not sure whether they've assembled a color correctly or think there are multiple ways, they may need help with the assembly process. For example, they may have some of the apples upside down, not having realized the letters should be properly oriented, or they may have diagonal line segments that meet at a corner but don't continue straight through it. Proper assembly should be unique and satisfying.

After color-group assembly:

• Can you put it all together? If each color is assembled properly, the final assembly into a square should be straightforward, as there is no ambiguity about which edge or corner is which.

• The non-apple tiles with straight edges are border tiles, four of which are corners (shaped like squares).

Once the final square is formed:

• Great, you've assembled the core dump! What does it say?

• Players must read the letters on the 36 apple tiles, ignoring the border, in normal top-to-bottom left-to-right order to spell the answer.

GREAT SCOTT BAD QUANTUM CHRONOMENTOMETER

Group the puzzle pieces by color. They anagram to the following words, each with one letter missing:

• Black: HE(A)RT MONITOR
• Brown: (S)QUID
• Red: BA(S)SOON
• Orange: COMMENC(E)MENT
• Yellow: (M)UTANT
• Green: HONEYCOM(B)
• Blue: BATT(L)E AXE
• Pink: ROCKING HORS(E)

There is an ASCII image for each word, to help solve the anagrams.

The missing letters spell "ASSEMBLE" (when ordered by Resistor-color-code).

The tiles of each color must be assembled into a connected shape, where each tile has a neighbor on one of its four sides, and the lines drawn on the tiles flow from the first letter to the last. The rules are as follows: All tiles are oriented "right-side up," based on the letter, which is in normal orientation. Some tiles are found to be "horizontal" apple cores with the apple stem on the left, and some are "vertical" with the apple stem towards the top, while others are edge tiles or corners. The line segments indicate where the next and previous letters (and tiles) are to be found, and they must be continuous, not changing direction even at a corner. That is, if a line segment extends northeast, then the next letter will be found up and to the right, and the incoming line segment on that tile will enter from the lower left. Diagonals may cross each other, Boggle-style (in a nice parallelism with the sister puzzle from Act I). Assembly should be easy and unambiguous once the pattern is recognized.

Assemble the colored multi-tile shapes into an 8x8 square, with the border letters around the outside. Ignore the border letters; the remaining ones spell the final message:

GREAT SCOTT BAD QUANTUM CHRONOMENTOMETER

n/a; teams answer puzzles in person

2.04 Chronomentometer 1

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

• Answer to 50: FHLLIIMEM LLHKADGJB CDDDDGIME
  • Diagram: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/answers/50.html
• Answer to 87: CCFGKKJJH FFGMEIBBD DLLIEMJJK
  • Diagram: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/answers/87.html
• Answer to 107: HAAAFMBBE DAHFGKKIL JJIKGCMBB
  • Diagram: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/answers/107.html
• Answer to 134: BLLCKKJJH CLIIEDDDD MMEDAGJJK
  • Diagram: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/answers/134.html

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.

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.

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.

2.05 Mix Tape Puzzle

Teams get a mix tape with 18 songs, each with the word "time" in the title, plus an insert with (out-of-order) artists and years and a poem from Catherine.

Your Role: Tiresias, this time as the record store's janitor.

What To Wear: Tiresias costume

What Your Character Knows: Tiresias knows everything (but reveals only what supplicants need to know)

Puzzles At This Site: Mix Tape

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

• Place mix tape in dumpster as you see fit
• Call GC when you are ready for teams

Handout Instructions:

Discreetly keep track of how many teams have picked up so you know when to close down the site.

As each team arrives the interaction should go something like:

TIRESIAS: Hey there. Y'all look in a hurry. But the store's closed.

VISITOR 1: Darn it. We just have to find this old cassette mix tape that was just sold to the store.

TIRESIAS: Was that from some crazy lady who looked like she was auditioning for "The Real Housewives of San Mateo"?

VISITOR 1: That's the one!

TIRESIAS: You may be in luck. The boss looked deeper in the box and realized he couldn't sell most of those 80s relics. So he tossed 'em. Why don't you check that trash pile over there?

As each team removes a mix tape from the dumpster, discreetly hide a replacement tape.

Hints: Teams have been instructed to call GC; if you familiarize yourself with the attached hints feel free to assist

Answers: Teams have been instructed to call Doctor When with their answer. If they try to give you their answer, remind them to follow their instructions.

Site Close Down:

• Clean up.
• Call GC HQ

Other Instructions:

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

Teams receive a mixtape created by Catherine Chronos when she was in high school and given to Wesley shortly before they graduated. They're told that Catherine had said it contained one of her biggest secrets, and Dr. When thinks that's probably the password to her computer. Enclosed with the mixtape is a poem that Catherine had written to young Wesley. All of the songs turn out to be time-related, and the puzzle solution implies that Catherine had a crush on Wesley.

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

General hints:

- Any garbled audio is an authentic artifact of imperfect or damaged tape, and not an intended part of the puzzle.

- Catherine’s poem gives a “roadmap” of how to solve the puzzle. (She wanted Wesley to solve it, after all!)

- To identify the songs, teams can use their own knowledge or a service like Shazam, or can do an internet search for lyrics.

- The recordings on this tape are unaltered and complete commercially-released songs. There is no additional information hidden in their lengths or content.

- Many teams may be tempted to re-write the artist/year column to match the order of the titles (or vice-versa). This will not help until they reach the "SHIFT" step, at which point they need to leave the artists where they are and figure out how many rows away the right song for that artist is.

- Time After Time indexes into “Lauper, Cyndi” twice, producing an L and a U.

- It’s possible to skip the first hidden message and simply add the shifts to the song years and read it as ASCII. This is fine.

- It’s important that the “shift” that you add to the year be positive/absolute values (note the “absolutely” hint in the poem).

- The “ask? Keys…” hint may be missed by some teams, and, if so, the relevant step may be hard to get. Consider hinting to teams stuck here that Catherine might have put a clue as to the encoding mechanism in the poem, and that they should consider reading it out loud, slowly. If they still don’t get it, I advise pointing out the ask-keys hint.

- Going by instinct, teams may get the wrong “chart-topper” songs. Common wrong guesses might be “True Blue” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. However, the solutions are unique – there’s only one #1 single in the correct time period (1982 - 5/20/86) using each of the four clue words.

- Some teams may not see the poem as a roadmap – in particular, they may look for hints throughout the poem at any point in their solve process. This may lead to various wrong turns, such as seeing the “four timeless chart-toppers” reference as an instruction to pick the correct four songs from the mixtape – perhaps the ones that were #1 singles. Encourage them to use the poem “in order”.

I-HEART-WESLEY

• “Name all the tunes”. The solver should notice that the song titles fit the blanks on the page, one blank per word, although the provided artists and years mostly don't match.

• “Use what they share” – every song has the word “time” in the title. The solver needs to get the aha that the position of the word "time" needs to be used as a letter-index into the provided artist.

Order on Tape	Song	Listed Artist	Listed Year	"Time" Index	Index Letter
1	A Minute Of Your Time	Rocky Horror Picture Show, The	1975	5	Y
2	Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is	Tyrone Davis	1970	6	E
3	Hot Fun In The Summertime	“Andy” Andrew Williams	1963	5	A
4	As Time Goes By	Armstrong, Louis	1964	2	R
5	Turn Back The Hands Of Time	Floyd, Pink	1973	6	P
6	Time After Time	Lauper, Cyndi	1964	1,3	LU
7	Old Time Rock And Roll	B. Seger	1979	2	S
8	The Times They Are A-Changin’	Captain & Tennile	1979	2	A
9	It’s Been A Long, Long Time	Dylan, Robert	1964	6	R
10	The Time Warp	Stone, Sly & The Family	1969	2	T
11	It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year	Rolling Stones, The	1964	5	I
12	Feels Like The First Time	James "Jimmy" Durante	1965	5	S
13	Do That To Me One More Time	Stewart, Al	1978	7	T
14	Time	Simon, Carly	1974	1	S
15	All Time High	Theme from Octopussy	1983	2	H
16	Haven’t Got Time For The Pain	Chicago	1970	3	I
17	Time Passages	Foreigner	1977	1	F
18	Time Is On My Side	Tom Jones	1968	1	T

This gets "my code's formula" : YEAR PLUS ARTIST SHIFT. (Note that, for “Time After Time”, you index twice.)

• “I’ve shifted the artists, you’ll note – absolutely”. Keeping the same ARTIST order ("leave them as listed..."), find the correct song for the listed artist and add the (absolute value of the) number of rows between the listed artist and the actual song recorded by that artist.

• Example for the above step: in the first row, the artist listed is "Rocky Horror Picture Show, The". The actual song from that artist is The Time Warp, in row 10. That's a shift of 9 rows, so you take the listed year, 1975, and add the absolute value (9) of the shift, to get 1984.

• “’What will this give me?’ you ask? Keys for you!” (Note the hint for ASCII in “ask-keys”.) Take the last two digits of the “year + shift” column and read them as ASCII.

Order on Tape	Listed Song	Listed Artist	Correct Song	Listed Year	Shift	F+ABS(G)	ASCII(G - 1900)
1	A Minute Of Your Time	Rocky Horror Picture Show, The	The Time Warp	1975	9	1984	T
2	Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is	Tyrone Davis	Turn Back The Hands Of Time	1970	3	1973	I
3	Hot Fun In The Summertime	“Andy” Andrew Williams	It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year	1963	8	1971	G
4	As Time Goes By	Armstrong, Louis	It's Been A Long, Long Time	1964	5	1969	E
5	Turn Back The Hands Of Time	Floyd, Pink	Time	1973	9	1982	R
6	Time After Time	Lauper, Cyndi	Lauper, Cyndi	1984	0	1984	T
7	Old Time Rock And Roll	B. Seger	Old Time Rock And Roll	1979	0	1979	O
8	The Times They Are A-Changin'	Captain & Tennile	Do That To Me One More Time	1979	5	1984	T
9	It's Been A Long, Long Time	Dylan, Robert	The Times They Are A-Changin'	1964	-1	1965	A
10	The Time Warp	Stone, Sly & The Family	Hot Fun In The Summertime	1969	-7	1976	L
11	It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year	Rolling Stones, The	Time Is On My Side	1964	7	1971	G
12	Feels Like The First Time	James "Jimmy" Durante	As Time Goes By	1965	-8	1973	I
13	Do That To Me One More Time	Stewart, Al	Time Passages	1978	4	1982	R
14	Time	Simon, Carly	Haven't Got Time For The Pain	1974	2	1976	L
15	All Time High	Theme from Octopussy	All Time High	1983	0	1983	S
16	Haven't Got Time For The Pain	Chicago	Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is	1970	-14	1984	T
17	Time Passages	Foreigner	Feels Like The First Time	1977	-5	1982	R
18	Time Is On My Side	Tom Jones	A Minute Of Your Time	1968	-17	1985	U

The text says "TIGERTOTALGIRLSTRU".

• “Keys for you! To four “timeless” chart-toppers since ‘82. Four clues and four songs– now here’s the last part: Just start what I finish, or end what I start.” There are four “words” from the previous step – TIGER, TOTAL,GIRLS, TRU. Each is the first or last word of a “chart-topper” – a Billboard #1 single in the US – between 1982 and the date of the poem (5/20/86). The songs are:

• • TIGER: “Eye of the Tiger”
  • TOTAL: “Total Eclipse of the Heart”
  • GIRLS: “West End Girls”
  • TRU: “Truly”

• “Just start what I finish, or end what I start.” If the clue was the first word (or syllable for TRULY) of the title of the “chart-topper”, take the last word (or syllable for TRULY) of the title, and vice-versa. This gives the words EYE-HEART-WEST-LY.

• “You’ve syllables four – now say them out loud!” Saying these words out loud gives “I heart Wesley”. Either “I heart Wesley” or “I love Wesley” is acceptable as an answer.

Teams call in to the lab.

LAB ASSISTANT: Hello. Peach Frontier Laboratories.

VISITOR: We're the ____ team. We've cracked the password to the Da Vinci Datamaster supercomputer.

LAB ASSISTANT: Excellent! What is it?

VISITOR: It's _____.

Incorrect Answer

LAB ASSISTANT: Oh, that can't be right. We tried that one already. Would you keep working on it and call back later?

Correct Answer

LAB ASSISTANT: Oh, that's interesting. I think you'll need to talk to the Doctor directly. Are you on speakerphone?

VISITOR: Absolutely.

LAB ASSISTANT: Excellent. I'll connect you.

DOCTOR WHEN: Hello! I hope you have good news--we really need to access her supercomputer!

VISITOR: The password is "I-HEART-WESLEY"!

DOCTOR WHEN: [muttering to self] Great Scott! Why didn't she tell me back then? Things would have been so much...better.

I just typed it in and it works!

Now that I have access to the computer, I have to look up some files. So let me hand off to you one of the lab assistants who will give you your next research assignment.

The lab assistant responds differently based on which puzzle they're going to next.

Going to 2.06 Quantum Time Vibrations

Go to this wiki entry for the lab assistant's dialog and the supplemental email.

Going to 2.07 Art History

Lab assistant continues to say,

Our instruments have picked up inexplicable quantum time vibrations near the San Mateo International Museum of Pretentious Art.

Maybe you'll find a clue there...or even a message from Prof. Chronos! That would fit her because she loves art almost as much as science. And the place would be on her mind--she had just inspected it this morning in preparation for the reception! But I'm sure that whatever changes she made in history would have to be rather subtle so as not to cause too much opportunity for paradox. And speaking of paradoxes, we strongly recommend not looking things up on the Internet when you get to the museum -- the quantum time vibrations are getting stronger and it could cause severe damage to the time stream if you did so. We'll let you know more details in the next e-mail.

Please go there now. IMOPA is at 92 E 3rd Ave in San Mateo, CA. Then email the lab when you've completed your investigation.

The Supplemental Email is at 2.07 Art History

2.07 Art History

Prof. Chronos has managed to insert herself into famous works of art to "tell" the teams where she wants them to send her next.

Your Role: You are a docent. NOTE: This role is rather complicated. Please read the sections below thoroughly.

What To Wear: IMOPA name badge

What Your Character Knows: Prof. Catherine Chronos, patron of the arts (and head of some mysterious research facility called "Peach Frontier Laboratories") has arranged for a private reception at the Museum to celebrate a successful demonstration at her laboratory. The attendees have been delayed a bit, but you don't mind. There is also an audio tour that was going to be ready but isn't ready yet (much to your embarrassment), but if a team asks about it you're willing to help them.

Puzzles At This Site: Art History

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Site Setup:

• Greet Val, the owner
• Call GC when you arrive
• Carefully remove current artwork from walls and carefully store it
• Arrange paintings on walls, attach with blue painter's tape or museum wax so that walls aren't marked up
• Put up interior "Muse of Painting" sign and exterior sign
• Have the audio tour stuff handy but not visible to teams

Handout Instructions:There is only one puzzle here. Greet each team in a hushed voice with words to the effect of,

Welcome, welcome! We're so excited to host your reception. Prof. Chronos wouldn't tell me exactly what the demonstration was, but I'm sure it was a great time. Please come in and enjoy our special exhibition. Take a look at the beautiful paintings. And please enjoy a coffee or a pastry while you’re here! Here's a $5 coupon for each of you.

Hand each visitor a $5 coupon.

Giving the Audio Tour:

If teams are making progress on the puzzle, they will eventually get a message that says "REQUESTTOUR" and can go no further. Therefore, each team will eventually ask you for a tour.

(NOTE: they must specifically ask for a "tour" - a team that simply sees other teams with headsets or transcripts and says something like "can I get one of those?" - does NOT get the audio tour elements below; encourage them to enjoy and study the paintings!)

When the players request the tour, respond:

I'm sorry, we're understaffed at this time of night and can't really give out personal tours. We were going to have a self-guided audio tour available, but you know how it is, we've been so busy just opening the place up that we never quite got the audio tour set up.

Pause for a bit, giving teams a chance to ask more about the audio tour. Regardless of how they respond, continue with

I can tell you really want to know more about the audio tour. Well, you seem like nice and trustworthy fellows, so I'm going to let you have a sneak peek at what the audio tour would've been like.

Bring out the 11 "audio tour target" signs and show them to the teams (but don't let them take them). Also give them a "Installing Audio Tour" sheet for them to keep.

See these signs? These were originally supposed to be posted, one next to each painting. I don't remember which sign was supposed to go with which painting though. Then you were supposed to download our Audio Tour App on your phone using these instructions and that would give you a self-guided tour for the paintings. I think the app still works though, so go ahead and download it.

The team will probably start downloading the app, or ask you about what to do if they don't have an Android device, or possibly ask you if it's safe to access the Audio Tour App (as they aren't supposed to be accessing the Internet). While they are busy (or waiting for your answer), act as if an idea has suddenly occurred to you:

Oh, I know what would totally help. There's an e-mail that our guys sent to the guys who were developing the Audio Tour App for us; I think it has a transcript of all the text in the audio tour! Lemme see if I can find it.

As you start "rummaging" for the e-mail, mention this in an off-hand comment -- this information isn't strictly necessary for puzzle-solving reasons but does stave off the plot-related question on whether Catherine is the voice on the recordings:

Melissa who runs the day shift recorded all the audio commentary for the tour; she has such a nice voice. I think they got the text from the first run of the exhibit some time in the '70s. Ah, here we go!

Hand a copy of the "audio tour transcript e-mail" to the teams, and check off on the sheet that they've been given the audio tour information.

(If the team doesn't have an Android device, mention:

We do have a few spare Android devices; not enough for everyone to get one, but your group can share this one. You can borrow one if you want, but don't let it leave this museum, and don't disturb the other patrons with the noise from the tour!

Then make sure that you've logged that they have borrowed a device, and make sure they return it to you before the end.)

Thanks, and enjoy the tour!

How to respond to questions:

Here are some questions teams may ask and here is how you should respond to them. Feel free to improvise or adjust as necessary.

"Is it safe to download the Audio Tour?"

(Teams might be worrying about one of two things -- either the rule that they weren't supposed to access the Internet, or because the Audio Tour is asking for a lot of strange network permissions.)

Yes, the Audio Tour should be perfectly safe; it's hosted on a server in the back room there. I know that the Tour claims it's going to access the Internet or hijack your phone and what-not, but it doesn't really; it just plays a bunch of sound files. Those warnings and because it's not on the Android Market is kind of why it we weren't ready to have it available yet.

"Is there any difference between the transcript and the audio in the tour?"

No, they should be completely identical. I think we got the transcript from the first time this exhibit was done in the '70s. Of course we don't have a recording of whomever did the commentary from way back then; what you're listening to is just Melissa from the day shift. Doesn't she have a wonderful voice?

"Can we look at the number signs?"

Uh, sure. Here they are. I don't see why you would care, though; they're just numbers.

"Can we take these number signs?"

No, I better not let you. Those are the actual signs we're going to use when the final version of the audio tour is ready in a few weeks.

"Are the paintings supposed to have the number signs on them?"

Yeah, when we get the audio tour working for reals. Right now we don't want to put them up because then people would ask about them.

"Do you know which numbers go on which paintings?"

Not really. I think the transcript I gave you might say something about that? I think it's alphabetical order of the artist's last names or something.

"Can we look at the other apps on the phone?"

There won't be anything useful. I don't recommend it.

Maintaining the Phones:

• We only have a few chargers, so keep phones turned off if they aren't on a charger, but try to have one phone on the charger at all times.
• To turn on the phone, hold down the power button (at the top short edge of the phone) down for about half a second, then let go.)
• To turn off the phone, tap the power button. A menu should show up asking you whether you want to reboot or turn off the phone.
• To see how much power a phone has, hit the menu button at the main screen, scroll all the way down to "About Phone", then click on the second option (which is "Phone Status").

Other Instructions:

• Stay in character.
• Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.
• Do not let anyone play anything over speakers (as opposed to headphones) in the Museum (don't want them to spoil puzzles for other teams)
• Teams have been instructed not to look things up on the Internet, although your character doesn't know that. If you do see a team doing that, try to point it out in character but in such a way that they are aware of what they are doing.

Hints: A team that is frustrated because of an inability to identify the artists may eventually get assistance from you on identifying the artist names. (Don’t aid a team that’s arrived recently - tell them to “not worry about names yet and enjoy the paintings!) Once they’ve started listening to the audio tours, though, you can help them if they ask. The artists are:

• A Coquettish Foreplay - Pierre-Auguste RENOIR
• Abstract Nude Descends Forever - Marcel DUCHAMP
• As Courtesans Luxuriate - Pablo PICASSO
• Female with a Parasol to Shade Her - Claude MONET
• Intensify Reality - Andy WARHOL
• Ready Hearts Won by a Smile - Leonardo DA VINCI
• Strict, Saturnine Man & Daughter - Grant WOOD
• Tensions Surging - Edvard MUNCH (pronounced "Moongk")
• Unreal Wonderland - Salvador DALI
• Working to Win the War (Cathie the Carpenter) - Norman ROCKWELL

Answers: Teams have been instructed to e-mail their answer to the Institute. If they try to give you the answer, act a bit clueless but remind them to follow instructions.

Site Close Down:

• Pack up
• Replace original artwork on walls
• Thank host
• Find out from host:
  • Total sales over period
  • Total change in cash in register
  • Total number of $5 coupons used
• Call GC
• Return paintings, tape, leftover coupons, androids, headsets, charger, and signs to GC HQ
• Return your name badge(s) and lanyard to GC HQ at the end of your shift

Prof. Chronos has, while bouncing through time, managed to insert herself into famous works of art, in order to convey a message to the teams (without risking "screwing up the time sequence" by trying to create an overt message). Examples include her face on the Mona Lisa, her standing in American Gothic, and so on. Solving the puzzle reveals the time to which she wants to be sent.

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

- Step 1 (finding the number homophones in the altered painting titles) can be hinted at, if really necessary, by saying something like "These paintings are not just a delight to the eye! Breathe in their smell! Say the title aloud and let the words roll across your tongue!" ... or something equally odd that suggests reading the titles aloud.

- Players don't need to know the painters of each painting from memory (though it will help with the embedded-names step).

- If players don't know what to do with the audio tour, ask if they've examined the app. If they're still stuck, say that the About the Tour feature is always a good place to start (pointing them toward the "first words" clue).

- If they're very unfamiliar with the names of painters, they may have trouble recognizing some of the embedded words (Munch, Klimt, Duchamp are some of the tougher ones). A team that has the audio text and still can't find the embedded name can ask the museum docent for help identifying the painter for each painting.

- Some teams might think the Monet painting is by Manet, leading to a wrong letter.

- Teams may start looking for number homophones embedded in the audio clips, just like they did in step 1. They might even try something like "adding together the number homophones" - e.g., counting the "to's" in a given clip. This isn't the right idea - ask if they've examined the app (and eventually point them toward the About the Tour as mentioned above). In fact, there's a parallelism between step 1 (reading the written titles aloud to find an embedded homophone) and the later step (writing the spoken words down to find embedded text).

- Of course, the final solution - 5/31/86, 2:15 pm - is almost identical to the date & time (15 minutes later) to the date & time Doctor When wanted to go to in Act 1.

May 31, 1986, 2:15 PM.

The paintings all have changed titles, each of which has the homophone of a number embedded in it. Ordering by years and using the number homophone to index into the title yields the message REQUESTTOUR.

Step 1

Title	Year	Number homophone	Number	Indexed letter
Ready Hearts Won By A Smile	1513	Won	1	R
Female with a Parasol to Shade Her	1875	to	2	E
A Coquettish Foreplay	1876	For	10	Q
Tensions Surging	1893	Ten	10	U
As Courtesans Luxuriate	1907	ate	8	E
Basics of Love	1908	sics	6	S
Abstract Nude Descends Forever	1912	For	4	T
Strict, Saturnine Man and Daughter	1930	nine	9	T
Working to Win the War (Cathie the Carpenter)	1943	to	2	O
Unreal Wonderland	1944	Won	1	U
Intensify Reality	1962	Ten	10	R

Each clip on the audio tour matches to a painting. The pairs are:

Step 2

1st two words of clip	Painting
Names can't	Unreal Wonderland
Of all	Ready Hearts Won By A Smile
Artists and	Abstract Nude Descends Forever
As you	Basics of Love
Well-lit	Female With a Parasol to Shade Her
As uncomfortable	Tensions Surging
Numbers of	As Courtesans Luxuriate
Hidden details	A Coquettish Foreplay
In the	Working to Win the War (Cathie the Carpenter)
These striking	Intensify Reality
Words can	Strict, Saturnine Man and Daughter

The "About the Tour" feature in the Android app contains a quote from Kat Timely that emphasizes getting "the first word" right. The first words of the commentaries, in order, say NAMES OF ARTISTS AS WELL AS NUMBERS HIDDEN IN THESE WORDS.

Each audio clip contains two embedded words - the painter's name plus an additional letter, and a number in the painter's native language. Again in order of the commentaries - equivalently, in alphabetical order by painter's last name - the transcribed clips (highlighting the embedded pieces) are

Dali

(extra letter D, number FIVE)

Names can't be found for the bizarre elements of this surrealist masterpiece, such as giant pomegranates, flying tigers, and a woman sleeping on some sort of tiDAL DIvide in the surF. I VEer between wonder and confusion when I view this painting.

Da Vinci

(extra letter A, number THREE)

Of all masterpieces, this may be the most famous. It may seem to have portrayeD A VAIN CItizen of the nobility; wiTH REExamination, however, a woman of humbler serenity is revealed.

Duchamp

(extra letter T, number ONE)

Artists and critics initially rejected this painting, but it's now considered a modernist classic. The painter, never willing to have his conDUCT HAMPered by conventiON, Examines both static and dynamic elements of the human form in this work.

Klimt

(extra letter E, number ONE)

As you admire the sweet emotiON Evoked by the embracing couple, make sure to also examine the rich textures of this piece – particularly the gold leaf's sparKLE. I'M Thrilled every time I study this painting.

Monet

(extra letter A, number NINE)

Well-lit fields, soft clouds, and the sunNINEss of a summer afternoon: I MOAN ETernally that I can't simply live inside the vista shown in this painting.

Munch

(extra letter N, number EIGHT)

As uncomfortable as it may make us, this artist asks whether we will condeMN UNCHivalrous passions or acknowledge the hEIGHT of terror shown in this moving work.

Picasso

(extra letter D, number SIX)

Numbers of sketches were made to perfect the details of these prostitutes' provocative figures - here a mask-like face, there an ePIC ASS. DOubters were shocked by the aggressive, quaSI-Xenophobic portrayal of the women.

Renoir

(extra letter T, number ONE)

Hidden details of hats, clothes, and lights fill this work, which shows Parisians spending an afternoON Eating and socializing in MontmartRE. NOT IRonically, it is renowned for its masterful brush strokes and richness of form.

Rockwell

(extra letter I, number FOUR)

In the war effort, Cathie the Carpenter represented a pillar of strength – a real ROCK. I – WELL, I have only admiration for the women who worked tirelessly for the preservation oF OUR freedoms.

Warhol

(extra letter M, number ONE)

These striking faces are emblazONEd with a palette of bright colors, resembling those you might expect to find on a WARM HOLiday in the tropics.

Wood

(extra letter E, number FIVE)

Words can barely capture the Spartan sternness of this painting, as shown by the plain clothes, the ready pitchfork, and the peaked rooF. I'VE long been tempted to think of the subjects' ceaseless toil as leading to WOE; ODdly, for these hardy farmers it's the opposite.

The extra letters spell DATEANDTIME, and the numbers translate to 5-3-1-1-9-8-6-1-4-1-5, giving a date & time of May 31, 1986, 2:15 PM.

A lab assistant emails them,

Doctor When seemed very excited by what you found at the International Museum Of Pretentious Art. By luck we happened to have a lab camera running when he received the information.

Please enter access code 812580 into your View-O-Scope Computer Remote Access Program and you can view the recording.

After viewing the recording, please check your email again for further instructions.

Note that you must send a second email shortly after this one. So check what puzzle you're sending them to next, find the appropriate email within that puzzle's "How To Give To Teams", and send it.

2.09 Fix The View-O-Scope

The teams need to help Doctor When repair the time machine's View-O-Scope.

Your Role: Lab assistant at Central Peninsula Applied Physics

What To Wear: lab coat + Central Peninsula Applied Physics name badge

What Your Character Knows: Nothing except that Doctor When needs help fixing a View-O-Scope

Puzzles At This Site: Fix The View-O-Scope

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

• Call GC when you arrive

Handout Instructions: Lab assistant says words to the effect of,

Oh, you're here! We were just putting together a document of what's gone wrong with the View-O-Scope, to send back to the lab. But since you're already here, we'll just give it to you directly. We hope you can solve the problem; we're really underqualified for this kind of stuff.

Hints: Teams may call GC, or ask you. It would help if you familiarize yourself with the attached hints.

Answers: Teams have been instructed to email their answer to the Laboratory. If they try to give you the answer, remind them to follow instructions. ("That's great! Could you email that to the lab?")

Site Close Down:

• Call GC
• Return any unused materials to GC HQ
• 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.

Two cables inside the viewoscope's "alternate signal processor" got accidentally swapped. (Janitorial staff saw they had come loose, and put them back wrong.) Study a photograph/diagram of the tangled cables, and figure out which two got miswired. Swapping them solves the puzzle and activates the viewoscope.

Have you determined what the system is currently outputting? (180 and 180)

They may ask which plugs are inputs and which are outputs. The PHASE DRIVER supplies input to the system, which eventually exits on the sides through the YINTEGRATOR and YANGLE blocks.

They may ask for confirmation of the math operations.

• GCD takes two inputs, and outputs their Greatest Common Denominator.
• AVG takes two inputs, and outputs their Average (arithmetic mean).
• 50/50 takes one input, and splits it into two halves (50% each) to output.
• The YINTEGRATOR and YANGLE blocks apply multiplication and subtraction to their three inputs, then sum the results to their sole output.

No, they may not unplug the two side cables. Only where there is a dark black box at the connection.

No, they may not open the boxes and alter their internal wiring.

Did you notice two words in the top part stand out? ("right" and "opposite")

Do the words "phase", "alternate", "right", and the current outputs suggest anything? (Think in terms of circles, degrees, values summing to 360)

Have you noticed the little symbols on the two side blocks? (They are the two halves of a Yin/Yang symbol)

How do you pronounce those two side blocks? (one way is to say YIN-tegrator and YANG-le)

If they can't make sense of YIN/YANG and "opposite", say "You know, I think I remember Professor Chronos saying something about the outputs having to be in opposite phase, 180 apart."

The word "right" suggests degree values of 0, 90, 180, 270. Specifically, the outputs must be made into 90 and 270.

Swap the "70" and "GCD output" plugs. Alternatively, swap the "50/50 input" and the "left AVG input" plugs (they're the same cables).

The "PHASE DRIVER" block supplies the signals, which exit at the "YINTEGRATOR" and "YANGLE" blocks.

Perform simple arithmetic on the numbers: GCD = Greatest Common Denominator, AVG = average (arithmetic mean), 50/50 = split into two halves.

The current wiring yields 180 and 180 (in phase); they should be 90 and 270 (opposite phase). There are only 55 swaps possible, and many of them can quickly be ruled out. The rest is trial and error.

Immediately send the appropriate email at the beginning of 2.10 Christmas Party

2.10 Christmas Party

Prof. Chronos needs Wesley's locker combo; ghostly voices from 1986 heard at the high school in 2011 help teams find where it might be recorded.

Your Role: Peach Frontier Lab Assistant.

What To Wear: lab coat + Peach Frontier Laboratories name badge

What Your Character Knows:

• Everything in Plot Setup
  • You do not know the stuff about Trenchwood Institute
  • You do not know that Prof. Chronos sent the players here to get a locker combination
• The laboratory's sensors detected some tachyonic radiation at this high school
• You are surprised and delighted that the visitors have arrived because this is all way over your head

Puzzles At This Site: Faculty Christmas Party

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Site Setup:

• Set up audio system and set on repeating loop play
• Call GC

Handout Instructions:

You may have to "patrol" outside the Teachers' Lounge to intercept teams as they arrive.

'Before 4:45 AM' Welcome teams that arrive before this time into Lounge and say words to the effect of

Thank heavens you're here. The laboratory's sensors detected some tachyonic radiation at this high school of all places. So I was sent to investigate. Now I hear all these strange sounds...but my grad school classes never covered this. Can you figure it out?

'After 4:45 AM' Skip these teams that arrive after this time over this puzzle by intercepting them outside the Lounge and saying words to the effect of

Thank heavens you're here. The laboratory's sensors detected some tachyonic radiation in the principal's office of this high school of all places. So I was sent to investigate. But my grad school classes never covered this Can you figure it out? The office is around the corner.

Hints: Since neither the lab nor your character know that Prof. Chronos wants the players to find a locker combination, you can't really help them.

'Answers: n/a; teams should go off on their own to the "Principal's Suite" (which is around the corner)

Site Close Down:

• Turn off the the sound system and carefully dismantle it
• Carefully remove the speakers, etc. from the prop enclosures--they are fragile!
• Disconnect all cables, and coil the speaker cables nicely
• Pack them all up and return to GC HQ
• 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.

Prof. Chronos has been sent to the right time & place, but she's lost her bolt cutters and can't get into Wesley's locker to take the envelope. She thinks the teams might be able to find the combination if they go to the school in the present day - but she doesn't know where the locker combinations are kept. At the high school, the players hear strange, disembodied voices in one room - pieces of conversations from a past Christmas party, made audible in the present by the tachyonic vibrations caused by Prof. Chronos' time travel to the school. It turns out that the voices form a classic logic puzzle (where Mr. Green sits next to a woman but not someone wearing red, etc.), and matching all elements in the puzzle yields a coincidentally useful phrase indicating where the combos are.

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

CHECK PRINCIPALS SUITE (with a hint to look in picture frame)

The first step is to notice that there are four conversations with the same five teachers, and that there is some sort of standard logic puzzle about these five teachers. Let's label these voices by their personality:

• MOUSE: male, mousy, insecure, eager to please
• SMUG: male, smug, sarcastic, a southern drawl
• CHIPPER: female, chipper, manic, City Girl Squawk
• DEADPAN: female, deadpan, bored
• ACCENT: male, stuffy, paternal

Also, for convenience, let's number the conversations:

1. This conversation has SMUG mentioning the room arrangement: numbered 1-9 along the hallway, with odd numbers on one side and even numbers on the other.
2. This conversation has a champagne cork and a chorus "I do not own a watch!"
3. This conversation has CHIPPER say that the male names are male and the female names are female.
4. This conversation has ACCENT go into detail about the final message extraction.

By listening to the conversation, we can find out that these are the attributes we must match up:

• First names: Alfred, Charlie, Ulysses (all male); Kimberly, Nicole (both female)
• Last names: Campbell, Harrison, Iverson, Landau, Peterson
• Subjects taught: Endocrinology, Isomorphisms, Robotics, Spectroscopy, Thermodynamics
• Room numbers: 5 distinct numbers in the range 1-9, subject to certain restrictions
• Break periods: 5 distinct numbers from 1 to 5.

The first step is to match some names with the voices:

• ACCENT is Ulysses (SMUG addresses him as such in Conv. #1)
• MOUSE is Alfred (SMUG and DEADPAN both addresses him as such in Conv. #2) Landau (he makes an accident with a champagne cork in Conv. #2, and the incident is referenced in Conv. 4).
• SMUG is Charlie (by elimination, the only male name left) Harrison (he reacts to ACCENT mentioning "Harrison" in Conv. #1)
• CHIPPER is Kimberly (DEADPAN addresses her as such in Conv. #3)
• DEADPAN is Nicole (by elimination, the only female name left) Campbell (CHIPPER addresses her as "Campbell" in Conv. #3)
• We still have the surnames Peterson and Landau left, but we don't know yet which is Ulysses and which is Kimberly.

The next step is to notice from DEADPAN Nicole's first line in Conv. #3 that one of the teachers is in Room 8 and has a 4th-period break. Who is it?

• It's not DEADPAN Nicole Campbell, since she expresses desire for Room 8 in Conv. #3.
• It's not CHIPPER Kimberly, same reason.
• It's not ACCENT Ulysses, since in Conv. #3 he asserts that his room has a number less and 6.
• It's not SMUG Charlie Harrison, since in Conv. #1 ACCENT Ulysses mentions that SMUG Charlie Harrison has two neighbors, and Room 8 would be at the end of one side of the hallway as the numbers only go from 1 to 9.
• Therefore, MOUSE Alfred must teach in Room 8 and have the 4th period break.

Now we should look at which five of the nine rooms are used.

• From Conv. #1, we can infer that three of the rooms are consecutive on one side of the hall, and the other two are consecutive on the other side of the hall.
• Since Room 8 is in use (see above), we can deduce from that and the previous rule that Room 6 is in use and Room 2 is not.
• From DEADPAN Nicole's line about multiples in Conv. #2, we can also deduce that Room 1 can't possibly be in use.
• This leaves the following possibilities: 56789, 35678, 34568, 45678, 46789.
• From DEADPAN Nicole's line about multiples in Conv. #2, we can eliminate 56789 (no multiples) and 34568 (3/6 and 4/8 are both multiples).

Now let's try to figure out the break periods.

• SMUG Charlie Harrison is first:
  • Although we can't figure out which one of 35678, 45678, or 46789 is correct, we can at least see that Charlie has two neighbors, must be in room 5 or room 6.
  • Since according to MOUSE Alfred in Conv. #3, nobody has a break period with a number that is equal to or one away from their room number, we know that Charlie doesn't have break period 5.
  • Charlie also doesn't have break period 4 because Alfred has it.
  • According to DEADPAN Nicole in Conv. #3, Charlie doesn't have periods 2 or 3 as that's when his favorite soap opera is on.
  • So, SMUG Charlie Harrison must have break period 1.
• According to MOUSE Alfred in Conv. #2, Kimberly and Nicole have consecutively-numbered break periods. Since the only unassigned periods remaining are (2,3,5), they must be periods 2 and 3, although we don't know which is which yet.
• This means that ACCENT Ulysses has period 5.

Now we can determine more about the rooms:

• MOUSE Alfred is in Room 8 (previously deduced).
• What room is ACCENT Ulysses in?
  • From his own admission in Conv. #3, he teaches in a room with a number less than 6.
  • From MOUSE Alfred in Conv. #3, nobody has a break period with a number that is equal to or one away from their room number. As ACCENT Ulysses has period 5, this means he does not have any of rooms 4, 5, or 6.
  • From our room number analysis, only one of 35678, 45678, or 46789 is correct.
  • The only possibility consistent with all three above statements is that ACCENT Ulysses is in room 3, and the five rooms are 35678.
• What room is SMUG Charlie Harrison (period 1) in?
  • ACCENT Ulysses says that Harrison shares two walls with neighbors, so the only possible room from 35678 that fits Charlie Harrison is room 5.
  • The remaining rooms are 6 and 7, which go with Kimberly and Nicole, but we don't know which is whose.

We can figure out the remaining surnames now:

• Peterson is in a room number higher than 5 (Charlie's), according to DEADPAN Nicole in Conv. #2.
• We already know that ACCENT Ulysses has room 3.
• So, the surname assignment must be:
  • ACCENT Ulysses Iverson
  • CHIPPER Kimberly Peterson

And now we can figure out the remaining rooms:

• Campbell has a higher room number than Peterson, according to SMUG Charlie in Conv. #3.
• So, Peterson must be in room 6, and Campbell must be in room 7.

A review of our data so far:

• SMUG Charlie Harrison, Room 5, Break Period 1
• CHIPPER Kimberly Peterson, Room 6, Break Period 2 or 3
• DEADPAN Nicole Campbell, Room 7, Break Period 2 or 3
• MOUSY Alfred Landau, Room 8, Break period 4
• ACCENT Ulysses Iverson, Room 3, Break period 5

Now for the teaching subjects:

• Who teaches Spectroscopy?
  • According to Conv. #2, Dr. Iverson has a break right after the Spectroscopy teacher's break.
  • So, this means that MOUSE Alfred Landau is the Spectroscopy teacher.
• When is the Robotics break period?
  • Break period 4 is MOUSE Alfred Landau's, and he teaches Spectroscopy. So it's not break period 4.
  • According to Conv. #3, the administration is thinking about changing its break period to be earlier in the day. So it's not break period 1.
  • According to Conv. #2, Robotics' break period is immediately followed by the Isomorphisms teacher's break. So it's not break periods 3 or 5.
  • Therefore, Robotics must be break period 2.
  • And so Isomorphisms must be break period 3.
  • These are taught by Kimberly and Nicole, but we don't know which is which (yet).
• What does SMUG Charlie Harrison teach?
  • He asserts in Conv. #1 that he doesn't teach Thermodynamics.
  • Therefore, he must teach the remaining subject, Endocrinology.
• And by elimination, ACCENT Ulysses Iverson teaches Thermodynamics.

Finally, we can distinguish the last step by using the watch:

• According to Conv. #3, CHIPPER Kimberly Peterson has a watch (that she doesn't know how to silence).
• According to Conv. #4, the Isomorphisms teacher doesn't have their watch with them.
• Therefore, the Isomorphisms (break period 3) teacher must be Nicole, and the Robotics (break period 2) teacher must be Kimberly.

Now on to message extraction. ACCENT Ulysses spells out the steps pretty specifically in the Conv. 4 -- sort by break period, then read out both initials, the first letter of the subject, and the room number indexed into the subject. This results in:

• Charlie Harrison, Room 5, EndoCrinology
• Kimberly Peterson, Room 6, RobotIcs
• Nicole Campbell, Room 7, IsomorPhisms
• Alfred Landau, Room 8, SpectroScopy
• Ulysses Iverson, Room 3, ThErmodynamics

This reads out to be "CHECK PRINCIPAL'S SUITE". There is also a strong hint from Ulysses that the players should look in the right "frame".

Unnecessary and/or Redundant Information:

• Conv. #2: Landau teaches in a higher-numbered room than Charlie.
• Conv. #2: MOUSE is being addressed as Alfred twice.
• Conv. #2: Kimberly and Nicole teach in consecutively numbered rooms.
• Conv. #2: The Spectroscopy teacher does not own a watch.

n/a Teams should go off on their own to the principal's office

2.11 Locker Combo

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

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.

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.

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.

1-11-9

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.)

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.

2.06 Quantum Time Vibrations

The time machine has detected quantum time vibrations that might help the players locate where Prof. Chronos hid a message.

Your Role: Lab assistant at Peach Frontier Laboratories.

What To Wear: lab coat + Peach Frontier Laboratories name badge

What Your Character Knows:

• Everything in Plot Setup except the stuff about Trenchwood Institute.
• The Laboratory's global sensor network has detected quantum time vibrations in several locations around the world

Puzzles At This Site: Quantum Time Vibrations

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Handout Instructions: There is only one puzzle to hand out here - with two parts. The interaction should go something like:

TEAM: The lab says there are strange quantum time vibrations that might help us figure out what’s happened to Professor Chronos!

LAB ASSISTANT: That’s right. Here are the latitude and longitude coordinates of the vibrations that our sensors have picked up. Oh, and here’s a world map to help you in your investigation

Then hand out part 1 of the puzzle (the world map and the page with the lat/long coordinates and the first intro page, but NOT the bag of string or the sheet with additional information like flavor and polarization. The “first intro page” should be attached to the lat/long coordinate sheet.)

Teams will eventually be told to ask the lab for more analysis. They may ask you directly, or they may call GC Central, who will tell them that you have more information. Either way, you’ll have an interaction something like this:

TEAM: I’m supposed to ask you for more data!

LAB ASSISTANT: Yes, we’ve been able to learn more about these vibrations. Here, take this sheet. We also constructed some physical models of the vibrations - play with those and see if they help.

Then hand teams the bag of string, the second intro sheet, and the sheet with more data (including flavor and polarization). The second intro sheet should be attached to the sheet with more data.

Answers: Teams have been instructed to phone in their answer to the Laboratory. If they try to give you the answer, remind them to follow instructions.

Hints: The teams should call in to GC HQ for hints. But if you familiarize yourself with the puzzle and the hints below, feel free to give hints.

Site Close Down:

• Clean up.
• Return the keys and any leftover materials to GC HQ
• Lock any doors you unlocked.
• 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.

The time machine is mostly fixed, but it's not calibrated, so Dr. When and the teams can't lock on to Prof. Chronos - and the View-o-Scope is broken, too. However, the time machine reports sensing "quantum time vibrations". By investigating these vibrations, the players may uncover a clue to Prof. Chronos' time or place. The puzzle consists of a map and strings which model a set of cities experiencing quantum time vibrations; the answer will point them toward the Art History puzzle.

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

Part 1:

- It's probably important to find out where these are coming from! Using the map, can you identify the locations of the vibrations?

- There's a real sense of urgency here - as the instructions say, you may only have seconds to figure out what to do. In other words, after identifying the cities, the latitude seconds and longitude seconds are all you need.

- The longitude seconds have every even number from 2 to 56. That should suggest that they're used to order the data.

- The latitude seconds are all fairly small - between 1 and 11. That's suitable for use as an index.

- The correct cities are all on the provided map. Note that if the players don't use the map, they'll probably identify one of the coordinate pairs as Rome instead of Vatican.

- It's not essential to solving the puzzle, but all of these locations are very close to famous art museums (correct to degrees and minutes, at least).

Part 2:

- The instructions suggest that players should try to find the epicenter. Some of the longest strings are probably most useful for this, and using the longest string, Sydney, players may recognize that the epicenter is San Francisco (actually San Mateo, but it won't make much difference for solving the puzzle).

- Stress to players that the physical models (the pieces of string) are probably crucial - and they're physical models; they're intended to be picked up and used physically! There are 28 models of vibrations and 28 lat/long coordinate pairs - they should figure out which model (string) goes with which coordinate pair.

- "Grouped into flavors" is a key phrase - players should literally group the right strings together by flavor.

- Don't take "polarization" literally - it actually indicates _orientation_ of the string.

- Note that "circular" doesn't literally mean a FULL circle. It can mean a full circle (as with an O) or a half-circle (as with a D or P).

- No knowledge of particle physics is needed in this puzzle! Some teams may want to order by something the mass of the quark that has the given flavor. There are no quarks here - there are just "vibrations", so some other order is needed (namely, alphabetical). Also, there's no reason to put the "regular" flavors first followed by the anti-flavors - Antibottom is first in alphabetical order, followed by Anticharm, and so on.

- Players have heard of "IMOPA" earlier from a brochure for the "International Museum Of Pretentious Art", which also lists its website "imopa.info". Hopefully that will help self-confirm the answer as familiar when they find it.

IMOPADOTINFO (the website for the International Museum of Pretentious Art, which is the "epicenter" of the vibrations and the location for the next puzzle).

Part 1 gives the players a list of latitude and longitude coordinates, plus a world map. The motivation email says "once you determine where these signals are coming from", so the first step is to figure out the cities corresponding to each lat/long coordinate.

33⁰ 52' 6" S 151⁰ 13 56 E Sydney

28⁰ 36' 2" N 77⁰ 13 40 E New Delhi

30⁰ 2' 2" N 31⁰ 13 2 E Cairo

35⁰ 43' 5" N 139⁰ 46 30 E Tokyo

37⁰ 35' 1" N 126⁰ 58 52 E Seoul

38⁰ 53' 9" N 77⁰ 0 14 W DC

39⁰ 57' 11" N 75⁰ 10 54 W Philly

40⁰ 24' 2" N 3⁰ 41 18 W Madrid

40⁰ 24' 4" N 3⁰ 41 32 W Madrid

40⁰ 45' 11" N 73⁰ 58 26 W NYC

40⁰ 46' 7" N 73⁰ 57 6 W NYC

41⁰ 23' 7" N 2⁰ 10 36 E Barcelona

41⁰ 54' 3" N 12⁰ 26 20 E Vatican

43⁰ 16' 1" N 2⁰ 55 12 W Bilbao

43⁰ 46' 1" N 11⁰ 15 28 E Florence

43⁰ 46' 4" N 11⁰ 15 16 E Florence

48⁰ 51' 2" N 2⁰ 20 10 E Paris

48⁰ 51' 3" N 2⁰ 19 24 E Paris

48⁰ 51' 5" N 2⁰ 21 4 E Paris

51⁰ 29' 1" N 0⁰ 7 8 W London

51⁰ 30' 6" N 0⁰ 7 44 W London

51⁰ 31' 5" N 0⁰ 7 22 W London

52⁰ 21' 8" N 4⁰ 52 46 E Amsterdam

52⁰ 31' 3" N 13⁰ 23 38 E Berlin

52⁰ 31' 4" N 13⁰ 23 48 E Berlin

55⁰ 44' 1" N 37⁰ 36 34 E Moscow

55⁰ 44' 3" N 37⁰ 36 56 E Moscow

59⁰ 56' 2" N 30⁰ 18 42 E St. Petersburg

The next part of the instructions says "you may only have seconds to figure out what to do next", so index the latitude seconds into the city name, and order by the longitude seconds. This gives the message ASKLABORATORYFORMOREANALYSIS.

When the players ask the laboratory for more analysis, they'll be sent a second email and told to get more data from the lab assistant in the field; this includes the same list of latitude/longitude coordinates but with "flavors" and "polarizations" for each, plus a bag of "physical models of the vibrations" (pieces of string of different lengths).

The players should

- identify which string goes with which coordinate: each string reaches from the city indicated by the coordinates to San Mateo (the "epicenter"). For instance, the longest string goes from Sydney to San Mateo, whereas the shortest four strings go from Washington , D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City to San Mateo.

- group the strings by flavor (as suggested in the instruction text).

- Orient the strings according to their polarization - vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or circular (rounded).

- Form a capital letter with the pieces of string for each flavor. For instance, two medium-length vertical strings plus two short diagonal strings can only make an M.

- Order those letters by alphabetizing the flavors.

caption

Flavor	Strings	Letter
Antibottom	2 medium horizontal, 1 medium vertical	I
Anticharm	2 medium vertical, 2 short diagonal	M
Antidown	1 large circular	O
Antistrange	1 medium vertical, 1 medium circular	P
Antitop	2 medium-long diagonal, 1 short horizontal	A
Antiup	1 medium vertical, 1 medium-long circular	D
Bottom	1 large circular	O
Charm	1 medium horizontal, 1 medium vertical	T
Down	2 medium horizontal, 1 medium vertical	I
Strange	2 medium vertical, 1 medium-long diagonal	N
Top	1 medium vertical, 1 medium horizontal, 1 short horizontal	F
Up	1 large circular	O

If the players go to the website IMOPA.INFO, they find a page for the International Museum of Pretentious Art, which is the "epicenter" of the vibrations because of the art exhibit there that Catherine has altered (see the art history puzzle).

Over the phone, lab assistant says words to the effect of

The International Museum of Pretentious Art? Let's see - you're right! If we focus our sensors there, it looks like that IS the epicenter of the vibrations! Perhaps Professor Chronos somehow managed to send us a message there! That would fit her because she loves art almost as much as science. And the place would be on her mind--she had just inspected it this morning!

You should go there now. As you saw on the Museum's web site, they're located at 92 E. Third Ave. in San Mateo.

But even if she did leave us a message while bouncing through time, it would probably be nearly impossible to find. She would have to make it so incredibly subtle that no one else throughout history would notice it--otherwise the timeline would be polluted. Well, you should go there anyway to check it out. Email the lab when you're done. And one more warning -- the quantum time vibrations are strong enough at this place that it could be very dangerous to look stuff up on the Internet while you're there. We'll go into more details in the e-mail we're about to send you.

This immediately starts them on 2.07 Art History -- log their time on the online tracker spreadsheet, then send the supplemental email mentioned there.

2.00 Sign In Act 2

Signing in to presentation is a complicated puzzle that requires collaboration between different roles.

Your Role: You are a lab assistant to Prof. Catherine Chronos, head of Peach Frontier Laboratories.

What To Wear: lab coat + Peach Frontier Laboratories nametag

What Your Character Knows: You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute nor the hi-jinks of Act I (it never happened in this timeline!). Similarly, you've never seen the players before. You have heard of Doctor Wesley When. He is a visiting scientist (traveling with his wife Buffy).

You don't know what Prof. Chronos will be demonstrating. You've been so focused on your little part of the endeavor that you don't know the "big picture" (and Prof. Chronos is very secretive).

Puzzles At This Site: Registration Maze

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Handout Instructions: There is only one puzzle to hand out here: "Registration Maze." You will be sitting at the registration tables outside of the lab. Teams will queue up to speak with you one at a time. Note that they may be very confused because the last time they were at this location it had a different name. Deny all knowledge of this different name. Profess that this is the very first time you have ever met them even if you've seen them during Act I.

Example interaction

REGISTRAR: Good evening. Welcome to Peach Frontier Laboratories.

TEAM: "Peach Frontier"?! But we were just here this morning. It was "Trenchwood Institute."

REGISTRAR: I've never heard of "Trenchwood Institute." This has always been Peach Frontier Laboratories. Are you here for the grand unveiling presentation?

TEAM: Uh, yes....

REGISTRAR: What are your names? I'll just look you up.

TEAM: ___________

REGISTRAR: Here you are...on our exclusive guest list. Welcome!

I wouldn't worry about that "Trenchwood" thing. Sometimes the lab equipment leaks a wee bit of radiation that causes people to have déjà vu. And cancer. Well, hardly ever. The cancer that is.

Here are your security badges.

Hand them their badges.

REGISTRAR: I see you already have lanyards, and that you sent in your liability waiver.. But you still haven't given me C.R.A.P.

TEAM: Given you what?!?

REGISTRAR: Your C.R.A.P.: Cross Reference Approval Permit. I have to take C.R.A.P. from everyone. [sigh] They tell me it's part of the scientific method.

I guess you'll have to apply for a permit now. Here is a blank form for each of you.

The registrar hands a form (and appropriate writing instrument, i.e., an appropriately-colored crayon) to each visitor.

TEAM: Uh...thanks.

REGISTRAR: But how can you get your permit approved at this late hour? This form requires a lot of official notarizations and sign-offs.

Hold it...I have an idea: there are a number of officials among the other guests. Perhaps they will be able to help you get the required sign-offs.

Please go inside and fill out your form with their help. Just give it to any of the lab assistants when you're done and they will check that your permit application has been properly approved.

Answers: Note that each player, not each team must submit a form. When a player submits a correct form, lab assistant says words to the effect of:

Your C.R.A.P. looks good. Now we just have to wait for the other visitors to complete their forms.

While you're waiting, here is a preview of the reception we're hosting after the demonstration. The prestigious San Mateo International Museum Of Pretentious Art is letting us in for a private viewing. You're in for the time of your life!

Then hand that player an IMOPA flyer.

Site Close Down: Clean up a bit, join the presentation inside.

Other Instructions:

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

"Cross-Referenced Approvals Permit" (or C.R.A.P. for short). This puzzle is isomorphic to the 4-desk version of Robert Abbott's Bureaucratic Maze.

Players navigate the maze by acquiring a sequence of signatures from other players, according to certain restrictions which are different for each role. The roles are color coded as follows:

Journalist = Yellow 
Government Official = Red
Scientist = Blue
Investor = Green

The puzzle is solved when they reach the only dead-end; that is, when no more signatures are possible in compliance with the restrictions.

Put up hints on the bulletin board in order, 4 minutes between hints.

Use colored pushpins to put the hints on. There is a small letter that tells you the correct color pushpins, and the order of hints. x is ten, e is eleven, t is twelve.

A correct answer should end in Blue-Red-Blue-Green-Yellow.

The next signature is dependent on what the previous two colors are. This is a visual representation of the maze -- you can think of it as if there were highways connecting the four colored "interchanges" (people always drive on the right), and appropriate ramps determine where you can go based on where you were coming from and where you are. The maze has a lot of loops, but the last five interchanges before the exit are always the same, as you can see by tracing backwards from the Finish.

Done in person so see Staff Instructions.

2.13 Consolidation 2

Final fixes before Prof. Chronos can be returned to the present.

Your Role: Lab assistants at Peach Frontier Laboratories.

What To Wear: lab coat + Peach Frontier Laboratories name badge

What Your Character Knows:

• The Gym is a chronotonic nexus.
• Everything in Plot Setup, except
  • You do not know the stuff about Trenchwood Institute
  • You do not know that the numbers the visitors asked Doctor When to Prof. Chronos are a locker combination

Puzzles At This Site:

• Restaurant Coupon
• All role puzzles
• Extra chronomentometers

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

• Call GC when you arrive (so we know you are setting up)
• Set up props
• Set up G.R.O.S.S. display
• Set up A/V system for skit and showing the video
• Call GC when you are ready for teams

Handout Instructions: The main activity at the gym is to watch the remaining Act II videos at 8:30 AM. Teams that arrive before then (should be all of them!) have a choice -- they can either stick around and work on optional puzzles, or they can take a break and (if they wish) come back at 8:30 to watch the videos. If they don't come back at 8:30, we'll e-mail them the View-O-Scope code. Regardless all teams should reconvene at 9 AM at the lab.

If team arrives before 8:15 AM then say something like:

Great to see you. Unfortunately although we got the View-O-Scope working well enough for you to watch Prof. Chronos in 1986, the rest of the machine isn't yet able to send that strange series of numbers back to her. If you're up to it, you can help us with the final repairs. But you also look sort of tired, so you're welcome to take a break and do whatever you want until we have it fixed. At our current rate we expect to have the machine fixed at 8:30am; at that point, if you're here, we'll send back those numbers and we can all watch the View-O-Scope. Here's a message from Doctor When about that.

Hand them the "explanation" letter.

Restaurant Coupon cut-off time is (approximately) 7:10 AM -- if a team arrives before then, give them the Restaurant Coupon puzzle. Otherwise, give them remaining role puzzles.

There is no role puzzle cut-off time.

If they're out of role puzzles, say:

Thanks so much for doing that. I think the only thing left is to get all those chronomentometers fixed. But you've done so much already, I hesitate to ask you to fix more of them... but then again, you're so talented at doing that and we still have a lot left to repair, and the lab boys are getting better at fixing them. So, if you want, you can take a break, or you can help us fix the remaining ones. There are more Chronomentometer Restricted Arrangement Particulars available on the G.R.O.S.S. system.

• Do lab assistant skit (see attached script)
• Show videos

Then say words to the effect of

Hooray, you've rescued Professor Chronos! Unfortunately we've had to cancel the reception at the museum because of our...technical difficulties. Instead please just return to the lab for debriefing.

Hold it...there's a bit of residual tachyonic radiation at the lab...probably wouldn't cause cranial warts. Why don't you just let it die down a bit. Give the lab about 10 minutes, then head over there.

Site Close Down:

• Pack up A/V equipment
• 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.

Chronomentometer puzzles must be collectively solved by the teams. They work together in mild competition until all teams have arrived.

There are a maximum of 40 puzzles per team (640 puzzles in week 1, 680 puzzles in week 2) available. Initially, only 10 puzzles per team are "broken" (160 puzzles in week 1, 170 puzzles in week 2). A GC member should be pacing the release of new "broken" puzzles so that teams are on track to have everything solved at the end of the consolidation.

GROSS is available at: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/gross.html

The admin console is at: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/nimda.html

The display dashboard is at: http://peachfrontier.com/cmm/dashboard.php

GROSS should display properly on smartphones and Internet-enabled tablets.

It'll be blindingly obvious once you log in and when you see the display dashboard that individual team information is anonymized and only role information is shared. At least, that's my hope.

There are five "fake teams" -- the "Lab" and one team from each faction. The "fake teams" solve TASCs periodically -- namely, the system makes suggestions and the human GC member approves them. The goal is to keep the five total SCOREs close. Yes, it's not fair. Neither is Mario Kart.

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

n/a; see Staff Instructions

2.12 Restaurant Coupon

Figure out complex takeout food order to satisfy ravenous lab assistants.

Your Role: Peach Frontier Laboratories Lab Assistant.

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Handout Instructions: Lab assistant at gym says words to the effect of,

It's been a long night and everyone is starving. All the lab assistants are tied up in calculations.

I hate to ask this of you, but here are some restaurant delivery menus. Would you please order us some food? Just work out an order and give it to one of the lab assistants when you're done.

Oh, but we have some picky eaters, so there are some constraints: we only have $100 with which we have to feed all 20 of us. There have to be at least 5 vegetarian meals and at least 10 non-vegetarian meals. And, oh...we don't want to be bad customers...so we always give each delivery driver a $3 tip.

And hands out puzzle.

Answers: Says words to the effect of

Thank you so much for this. We're starving.

Site Close Down: n/a

Other Instructions:

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

The set up would be something like, "We hate to ask you to do such a menial thing, but the lab assistants are getting hungry so we need to phone in orders to a few delivery restaurants. We only have 3 $20s, 6 $10s, 3 $5s, (etc.) and can't make change. We need at least n burgers, but no more than m. Monica is a vegetarian so we need to have at least one vegetarian meal. Sam is gluten intolerant. We need both diet cola and regular. (etc.)

"Here's a set of delivery coupons that you can use. Would you please work out an order that will please everyone, write it down on this form, and cut out the appropriate coupons?"

We would make up all sorts of coupons (Sam's Chinese Food, Belmont Burgers, etc.; one or more per establishment). Each coupon would have it's own constraints, such as

• Expiration date (i.e., some coupons that would really help the order...won't be valid)
• Not valid in combination with any other offer (on two coupons from the same establishment)
• Only original coupons accepted--no photocopies

And, most importantly, the coupons would be printed on both sides of the same sheet of paper. That means that cutting out and using certain coupons would prevent using certain other coupons on the reverse side.

The coupons could be for things like,

• 50% off 2nd meal of equal or lesser value
• Free litre of Coke with order of $15 or more

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

This puzzle would not solve to a particular phrase. Rather, the players would have to write down precisely which items should be ordered from each restaurant. They would also have to cut out and hand in the required coupons.

Teams must submit the following order - which costs exactly $100 - as well as seven appropriate coupons.

• 5 Tofurkey from Tofu House, with coupon - $27.45 + $3.00 tip = $30.45
• 4 Spam Sushi, with coupon - $21.96 - $10 coupon + $3.00 tip = $14.96
• 1 Schintzel meal from Schnitzelfest, with five "other" coupons

(Maria's, Weekday Combo, Burgermania, and two Pizza coupons) = $7.69 - $7.50 + $3.00 tip = $3.19

• 10 Imperial combos from Won Hung Lo - regular price = $48.40 + $3.00 tip = $51.40

Total = $100.00

n/a; answer given in person; see Staff Instructions

2.08 Sheet Music Puzzle

An unusual piece of sheet music from the past contains a message from Doctor When.

Your Role: Lab assistant at Peach Frontier Laboratories

Handout Instructions: Teams will ask for puzzles by name.

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.

.

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

Placeholder solution: "Layer One"

Email to team:

2.03 Invalid Permit

A government regulator threatens to shut down the lab unless a seemingly impossible series of forms are filled out correctly.

Your Role: Lab Assistants at Peach Frontier Laboratories + one "dickless" government regulator

What To Wear: lab coats + Peach Frontier Laboratories name badges; something else for the regulator

What Your Character Knows: everything in "Plot Setup"; the government regulator knows that Peach Frontier's operating permit application has not been properly filled out, he knows nothing about why the previous regulator signed off on this improper application

Puzzles At This Site: Several, but this sheet only covers Invalid Permits (plus the lead in to Chronomentometer 1).

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions: n/a

Handout Instructions: Lab assistant says words to the effect of,

You’ve got to help! See that guy over there? He’s the new government inspector and he says he’s going to shut us down because we don’t have a valid operating permit. We can’t shut down—we need to keep operating so we can save Prof. Chronos!

I thought we took care of this permit long ago. First I tried to fill out the eight required forms myself…but you know how impossible government forms are to fill out.

So Prof. Chronos took the forms from me, filled them out, and met with the old inspector. She assured me everything was all taken care of…and if there was ever any problem to just refer to the forms she filed.

Now this new guy shows up…says he doesn’t know anything about what the old guy did...and that our forms aren’t valid! I looked at them and he’s right: the Professor filled out the top part!

Will you please look at the forms and fix this mess? This is the order these permits were in our file cabinet. I don't know if that order is important but I suggest you make a note of it.

You can submit forms to the inspector for his approval. After you've solved this mess see any lab assistant.

Hand them the collection of permit application forms (usher them outside?) and then have a GC member with computer enter team's start time in the tracking database.

Answers: There is no "answer" to this puzzle. The team just has to roleplay bribing the staffer playing the role of the regulator to that staffer's satisfaction.

After bribing the regulator, the team speaks with a lab assistant who leads them into Chronomentometer 1 with words to the effect of

Phew! Now that you've got that taken care of, it turns out that Doctor When could use your help with the chronomentometers. We blew four of the modules--numbers 50, 87, 104, and 134. So we need a new design for each. Unfortunately his expertise is mainly in the theoretical realm. Only Prof. Chronos was truly driven to implement a working device.

But luckily there are nearby experts in applied chronodynamics who just may be able to help you. Please go to the Clocksmith Technologies at 806 El Camino Real, San Carlos. There you will be able to get the initial specifications for the new modules, which you can use to design new ones.

Please upload your four designs on our web site once you're done. The address is peachfrontier.com/cmm/. Here--I've written it all down for you. After you enter the design please email the lab to let us know you're done. If you have any trouble with your design call (650) 395-TIME and one of the lab assistants may be able to help.

Oh...and take this disk with you. It contains software for remote access to the time machine's View-O-Scope...if we ever get that working again. [sigh] In fact, here are two identical disks in case you want to run it on two computers.

Have a GC member with a computer enter team's start time in the online tracking database.

Site Close Down:

• Once the last team leaves the set can be converted back to Trenchwood Institute.
• 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.

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

This is a tricky puzzle to hint well. The intended discovery path is:

1. Teams notice that the forms are representations of puzzle types they've seen before
2. Teams work on the puzzle types, possibly also discovering the form code that confirms that these are indeed types they know about or can search on
3. Teams work on the puzzles enough to convince themselves that the puzzles are impossible
4. Teams get the "Aha" that Chronos couldn't possibly have any control over the puzzles (and that government is evil), and that if there's any message there must be something in her writing.
5. Teams decode the writing and get the message.

The biggest barrier is the third step, which is teams convincing themselves that the puzzles are impossible. It is very easy for a team, when faced with an impossibility, to convince themselves that they made a mistake and that the puzzle is working.

Do not (except in extreme circumstances) confirm with teams that a puzzle is impossible. It's fine if teams get the "Aha" on their own, but you flat-out tell them that a puzzle is impossible, you've deprived them of that "aha". However, to decrease frustration, it's important to guide them towards discovering that on their own as much as possible.

Therefore, for a team that appears to be struggling, play the role of a lab assistant who is trying to also help them with the forms, but also doesn't realize that the puzzle is impossible. Guide them through solving the puzzle and be thorough (as per the notes above), letting them convince themselves that the puzzle is impossible.

Only then should you guide them towards the next step by saying something like "Gosh, maybe the forms are impossible to fill out. I wonder if Professor Chronos realized that and maybe that's why they aren't filled out?"

The puzzle solves to the phrase:

Forms IMPOSSIBLE; use CREATIVE bribery!

For teams to successfully solve the puzzle, they must roleplay bribing the GC member playing "Dick, Les," the government regulator.

The puzzle has a BIG red herring -- it looks like a puzzle that is about solving WPC-style logical constraint-satisfaction puzzles, but it is actually a Game-style decoding puzzle.

Incidentally, each form appears to come from one of the government teams that are playing. It will be ironic that a team can't solve its own form.

A very astute team that is paying attention to the story (not that we expect any teams to get this immediately, but we can hope) will realize Catherine had absolutely no control over the contents of the forms, and only pay attention to the bit that Catherine did have control over, which is the section at the top where she filled in the name and address.

She has sneakily hidden an important message in how she writes her letters and numerals -- read across the forms, the variants spell out a message in 8-bit ASCII. She also tried to hint at this by underlining one word in each form -- the first letters of those words spell out "USE ASCII". The forms are actually given in order, but they can be sorted by their form number. The form number can be decoded to make a puzzle name, but that is part of the red herring.

Bit value	Form number	Decodes to
128	B12020125-S8916	BATTLE-SHIP
64	F212015-S89119	FUTO-SHIKI
32	H11989	HASHI
16	KA11211815	KAKURO
8	KE14-K514	KEN-KEN
4	M9145-S235516518	MINE-SWEEPER
2	N151415-G18113	NONO-GRAM
1	S129208518-L91411	SLITHER-LINK

As 8-bit ASCII always has the first bit as zero for standard messages, the first form indicates a value of "0" for all bits. The decoding mixes uppercase, lowercase, and even punctuation marks and one numeral.

Chr	Decimal	128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1		What the "1" looks like
F	70	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	C	tilts towards left, bigger on top
o	111	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	a	two-storied instead of one
r	114	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	t	has a tail
m	109	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	1	h	tail curls up
s	115	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	e	horizontal bar
	32	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	r	stronger rise up
I	73	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	i	star instead of dot
M	77	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	n	tail curls up
P	80	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	e	horizontal bar
O	79	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	C	tilts towards left, bigger on top
S	83	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	h	tail curls up
S	83	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	r	stronger rise up
I	73	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	o	closes "counter-clockwise"
B	66	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	n	tail curls up
L	76	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	o	closes "counter-clockwise"
E	69	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	s	bigger on bottom
;	59	0	0	1	1	1	0	1	1	2	curl at lower-left
	32	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	bigger on top
u	117	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	1	2	curl at lower-left
s	115	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	slashed
e	101	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	N	diagonal meets center of right edge
	32	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	e	horizontal bar
C	67	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	w	rounded
R	82	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	p	looks like a rho
E	69	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	o	closes "counter-clockwise"
A	65	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	r	stronger rise up
T	84	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	t	has a tail
I	73	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	S	bigger on bottom
V	86	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	t	has a tail
E	69	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	S	bigger on bottom
	32	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	a	two-storied instead of one
b	98	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	n	tail curls up
r	114	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	M	middle dips only half-way
i	105	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	a	two-storied instead of one
b	98	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	t	has a tail
e	101	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	e	horizontal bar
r	114	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	o	closes "counter-clockwise"
y	121	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	C	tilts towards left, bigger on top
!	33	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	A	rounded at top

The hidden message is:

Forms IMPOSSIBLE; use CREATIVE bribery!

This tells the teams that they must bribe the official, creatively.

Making Progress on the Decoy Puzzle

Each form describes a "classic" logic constraint-satisfaction puzzle.

The form numbers decode using a simple code that is hinted at with an example in the second form -- A is 1, B is 2, and so on, with all the numbers concatenated together. The code decodes to the name of the puzzle type, which will help confirm the teams that they are indeed solving a puzzle of that type and giving them a second copy of the rules that may be easier to read than the "government form" version.

Each puzzle is intended so that a solver can make significant progress before they should figure out that the puzzle is possible. Here we describe some of the progress that can be made.

WHOMP: B12020125-S8916 = Battleship

A solver should be able to quickly place a four, a three, and a one in the left side of the grid. They will then be at this point:

From here, they can notice that the top row needs to have two workstations of size 1, and the fifth row needs three more workstations filled in four possible spaces -- but two ways of doing so will lead to three workstations of size 1, which combined with the two workstations of size 1 in the first row is too many small size-1 workstations. So, this means that there must be a workstation of size 2 at the right side of row 5, resulting in:

Now the bottom row has only four spaces left, so we fill them in:

Now we have a contradiction in the ninth row (which needs one more workstation component) and the tenth column (which needs no more workstation components).

REDTaPE: F212015-S89119 = Futoshiki

There's a chain of five increasing boxes that go along the second row and down the fifth column. The given 3 restricts the two smallest numbers in the chain, which in turn restricts another chain that curls in the lower-left:

The next insight is to realize that cell A can only be 3 or 4. This means that the other two cells in the row must be 5 or 6, and that in turn lets us place all the 6s, which then uniquely determines the top chain, second row, and third column:

Cell B can only contain a 1, which lets us put more numbers in:

From here we're stuck. Column 1 makes row 5 need a 4, then we have problems with the other cells in row 5.

Laotian Coast Guard: H11989 = Hashi

Here's a basic guide on solving Hashi puzzles: [[6]]

Using those techniques, this is as far as you can get with this puzzle:

At this point, I would expect most teams to have to bifurcate (make a guess, prove it's impossible, do the opposite, prove it's impossible again). But there is a quicker way to see a contradiction:

Look at the two clouded areas. Each area adds to an even number, which means it must connect out of its "cloud" by an even number of patrol lines. But the only ways out of the cloud are via the two areas marked A and B. If one cloud uses both areas, then the other cloud is isolated. So, at least one cloud must use only "A" to get out -- but it's impossible to have an even number of connections through "A".

The Laundry: KA11211815 = Kakuro

This is as far as you get with basic Kakuro techniques (well, sort of -- the lower-right is kind of tricky):

At this point, there's a big chain of "2 or 3" and "7 or 8" cells in the lower-left, but they all end up having a 7 and an 8 in the bottom half of the center clue:

Unfortunately the upper-right area only has three possible solutions, and they each involve having a 7 or an 8 in the top half of the center clue. So that's a contradiction.

BATSHIT: KE14-K514 = Ken-ken

It's a bit easier if we make this look like a traditional Ken-Ken:

The product and quotient box allow for us to place some of the 5s easily:

The "7+" box at the bottom can then be determined:

Now look at the 5th row. The 3rd cell can't be 3, so the 3 must be in the "13+" group. So we can't put the 1 in that group as then the other number in that group would be 9. So:

We now have a problem -- the last two cells in the "25+" group need to add up to 6, but one of them is either a 3 or a 6.

X-Comm: M9145-S235516518 = Minesweeper

Using normal Minesweeper techniques, we end up finding a long alternating chain of 12 cells, where the mines must be alternating on and off in each link of the chain:

In other words, either cell A is filled and both cell Bs are black, or both cell Bs are filled and cell A is blank. Both choices cause problems with the number of mines in the two cells marked C.

GEE: N151415-G18113 = Nonogram

You can only make a little bit of strong progress on this Nonogram:

Inspecting the clues and ramifications creates a weird checkerboard situation in 2x3 blocks -- either all the cells marked A are filled, or all the cells marked B are filled. In either case, we have a problem in the bottom row.

UMMM: S129208518-L91411 = Slitherlink

Standard Slitherlink techniques get you to this point:

At this point, the center pattern is rather funky. There are six ways to satisfy all the 2s, but all the ways leave two loops. One way to convince yourself of this is to look at any point on the octagon and convince yourself that it has to connect to another point on the octagon next to it, since it can't cross over without closing the loop prematurely.

n/a; they submit "answer" (bribe) in person.

3.01 Introductory Lecture 1, Reprise

Exact repeat of Act I, diverging when players solve first puzzle instantly.

Puzzles At This Site: none in this event

Site Set Up:

• Make sure one toggle burner board is in time machine
• Make sure portable tachyon detector is near entrance to time machine
• Make sure yearbook is on set

Handout Instructions: See the script for the latest dialog.

Hints: n/a

Answers: n/a

Site Close Down:

• No close-down, scene automatically continues to 3.02 Core Dump 1 Redux

n/a

n/a

n/a

3.05 Yearbook (Jiffy Pop) Solve

A puzzle that is a [Bootstrap Paradox]: The teams solve it, and then later have a hand in its creation.

Handout Instructions: See script. Prof. Chronos asks the visitors how they solve everything so quickly. Together they figure out that they're in an infinite time loop.

This reminds the Professor of a strange message about infinite loops that appeared in her high school yearbook.

Hints: See below.

Answers: After a team gives the correct answer jump straight to the "Hand Out Instructions" of 3.07 Calibration Redux

Other Instructions:

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

The basic concept behind this puzzle is that it needs to be a [Bootstrap paradox]: we call it the "Jiffy Pop" because the slogan for that brand of popcorn was "as fun to make as it is to eat." The team has to first solve the puzzle, and then later on in the Game realize that they need to help create it, sending it to the point in time when they received it. Hence, the puzzle has two stages -- "Stage A": Solving the puzzle, and "Stage B": Creating the puzzle. Ideally there is a lot of time (real-life-time, not story-time) between "Stage A" and "Stage B" for best dramatic effect.

Specifically, Catherine is reminded of an oddity she saw in the 1986 yearbook. It was a poem written on peculiar shapes. Thinking it might be a jigsaw, she and Wesley cut it up, but got nowhere with it. She offers it to the players to solve, and it yields an imperative message from the past to interfere with Wesley's letter.

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

- The pieces look like they fit together. (In fact, they do! This is a jigsaw puzzle.)

- The clock times look important. Try seeing how they might go together.

- The words have a consistent orientation (either up or down relative to the triangle), but the clock times are often slanted. However, 12:XX and 6:xx are never slanted. Does this mean anything?

- On a normal clockface, 12:00 and 6:00 aren't slanted either. Maybe the times mirror a clock somehow.

- Pick a minute reading (e.g., 12:15, 2:15, 4:15, etc.) and try to "assemble the clock", going in a circle.

- Some of your pieces will have other clock times. Assemble those too, and keep going until you're done.

- (Does the pattern look like anything? Maybe an hourglass?)

- The words don't make any sense read straight across. Maybe those number pairs mean something.

- Number pairs have different orientations. All the pairs with one orientation go together.

- The number pairs (x,y) have x from 1-7 and y from 1-8. The puzzle has up to 7 "columns" and 8 "rows".

- Reading number pairs in order (left to right, then top to bottom), take the Xth word in the Yth row.

- Note that X refers to the Xth "word". If a row only has three words in it, then (1,3) selects the 1st word in the row, even though that row is in the same "column" as the 3rd word in the top or bottom row.

- Common other ways to try to use the pairs to get messages: 1) trying to make a loop from one word to another (e.g., if the pair is (1,5), go to word (1,5), then find the number pair on that word, etc.) and 2) trying to reorient the coordinate system to match the orientation of the number pair. Good ideas, but not correct.

- The "unused words" are clearly those that haven't already been "used" by the messages.

- Once they get the correct messages, it's just a matter of making sure the players know what to do - go back in time and change the word "right" to "left" on Doctor When's envelope.

- If players think the messages seem slightly cryptic - remember that these messages had to be hidden in a yearbook entry. Something like GO BACK IN TIME AND CHANGE RIGHT TO LEFT ON DOCTOR WHEN'S ENVELOPE would have been far too obvious! (Though how the message got there in the first place is a mystery...)

The "answer" is a series of messages, reading:

1) Woe! You're trapped in endless loops unable to unite them forever in final bliss 2) To transform their future lives journey back in time and modify the writing on the newspaper 3) Words not used will help show what to do

... with the "words not used" giving the message "Substitute right with its reflection".

Players should therefore realize that they need to go back in time and change the word "right" to "left" on the newspaper that Doctor When put in his younger self's locker.

Each piece has one or more times on it - 12:00, 2:05, 4:10, and so on.

There are two keys to assembling the pieces correctly. Note that words always read right-side-up.

1) Pieces with the same minute reading form a rough circle, with their hour components arranged like a clockface - 12:XX at the top, 2:XX in the upper right, 4:XX in the lower right, 6:XX at the bottom, 8:XX in the lower left, and 10:XX in the upper left.

2) Groups of pieces go in order of their minute readings - :00, :05, :10, and so on up to :55 - from left to right, then top to bottom (just like a normal English printed page).

The resulting shape forms an hourglass pattern, with yellow "sand" trickling through the neck. (Note that a down shape above an up shape forms an hourglass as well.)

Having formed the correct pattern, you use the number pairs (x,y) on the pieces to find the three messages. Each message is associated with one color.

"Read" the pieces of a given color from left to right and top to bottom, finding the word indicated by the coordinate in the Cartesian grid shown on the hourglass.

The RED pieces give the message Woe! You're trapped in endless loops unable to unite them forever in final bliss. The YELLOW number pairs give the message To transform their future lives journey back in time and modify the writing on the newspaper. The BLUE pieces give the message Words not used will help show what to do

The only words that are not found in the above steps (i.e., the "words not used") are, in order from left to right, Substitute Right With Its Reflection.

http://weihwa.com/~whuang/nodir/doctorwhen/yearbook/solution-part1.pdf

n/a; teams answer in person

3.02 Core Dump 1 Redux

Same as Act I.

Puzzles At This Site: none

Setup Instructions: none (toggle burner should already be in time machine--see 3.01 Introductory Lecture 1, Reprise)

Handout Instructions: See the script. Prof. Chronos pulls a core dump from the time machine and goads the audience into shouting out the answer.

Hints: n/a

Answers: n/a

Site Close Down: n/a--site stays open

Other Instructions:

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

n/a

Exact same as in Act I.

n/a

3.03 Tachyon Midi Ether Co-Keypad 1 Redux

Puzzles At This Site: none

Setup Instructions: none (toggle burner should already be in time machine--see 3.01 Introductory Lecture 1, Reprise)

Handout Instructions: See script. Prof. Chronos looks inside the time machine and notices that co-keypad #34 is broken. She is then shocked that the visitors just happen to have a new design on their camera phone.

Hints: n/a

Answers: n/a

Site Close Down: n/a--site stays open

Other Instructions:

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

Same exact broken co-keypad #34 as in Act I, with same solution

n/a

Same as Act I.

n/a

3.04 Choose Your Own Adventure Redux

Same as Act I.

Puzzles At This Site: none

Setup Instructions: none (toggle burner should already be in time machine--see 3.01 Introductory Lecture 1, Reprise)

Handout Instructions: See script. Prof. Chronos needs tells the visitors she also needs the password to Doctor When's supercomputer. When they also happen to have that answer, she realizes something is up.

Hints: n/a

Answers: n/a

Site Close Down: n/a--site stays open

Other Instructions:

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

n/a

Password = "BUFFYROCKS"

n/a

3.11 TRASH

Locate the letter after Chronos discards it.

Note To All Staff: During this portion of the Game you're pretending you're in 1986. So don't let the players see you use any modern technology (such as cell phones and laptop computers).

Lockers

Your Role: Assistant to Tiresias, the high school's head janitor.

What Your Character Knows: Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel.

Setup Instructions:

• Make sure correct props are in locker 413 (combo 1-11-9)
• Make sure there's no envelope in locker

Handout Instructions:

(Most) Teams will come to this location twice. So when a team comes for the first time discreetly check off the team on the list so that when they come back the second time you know they've been there before.

The two two things they will come to do are:

1) To search the locker to find the envelope (these teams will NOT be trying to put an envelope in the locker). To these teams, you should say as soon as they start poking around the locker:

“What is this, Grand Central Station? This is the third time someone’s been poking around this hallway - first the dorky guy in the lab coat, then the woman in the lab coat, then you guys. Just don’t make a mess.”

The teams should use the locker combination that they learned in Act 2 to open the locker, whereupon they will find NO ENVELOPE and a picture of Buffy torn in half. (They saw Chronos do this in Act 2.)

At this point, three things should suggest to the players that the envelope is in the trash can: 1) the fact that it’s not in the locker; 2) your telling that them that a woman in a lab coat has already been here; and 3) the torn picture of Buffy. If they can’t figure out to look in the trash can, however, you can suggest to them that the woman in the lab coat took something out of the locker and threw it in the trash can.

IMPORTANT:

• do not let players take anything out of the locker - say “that’s the property of a student! Leave it there!”.
• Do not let them fiddle with any lockers other than 413 - say something like “those lockers are under repair. Please don’t touch them.”
• after the players have searched the locker, make sure the torn picture of Buffy is still on top, and then close the locker again for the next team

When they search the trash can, they will find that it’s empty. At this point, they should notice the sign above the can that says “Can C” and also “Lost something? Information about T.R.A.S.H. is located at the main dumpster (near the entrance to the parking lot at the front of campus).” This tells them to go look at the dumpster, where they’ll find the TRASH puzzle.

If teams are confused about how to find the envelope, point out the sign above the trash can, and suggest that they go to the dumpster at the front of the school to figure out what’s happened to the contents of the trash can.

At 2 PM, you will place an envelope with a newspaper in the trash can; teams that do this step at 2 PM or later will therefore skip the TRASH puzzle.

2) To place the envelope with the altered newspaper in the locker. These teams may try to slide the envelope through the space at the top of the locker - it probably won’t fit. Eventually, they’ll open the locker and place the envelope inside. Do not let them take anything in the locker - say “that’s the property of a student! Leave it there!.”

After they’ve placed the envelope in the locker and closed it, give each player two iridescent smiley-face sticker and make sure each attaches it to himself in a visible location (like the front & backs of their badges).

The players should know to go to the gym next. But if they're confused say words to the effect of “I hear there’s a big science fair going on at the gym. Why don’t you go check it out - and say hello to Tiresias, our janitor?”

When they leave, open the locker, REMOVE THE ENVELOPE, and close the locker.

Site Close Down:

• Clean up.
• Return all materials to GC HQ

Other Instructions:

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

Dumpsters

Your Role: You are Johnny Doe, an assistant to Tiresias, the head janitor of Paine Memorial High School.

What Your Character Knows: Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel. Your (character's) shift is over at around 2pm and you would like these students to stop hanging around there by that time.

Setup Instructions:

• Make sure there is a TRASH poster (or two) on the dumpster.
• Make sure there is a “Daily Log” whiteboard easily visible near the poster.
• Make sure there are copies of the TRASH rules for the players. This includes the TRASH grid (the same as the grid on the poster) and a message from Tiresias warning them that TRASH is really complicated.
• Make sure there are hint materials for you to give to the players.

Handout Instructions:

When teams first arrive, tell them:

"Are you looking for something?"

(Players will probably indicate that they're looking for an envelope and/or something that was thrown away.) Regardless, continue:

"If it was in a TRASH can, then you'll have to figure out our school's TRASH system to find where it's gone. Also you'll have to know the contents of ALL the cans before a janitor will let you look in a can."

(If teams ask about this, tell them the poster and other materials have more information. "Contents" means the _state_ of the can - whether it contains garbage, recycling, both, or neither.)

Hand them the rule grid/note from Tiresias handout (3 copies per team).

"Make sure to read that note from Tiresias. He designed TRASH - it's VERY complicated and we have some extra materials that make it much easier to understand, if you want them. You can get those from me now, or at any later time. Note that the school's TRASH system gets closed in about X minutes [see note below], so if you need to get something, you'll have to retrieve it before that time is up."

"X minutes" is the amount of time remaining until 1:55pm. (Don't say "it closes at 1:55 pm" - give the actual amount of time left: an hour and 20 minutes, 50 minutes, whatever.)

The three materials they can get are the TRASH flyer Vol. 1, the TRASH flyer Vol. 2, and the maze diagram.

Our goal is to have teams finish TRASH by 1:50 PM, so strongly encourage teams that arrive after 12:30 to at least take the two flyers, and very strongly encourage teams that arrive after 1pm to take all three materials.

At 1:55pm, you should give all players that are still working on the puzzle the answer (but if there are a lot of teams, you should stagger them a little bit, so perhaps start doing this earlier, in 5-minute intervals):

“Wait, are you guys looking for an envelope? I think I saw it when it was going through the TRASH cycle. I think it’s in can B.”

Site Close Down:

• Clean up.
• Return materials to GC HQ

Other Instructions:

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

Principal's Office

Role: You are an assistant janitor at Paine Memorial High School.

What Your Character Knows: Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel.

Setup instructions:

The tub of props should be in the storage closet, through the door on the opposite wall of the desk.

• Make sure sign is over door.
• Make sure there is a trash can with a sign saying TRASH Can B.
• Put one envelope in the can.
• Place a small amount of (not too gross) garbage over the envelope.
• Place something (a 3-ring binder? A clipboard?) over the garbage can so that players can't see inside.
• Replace the 2011 poster of Dirk Nowitzki with the 1986 poster of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the wall.
• Replace the 2011 NBA playoff bracket with the 1986 bracket, covering the bulletin board.
• Re-hang the mini basketball hoop above the trash can.
• Make sure you have a stack of envelopes (each one with a newspaper page inside).

Handout Instructions: There’s no puzzle here. Instead, teams will come here to find the envelope after they’ve solved the TRASH puzzle.

Answers: When teams arrive and ask to look in the trash can, say:

You can only go through trash cans in this school if you’re certified in TRASH. To prove to me that you’re qualified, you must tell me the contents of all trash cans in this school.”

The correct answer is:

• Can A (in the detention room) has recycling (after 1pm, “garbage and recycling” is also acceptable)
• Can B (in the principal’s office) contains both garbage and recycling
• Can C (in the locker hallway) is empty
• Can D (in the journalism classroom) contains recycling

If they get it right, say:

“Wow! You must be a TRASH expert. You can look in this can.”

The teams should find the envelope and take it. After they leave, you should place another envelope beneath the garbage. If a 2nd team enters the principal’s office while one team is there with you, ask the 2nd team to wait outside until the first team has left.

After 1:30 PM, DO NOT ask for the contents of the cans; simply let a team look in the can when they ask.

Hints: Teams cannot call in for hints, since they’re in 1986.

If teams are just “exploring” and don’t know the contents of the cans, tell them they’ll have to get more knowledge of TRASH and that TRASH instructions are available at the dumpster. If it’s before 1pm and teams give the answer:

• Can A (in the detention room) has both garbage and recycling
• Can B (in the principal’s office) contains both garbage and recycling
• Can C (in the locker hallway) is empty
• Can D (in the journalism classroom) contains recycling

Tell them:

It sounds like you know a lot about TRASH, but you’re not quite an expert. Remember that expert janitors complete a TRASH cycle in as few steps as possible!

Present at the puzzle site are:

- A poster with some cute graphics, labels and locations for the four cans (A/B/C/D), and the rules of the TRASH (Tiresias Recycling And Sanitation Heuristic) system.

- A whiteboard showing the Daily Log, which describes the starting position of the TRASH cans (can A has garbage, can B has garbage, can C has recyclables, and can D has recyclables. (Can C was empty, but Chronos put recyclables - namely, the envelope - in it.) The whiteboard also shows the daily ending condition, which is that can C must be empty.

- The TRASH rules form a four-dimensional maze. The assistant janitor has a detailed description of the maze. Janitors move from place to place in the maze by moving contents from one can to another.

- The goal of the maze is to get can C empty again. The shortest solution to do so takes 26 steps. Players must find the exact final position (i.e., know the contents of each can) to be allowed to look in one of the cans.

- After solving the maze, players must check the route that the envelope traveled to find its final location, then go to that location and search the can.

- Using the notation E, G, R, B for Empty, Garbage, Recycling, Both, the starting position is GGRR (for cans ABCD respectively). The correct route through the maze is:

0) GGRR (envelope is placed in C and remains here until step 22)

1) GGBR

2) GBBR

3) BBBR

4) BGBR

5) RGBR

6) RGRR

7) RGRB

8) EGRB

9) EGRR

10) EGBR

11) EBBR

12) EBRR

13) EBRB

14) RBRB

15) RRRB

16) BRRB

17) BRRG

18) BERG

19) BEBG

20) BRBG

21) BRBB

22) BRGB (envelope goes to can B and stays there)

23) RRGB

24) RBGB

25) RBGR

26) RBER

The file below contains the mockup for the daily log whiteboard, the graphics for the TRASH poster, hint materials, and (on the final slide) the drawing of the maze.

File:TRASH3.ppt

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

- This will likely be a hard puzzle for most teams, so liberal hints are available. Tiresias' note on the rule grid handout encourages teams to take these hints - you should to!

- The first hint is the flyer, Vol. 1. This describes the general theory of 4-D mazes and how they can be represented as four 2-D mazes.

- The second clue is the flyer, Vol. 2. This gives a 3x3x3x3 example of how to represent the TRASH system as a maze - that is, how to represent the rule-grid constraints as maze walls.

- The third clue is the maze diagram itself. A copy is HERE - File:TRASH maze diagram.ppt

- To find where the envelope is, the players must solve the maze - that is, get to the "can C = empty" state - and then track the envelope's movement through the maze.

- The shortest maze solution takes 26 steps.

- Intermediate goals for solving the maze:

• You need to get can C from the right wall to the far-left wall. There's only one "hole" in the middle of the upper right maze - so getting can C from Both to Garbage requires going through that "hole".
• Before you get to that hole, you need to get can B to the "bottom" (that is, empty).
• So, roughly, sub-goals are: get B to the bottom/empty; then get C through the hole/to garbage; then finish it off.

- Some teams may find a slightly longer path to the end goal - one of them is characterized by EGER (cans A and C empty, can B with garbage only, and can D with recycling only and the envelope); another has BBER, with can B still having the envelope. A team that suggests either answer can be told that "it sounds like you understand TRASH very well, but you're not quite EXPERTS yet - remember that expert janitors complete TRASH in as few steps as possible. (But you're really close.)". If they show any sign of frustration, they should be told that they should back up a just few steps from their finish and find a slightly shorter route.

The envelope is inside the garbage can in the principal's office. To get access to the can, the players will also need to know that can A holds recycling only, can B (the principal's office can) contains both garbage and recyclables, can C is empty, and can D holds recyclables only.

n/a; they give answer in person; see Staff Instructions

3.16 Happy Ending

The "Science Fair Incident" played out live.

Your Role: Students and faculty at the high school.

Puzzles At This Location: none

Handout Instructions: See script.

Site Close Down: As soon as players leave, everything may be packed up (but you may want to watch the Denouement first)

• Return Rec Center's equipment (tables, mats, etc.) to appropriate storage locations
• Return Doctor When materials (science fair projects, signs, audio equipment, etc.)
• Mop up and sweep up

Other Instructions:

• Stay in character.
• Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.
• During this portion of the Game you're pretending you're in 1986. So don't let the players see you use any modern technology (such as cell phones and laptop computers).

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

3.12 Yearbook (Jiffy Pop) Puzzle, Closing the Loop

Re-construct the puzzle that was received earlier.

Note To All Staff: During this portion of the Game you're pretending you're in 1986. So don't let the players see you use any modern technology (such as cell phones and laptop computers).

Gym

Your Role: You are Tiresias, the all-knowing game fairy (not that there's anything wrong with that), currently posing as the head janitor of Paine Memorial High School.

Handout Instructions: There’s no puzzle here. Instead, teams will come here twice:

1) After they’ve placed the envelope in the locker. These teams will be wearing iridescent smiley-face stickers (but not American flags). When they approach you, make the archway flashing red. Then say:

Howdy, y'all! I'm guessing your mission went well. But what's up with your return portal? That flashing red can't be good. You didn't screw up the timeline, did you?

Teams will probably be confused. Then say:

Think, think! Did you kill your grandfather? Assassinate Hitler? Step on a butterfly? Not step on a butterfly? Did you forget to leave something for your future self to find?

Teams now must realize that the the “cryptic poem” - which Doctor When cut into the yearbook pieces that formed a secret message that told them to go back in time - was originally “written” by them. If teams aren’t getting this, be more and more explicit.

What about that message that told you to go back time in the first place? Do you remember where that came from?

Teams might need to be reminded that Chronos said that the pieces came from a “cryptic poem” in the yearbook. (The “hourglass” grid they assembled back at the lab wasn’t a cryptic poem - it didn’t make any sense at all.) They need to go find out what that original yearbook entry was, and make sure it gets in the yearbook somehow.

When they finally figure this out (or are told), say:

Oh, that's so Time Travel 101. Well, get to it. Don't want the universe to implode. Secret messages aren't going to write themselves! Y'all better get to the student journalism office and get that message in the yearbook. Then come on back and we can check the archway again.

Teams proceed to the journalism office for the Jiffy Pop 2 puzzle.

2) After they’ve completed Yearbook 2 (getting the cryptic message in the yearbook) - these players will have American flag stickers from the journalism assistant. When they approach you, make the archway solid red (not flashing red) and say:

That looks better! The archway isn't blinking anymore. It's still not glowing green, so why don't you stick around for a few minutes, and something dramatic might happen! If you haven’t had lunch, you can go eat, or you can check out the science fair.

Players are now done with the mandatory puzzles. They’re free to have lunch, solve optional puzzles (Lunch, Apple II, making banners, etc.), or look at the science fair exhibits - and you can point them toward any of these options.

Hints: Teams cannot call in for hints, since they’re in 1986. Teams that are stuck must rely on you; see the instructions above.

Answers: The “answer” in step 1 is for teams in steps 1 or 2 to realize they’re “not done yet” - they have some sort of “time loop” they have to close (getting the cryptic poem in the yearbook).

The “answer” in step 2 is for teams to realize that they’re pretty much done and that they can kill time until the finale.

Site Close Down: Clean up.

Other Instructions:

• Stay in character--you are Tiresias, a janitor at Paine Memorial High School.
• Except...if a team says "time out," then break character.
• If a team comes to you before placing the envelope in the locker (they have neither the “smiley face” or the journalism American flag stickers), remind them that they probably have some important business to attend to. Because you’re Tiresias, you can help them remember what they need to do - find the envelope, change the writing on the newspaper, and put it back in the locker.

Student Journalism Office

Your Role: You are an assistant journalism teacher at Paine Memorial High School.

What Your Character Knows: Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel.

Setup Instructions:

• Turn on the waxer--it needs time to heat up!
• Set out pasteup boards
• Make sure there is a sign on the door saying Journalism Office.
• Make sure there is a poster on the wall showing the presidents in a strange grid.
• Make sure there is a bin on the counter with a sign saying “PLACE YEARBOOK SUBMISSIONS HERE”.
• Make sure you have a set of American flag stickers.
• Make sure there are two posters on the wall - Proofreading Marks and Writing Checklist.
• Make sure you have a list of the order of the presidents. Keep this hidden. (Quick reference: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Quincy Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, William Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland 1, Benjamin Harrison, Cleveland 2, McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, then 41, 42, 43, 44 (who weren't elected yet in 1986).

Handout Instructions:

• When teams are looking at the Presidents poster, hand them a B&W letter-sized copy of the poster's grids.
• Look for teams that are having trouble with the order of the presidents. You can offer them the "president's workbook", which should have enough information to help them figure out the order. There are no puzzles or messages contained within the workbook - it's just noisy information on prez order. Feel free to hand this out liberally. When you hand it out, say something like:

"We used to have this presidents' workbook that students could use to study. It's mostly used up, but here are a few pages that are still left - they've already been filled out, but maybe the questions & answers will help you figure out the order of presidents."

• Don't let players eat lunch in here
• Don't let players not working on the puzzle hang out in here
• Don't let players take the posters off of the walls.
• Don't let players who are not wearing iridescent smiley-face stickers hang out in here. (The stickers indicate they've completed a required prior puzzle.) Perhaps tell such players, "don't you have better things to do?"

Hints:Teams cannot call in for hints, since they’re in 1986. They need to rely on you. If teams ask about how they submit something to the yearbook, tell them simply to wax their typesetting or artwork, lay it out on a piece of paste-up board and drop it in the bin. If they’re confused about what to do and say something like “we’re supposed to write some sort of cryptic poem,” you can say:

I’m not sure what you want to submit. On a totally unrelated note: do you see that poster with the presidents on it? Isn’t that grid on the top strange? Have you ever seen anything like it?

The players have seen the grid before - it’s the same shape that they assembled earlier that morning with the cut-out pieces that Chronos gave them. It looks like an hourglass laying on its side.

They should do what the poster says: take the pieces from the "hourglass" configuration and reassemble them into the lower configuration, by finding the piece associated with the George Washington place on the president grid and placing it in slot #1 on the lower grid, finding the piece associated with John Adams and placing it in slot #2, and so on.

When done, the "poem" grid has a row of four pieces, four rows of nine pieces each, and a final row of four pieces. The configuration also has a pattern with a blue X on alternating red and yellow columns. The poem reads:

Reflection On The Future

Trapped In Loops In Time Unable To Do "Right"

Will Writing In The Newspaper Help Them To Unite

You're Used To Transform Back And Modify The Show

Substitute Their Final Words With Endless Bliss Not Woe!

What Journey Lives Forever

Players may worry that they don’t know all of the presidents. There are several ways for them to make progress anyway:

1. They should know the first few presidents (Washington, Adams, Jefferson...) and the last several (44, 43, 42, 41, Reagan, Carter...). Then, they should be able to "get close" with many presidents, at least putting them in the right era.
2. Each piece must have the right orientation (triangle up or down). For instance, if players know that Harding and Coolidge come between Wilson and Hoover, but can't remember whether Harding or Coolidge comes first, the orientation should tell them.
3. They're constructing an actual poem, so they should try to make intelligible English lines of poetry.
4. They may notice that the colors seem to be forming a pattern - red and yellow stripes with a big blue X.
5. They can get help from other players - or, eventually, from you.
6. They can scrutinize the presidential workbook. Again, when you hand it to a team, say something like:

"We used to have this presidents' workbook that students could use to study. It's mostly used up, but here are a few pages that are still left - they've already been filled out, but maybe the questions & answers will help you figure out the order of presidents."

If a team is having trouble with a few last presidents, or it’s after 2:20, you can help them with the president order. If it’s after 2:35 PM, you should help teams construct the poem. All teams should be done with the puzzle by 2:55 PM.

Answers: Once they reconstruct the poem, it's possible that they may have forgotten what to do next, and expect the poem to give them some sort of clue. Although the poem is meant to reflect what the players are doing - helping When and Chronos unite, "modifying the show", and writing a new, happy ending - it doesn't give any instructions.

Instead, players need to remember that their goal is to "close the loop" and create the message that Wesley will cut out and then Catherine will give to them in 2012 - and to do so, they need to put the completed poem in the yearbook submission bin.

• To submit their answer, the players should actually run their puzzle pieces through the waxer and arrange them on the paste-up board. Then they'll put the board in the "submissions" basket.
• Check their work.
  • If it's wrong, "reject" their submission. You can telling them that it's not "laid out correctly" or that their submission doesn't quite seem like "yearbook material" or something similar to guide them in the right direction.
  • If it's correct give each player two American flag stickers and instruct them to put it on the front and back of their badge.
• After each correct submission, discreetly take it out of the bin and hide it away so the other teams don't see it. (We want them to have the illusion that they're the only ones putting the poem in the yearbook.)
• You may run out of paste-up board. If so, feel free to peel the pieces off of a submitted board and then put the newly-blank board back in the pile.

Site Close Down:

• Clean up
• Return materials to GC HQ

Other Instructions:

• Stay in character.
• Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.
• It is possible teams may ask about the “teacher’s lounge” (and may specifically ask about TRASH cans in the teacher’s lounge). This is not the teacher’s lounge (it will be in the future, but you don’t know that), and there are no TRASH cans here.

Like the slogan for "Jiffy Pop" popcorn, this puzzle is supposed to be as fun to make as it is to solve. They've already solved it, now they make it. They are sent to the school Journalism room to insert their puzzle into the yearbook, assembled according to pattern established by a nearby poster of U.S. Presidents.

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

- The process of reconstructing the poem starting from the "hourglass" shape should be fairly straightforward - assuming the players know the presidents! Of course, since they're in 1986, they can't do internet research...

- If players are having trouble figuring out the order of the presidents, there are a few tricks they can use:

1) They should know the first few presidents (Washington, Adams, Jefferson...) and the last several (44, 43, 42, 41, Reagan, Carter...). Then, they should be able to "get close" with many presidents, at least putting them in the right era.

2) Each piece must have the right orientation (triangle up or down). For instance, if players know that Harding and Coolidge come between Wilson and Hoover, but can't remember whether Harding or Coolidge comes first, the orientation should tell them.

3) They're constructing an actual poem, so they should try to make intelligible English lines of poetry.

4) They may notice that the colors seem to be forming a pattern - red and yellow stripes with a big blue X.

5) They can get help from other players - or, eventually, from the lab assistants.

6) The presidents' workbook has a lot of information that can help teams construct the order. Hand this to any team asking about order, saying:

"We used to have this presidents' workbook that students could use to study. It's mostly used up, but here are a few pages that are still left - they've already been filled out, but maybe the questions & answers will help you figure out the order of presidents."

Once they reconstruct the poem, it's possible that they may have forgotten what to do next, and expect the poem to give them some sort of clue. Although the poem is meant to reflect what the players are doing - helping When and Chronos unite, "revising the show", and writing a new, happy ending - it doesn't give any instructions.

Instead, players need to remember that their goal is to "close the loop" and create the message that Catherine will cut out and give to them in 2012 - and to do so, they need to put the completed poem in the yearbook submission bin.

(The last line of the poem - "replace what you create" - can be interpreted as an instruction: they players "create" the poem by assembling it, and then "replace" it in the submission bin. This is vague and cryptic, though, and is meant more as "potentially consistent" than as a necessary instruction.)

If players need to leave the journalism room and go back to consult with Tiresias, that's fine. For instance, Tiresias could remind them that they need to close the loop by sending themselves the message - and where did they get the message? From the yearbook, so they'd better figure out how to get it printed in the yearbook.

Submission of correct configuration is approved by GC staffer. The image currently on the wiki is incorrect - the poem reads:

Reflection On The Future

Trapped In Loops In Time Unable To Do "Right"

Will Writing In The Newspaper Help Them To Unite

You're Used To Transform Back And Modify The Show

Substitute Their Final Words With Endless Bliss Not Woe!

What Journey Lives Forever

http://weihwa.com/~whuang/nodir/doctorwhen/yearbook/solution-part2.pdf

The journalism office has a poster showing two grids:

1) 44 presidents (the 1st 40, plus the 4 slots for the presidents elected post-1986) in the "hourglass" configuration from the solution of the first Jiffy Pop puzzle.

2) Below this, another grid in a different shape with numbers 1-44.

Players take the pieces from the "hourglass" configuration and reassemble them into the lower "poem" configuration, by finding the piece associated with the George Washington place on the president grid and placing it in slot #1 on the lower grid, finding the piece associated with John Adams and placing it in slot #2, and so on.

When done, the "poem" grid has a row of four pieces, four rows of nine pieces each, and a final row of four pieces. The configuration also has a pattern with a blue X on alternating red and yellow columns.

The poem reads:

Reflection On The Future

Trapped In Loops In Time Unable To Do "Right"

Will Writing In The Newspaper Help Them To Unite

You're Used To Transform Back And Modify The Show

Substitute Their Final Words With Endless Bliss Not Woe!

What Journey Lives Forever

Players must reassemble the poem with the pieces from the first Jiffy Pop puzzle, affix it to a piece of paper found in the journalism room, and place it in the bin of submissions for the yearbook - thereby ensuring that the poem will be printed in the yearbook, where Catherine can find it and cut it out and give it to the players in 2012, thus "closing the loop".

n/a

3.14 Apple II

Fortune Teller program for Apple II

N/A

Actual vintage Apple II computer is running a "fortune teller" program. After grilling the player about their personal life, it shows a photo of them "in the future" (taken during registration).

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

?

3.10 Detention and Dance

Players must figure out how to escape detention so they can complete the first step of their mission.

Note To All Staff: During this portion of the Game you're pretending you're in 1986. So don't let the players see you use any modern technology (such as cell phones and laptop computers).

Entrance

Your Role: You are a student hall monitor at Paine Memorial High School.

What To Wear:

What Your Character Knows: Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel.

Puzzles At This Site:

Where To Get Materials:

Handout Instructions: No handouts. When a team arrives at the school, tell them

“Hey - it's Saturday! If you're here on Saturday, that means you're supposed to be in detention!”

To you, the players look like 1980's high school students. Feel free to ad-lib some comments to that effect (referring to their spiked hair or bangs, leg warmers or pegged jeans). Don't listen to any objections that they're not high school students: you're taking them to Detention no matter what (or else they'll have to leave campus entirely).

Escort the teams quickly to the right door to the gym (marked with a sign saying “DETENTION”). Open the door and announce, “More troublemakers!” Check off the team on your list. Then hurry back to the front of the school to pick up the next team. Repeat until all teams have been sent to detention.

Other Instructions:

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

Gym

Your Role: You are the bane of every high school student's existence: the evil test proctor. Like the one in "Breakfast Club," but with the charm of the principal in "Back To The Future.".

What To Wear:

What Your Character Knows: Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel.

Puzzles At This Site: Only Detention

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

• Have a list of teams so that you can check when they’ve all arrived.
• Have a sign on the door saying “DETENTION”.
• Have a chair to sit in and a tape player.
• Have copies of the SAT practice tests.
• Have copies of the SAT answer sheets.
• Have the SAT answer key.
• Have a tape player and tape with the Time Warp on it.
• Have 16 notes to teams telling them to send one person to dance class.

Handout Instructions: When teams arrive, discreetly check their team name off from the list and then say to them:

You little hooligans! You're mine now. I can keep you in detention all day if I want to, so you'd better behave and hope I change my mind.

Now: the state of California says I have to make this an "educational opportunity," but I wouldn't waste a teacher's valuable time on you young punks! So I had our janitor Tiresias make up some "busy work" for you. It's SAT practice - even though you slackers don't look like anything close to college material. Now get to work!”

Give each team ONE copy of the SAT practice test, and TWO copies of the SAT answer sheet.

5 minutes after a team arrives, poke your head out the door (as if talking to someone), then go to the team and hand them a Note, saying something like:

“Turns out it's a lucky day for one of you. Buffy, the head cheerleader, needs an extra person to help fill out the group in her dance class. Of course, I'd bet that all of you have two left feet. In my day, I could really cut a rug, but y'all don't look fit to kiss Gene Kelly's shoes! Anyway, Buffy needs one person, so decide who it is and get going."

Give the team the Note.

When the player comes back from dance class, say:

“Flunked out that quick, huh? Get back to work!”

Answers: When the players finish and want to go outside, follow them. They should perform the Time Warp dance as a team - you should dance with them, and use the tape player to play the Time Warp if possible! When they’re done, say:

“Oh, that was wonderful! I love the Rocky Horror Show! I guess you're good kids after all - you can leave detention early.”

Hints: Teams can’t call for hints, since they’re in 1986. If they want help on individual SAT answers, they can ask you. You should ask them to perform a dance of your choice - The Robot, YMCA, disco, and The Twist are examples. The number of answers they get for doing a dance is up to you; we advise that you start out giving out one or two answers per dance, and for slower teams give up to 5 answers (or even more) per dance. Ideally, all teams should finish this puzzle by 12:30. Once they have the answers to the SAT questions, they get the first message by using pairs of answers as 2-digit base 5 (with answers A=0, B=1, C=2, D=3, E=4), and then making the resulting number into a letter. To hint this, point out that the answer sheet seems to highlight pairs of answers. If they’re still not getting it, point out that question 79 is very odd - in fact, it doesn't have a specific answer: if x=44, what base is x in? It could be any base greater than 4! Of course, this is a clue that x - corresponding to the 24th letter - is 44 in base 5.

The SAT test gives the answer DANCELETTERSCAESARSHIFTSIXPERFORMOUTSIDE.

The players need to take the letter of each dance (as given on Buffy's Dance List) performed by their teammate who learned the dance sequence (in Dance Class) and apply a 6-letter Caesar shift. The resulting message says GROUPTIMEWARP, so the team should go outside with you and perform the Time Warp dance. They should have the song on the mix tape from Act 2, and they can use your tape player to learn the dance (which provides verbal instructions in the lyrics). Answers: The final answer is for the teams to perform the Time Warp for you (outside, so the other teams can’t see it). If they’ve brought a tape with the Time Warp on it, they can use your tape player to play the music while they dance!

Site Close Down: Once last team leaves,

• Clean up
• Open up partition to rest of gym so that the science fair can use the full gym
• Pack up all materials and return to GC HQ

Other Instructions:

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

Outside

Your Role: You are Buffy, head cheerleader...and alpha female...at Paine Memorial High School (or her assistant)

What To Wear:

What Your Character Knows: Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel.

Puzzles At This Site:

Where To Get Materials:

Handout Instructions: When players arrive, say “Welcome to dance class!” Buffy will lead the dance instruction. Your job is to operate the CD player, and ensure safety. Make sure players stay on flat ground (not sand). Make sure there are no loose objects where players are dancing. Make sure players are dancing “under control.” Also, make sure players are actually dancing - not just writing down what Buffy does or says. If a player is merely watching and taking notes, tell them:

“This is dance class! You have to dance!”

It’s fine if they take notes while they’re dancing.

When players leave the class, hand them a copy of Buffy’s Awesome Dance List and tell them:

“Make sure to show your friends what you’ve learned!”

If any players are very hesitant to dance, suggest to them that they go back and have one of their friends come to dance class in their place.

Tell teams to go BACK TO DETENTION when they're done with dance class. Detention is in the gym, up the hill - if they go in another direction, tell them they have to return to detention.

Site Close Down: Once last dance student has left

• Clean up
• Return materials to GC HQ

Other Instructions:

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

Players are sent to Saturday detention; to escape (so that they can continue with the plot), they must figure out how to appease the Mean Proctor. They are first given an SAT practice test designed by Tiresias the janitor, which suggests that one person get a bathroom pass and go to dance class, where they learn a dance routine taught by Buffy. Meanwhile, the other players are given a current events quiz. When the dancer returns, the quiz answers and dances are combined to give a final instruction, which tells the team to perform the Time Warp for the proctor (outside). The proctor is so delighted that he/she lets them go.

- Hints for this puzzle should generally come from the Mean Proctor or his assistants (see Staff Instructions).

- If players need help with the tests or need to verify answers, the Mean Proctor will give them answers from his answer key, but requires the asker to do a dance in exchange. (The dances and dance/answer exchange rate are subject to the proctor's discretion.)

- If players are stuck with the SAT message, point out that the answer key always shades answers in pairs. If still stuck, point out that question 79 is very strange.

- Players should be discouraged from looking up answers online - e.g., the Mean Proctor may say "put that Walkman away!"

- If teams simply come up to the Proctor and say "Time Warp" or "Team Time Warp" or something like that, the Proctor can respond, "I LOVE the Time Warp! Would you do it for me? But not in front of everyone - here, let's go outside."

The puzzle is completed when the team collectively takes the proctor outside and dances the Time Warp for him.

- The SAT practice test is mostly composed of actual SAT questions. If players need help, or need to verify answers, the Mean Proctor will give them answers from his answer key, but requires a dance in exchange. (The dances and dance/answer exchange rate are subject to the proctor's discretion.)

- Pairs of SAT answers become 2-digit base-5 numbers (where a=0, b=1, c=2, d=3, e=4) between 0-24, which then becomes a letter (with 1=A, 2=B, and so on). The SAT test thus spells DANCELETTERSCAESARSHIFTSIXPERFORMOUTSIDE.

- Meanwhile, the dancer learns a dance routine containing the following dances, in order: In & Out Arm Wave, Sprinkler, Moonwalk, (walk like an) Egyptian; Twist; Robot; Flashdance; Shopping Cart; Hokey Pokey; Thriller; Chicken Dance; Sprinkler; Twist.

- Doing a 6-letter Caesar shift on the letter of each dance from Buffy's Dance List (ALIOJNCGYQULJ) gives "GROUPTIMEWARP".

- The whole team must perform (outside) the Time Warp for the Mean Proctor.

n/a this puzzle is answered in person; see Staff Instructions.

3.17 Dénouement

Wrap-up lecture, not puzzle

Your Role: Ethereal Endways lab assistants.

Handout Instructions:

• Buffy settles down the crowd
• The time machine reactivates
• Doctor When & Prof. Chronos reappear
• They give a closing speech.
• Game over

Site Close Down: After "after party"

• Strike set
• Put away all Elementary School property
• Clean up
• Return set and Doctor When materials to GC HQ
• 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.

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

3.13 Lunch puzzle

Doris the Lunch Lady will give a special prize to anyone who figures out what the Mystery Meat really is.

Your Role: You are Doris, the crusty lunch lady.

What Your Character Knows:

• Due to the disguise field that the time machine projects around the players, they appear to you to be students. You know nothing of Trenchwood Institute or time travel.
• With all the budget cuts, you can't be too picky about what to put in mystery meat.

Setup Instructions:

• Make sure a table is on the blacktop.
• Get the Lunch Menu whiteboard and lean it BEHIND the table (out of sight).
• Make sure there is a box of Ms. Pac-Man cookies out of sight under the table.
• Make sure there are several garbage bags in which players can throw away their garbage.
• La Boulangerie will deliver lunch boxes to you.

Handout Instructions: You hand out lunch (the actual lunch boxes from La Boulangerie). The puzzle (which is optional) is on the lunch menu whiteboard.

Teams that have finished mandatory puzzles will have a gold star and an American flag sticker on their badges. For them ONLY, say

"I'll betcha can't solve old Doris' puzzle!" (Cackle.) "Here, take a look at today's menu. Figure out what the Mystery Meat is, and you win a prize!"

Have them come around to the back of the table, where they can see the menu.

(Teams that have NOT finished TRASH and Yearbook 2 should be doing those puzzles instead of this puzzle - they can come back to the Lunch puzzle once they're done with their mission.)

The whiteboard says “Figure out what the Mystery Meat actually is, and Doris might give you a prize!" If teams ask about the mystery meat, say:

That’s for me to know and you to figure out, bucko!”

Answers: The answer to puzzle is ROADKILL. If teams come to you and say “the mystery meat is roadkill!”, you should respond:

So ya solved my frickin’ puzzle. Whaddya want, a cookie?” (Pause.) “Okay, here - have a cookie.

Hand each team member a Ms. Pac-Man cookie.

If players ask “what’s next” after they finish lunch, you can say something like “How should I know? Go ask someone else - like that janitor Tiresias. He seems to know everything around here. I think I saw him at the gym.”

Site Close Down:

• Clean up.
• Return materials to GC HQ

Other Instructions:

• Stay in character.
• Except ... if a team says "time out," break character and help them.
• During this portion of the Game you're pretending you're in 1986. So don't let the players see you use any modern technology (such as cell phones and laptop computers).

When they get to lunch on Sunday, there's a whiteboard with the school lunch menu, written in several colors and covering all weekdays, weekends, a special, and beverage. It also says that Doris will give a prize to anyone who figures out what the Mystery Meat really is.

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

-The scrawled "Forgot to pac your lunch, Missy?" suggests a Ms. Pac-Man theme.

-Each item contains one Ms. Pac-Man "fruit". There is a Ms. Pac-Man game at the high school, which players can go play in order to figure out the orders of the fruit appearing.

- The word "Liquids" (instead of Beverages or Drinks), the colored titles, and the all-caps titles all suggest that the title words are important data.

- Combining the fruits as index with the titles, and ordering with the canonical ROYGBIV color order, gives an easy answer.

ROADKILL

Each item on the menu includes one of the "fruits" in Ms. Pac-Man. Those fruits are, in order of appearance in the game:

1. Cherries

2. Strawberry

3. Peach

4. Pretzel (yes, this counts as a "fruit")

5. Apple

6. Pear

7. Banana

The titles (Monday, Tuesday, Weekends, Liquids, etc.) are written in the colors of the rainbow. Taking the menu items in ROYGBIV order and indexing the "fruit number" into the title gives the answer: ROADKILL.

Lunch items

Menu item	Menu title	Color	Fruit index	Letter
Sloppy Joes... (pretzel)	Thursday	Red	4	R
Mac & cheese... (strawberry)	Monday	Orange	2	O
Tacos & beans... (pear)	Tuesday	Yellow	6	A
Cheese pizza... (banana)	Wednesday	Green	7	D
Assorted sandwiches... (pretzel)	Weekends	Blue	4	K
Fish sticks... (peach)	Friday	Indigo	3	I
Mystery Meat... (apple)	PMHS Lunch Special	Violet	5	L
Cherry Coke... (cherries)	Liquids	Violet	1	L

n/a; answers given in person; see Staff Instructions

3.15 Banner Event

Teams are pressed by the PMHS Typography Club to redo school banners

Your Role: Lab Assistant.

Handout Instructions: Do something.

Site Close Down: Clean up.

Other Instructions:

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

From the newspaper next monday:

PMHS’s sophomore class shocked absolutely no one today as the sophomore class president made a completely expected announcement lambasting the lack of usage of allegedly hallowed design principles in the various student club banners displayed around campus.

At approximately 11:30am on Saturday, when everybody important in school was paying attention to the science fair, sophomore class president Aldous Garamondi unfurled a manifesto at what the sophomore class considered a press conference.

“Too long has this school suffered at the pain of having inconsistent serifs and unequal use of paint in its school banners,” Garamondi declared. “Many a letter has been denied its proper width by improper planning of message length. Well, with this new decree, as endorsed by important members of this class, I declare that we will soon be free of the Dark Ages of design ignorance and we will usher in a new renaissance of school banners, the like of which this school has never seen!

Sophomore members of the PMHS typography club, the only students actually present at the event, then proceeded to roam the hallways, press-ganging unwitting victims into recreating banners matching their expectations.

School officials were completely unfazed at the announcement. “They are just being stupid again,” an official mentioned. “It will blow over in no time.”

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

none -- this is a creative activity

3.09 Send Players To 1986

Players enter the time machine and go back to 1986.

Your Role: Lab Assistant.

What To Wear: lab coat + Trenchwood Institute name badge

What Your Character Knows: Everything in Plot Setup except the stuff about Peach Frontier Laboratories.

Puzzles At This Site: none in this document, just the activity of sending the teams through the time machine

Where To Get Materials: n/a

Setup Instructions: n/a

Handout Instructions: The dialog should go something like (feel free to trade off the opening lines between the two lab assistants):

LAB ASSISTANT 1: Welcome back. Are you certified chrononauts now?

VISITOR: Yes!

LAB ASSISTANT 1: What are your four mission objectives?

VISITOR: Find the locker, change the message on the newspaper, check the return time wormhole archway in the gym, return to 2012.

LAB ASSISTANT 1: Perfect. And do you have everything you want to bring with you, such as the secret message in the yearbook?

VISITOR: Yes.

If the players are lugging anything very bulky or heavy, like a boom box, improvise some reason why that won't be necessary ("that technology will probably be easy to find in 1986")

LAB ASSISTANT 1: One last thing. You've done so much for us that your sort of like a Trenchwood lab assistants yourselves...though hopefully with better hours.

So I hope you'll join us in a Trenchwood lab assistant tradition: Before each big event we all say our motto. Will yo do it with us?

IN UNISON (with hand gestures): Let's do it...for science!

LAB ASSISTANT 1: Wow...you even did the hand gestures...it's like you've done this before. [looks suspiciously] No, don't tell me.

[to lab assistant 2] Activate the quantum chronomentometers!

Lab Assistant 2 pushes various buttons. The machine's lights blink more rapidly and its sounds grow more urgent.

LAB ASSISTANT 2: The chronomentometers are online!

LAB ASSISTANT 1: Excellent. Now, energize the tachyon midi-ether co-keypads!

Lab Assistant 2 pushes more buttons and the machine's lights and sounds ramp up to almost reckless levels.

LAB ASSISTANT 2: The co-keypads are fully charged!

LAB ASSISTANT 1: I can't believe it...it's working this time. You had better hurry in before...

LAB ASSISTANT 2: ...before Doctor When gets into any more danger! Enjoy your trip!

The lab assistants usher the visitors into the time machine. The time machine activates and the players walk through a tunnel with cool lighting and sound effects, exiting outside the lab. They then walk to Paine Memorial High School.

Site Close Down: Once last team goes to 1986

• Transform set to Ethereal Endways, Inc.
• Move wormhole tunnel to gym
• 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.

Sound...lights...smoke...lasers!

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

3.08.01 Mission Training-"Chrononaut Rapid Acclimation Protocol"

Drill the "mission dossier" into the players' minds by making them play a human board game with 80s trivia and giant dice.

Your Role: Trenchwood Institute Lab Assistant.

What To Wear: Trenchwood Institute name badge + ?

What Your Character Knows: Everything in plot setup except the details of Peach Frontier Laboratories.

Puzzles At This Site: Just Mission Training

Where To Get Materials:

Setup Instructions: GC HQ

Handout Instructions:

• Run teams through the game, much like the host of "Family Feud."
• Make sure teams know that their next step is to go through the time machine.

Site Close Down:

• Clean up
• Return materials to GC HQ
• 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.

Some of the safety directions are very explicit. This activity offers the chance for players to actually obey the directions, physically (if only metaphorically). These include:

• Don't Step on a butterfly
• Don't Kill Hitler
• Don't date your hot mom
• Don't use your cell phone

?

?

?

n/a

3.07 Calibration Redux

Shorter version of Act I, with new solution.

Your Role: Lab Assistant at Trenchwood Institute.

What To Wear: lab coat + Trenchwood Institute name badge

What Your Character Knows: Everything in Plot Setup except the stuff about Peach Frontier Laboratories.

Puzzles At This Site: This document just covers Calibration Redux

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ + your own laptop computer

Setup Instructions: n/a

Handout Instructions: This is a very complex series of activities you need to guide our (sleep-deprived) players through. For each team you will:

1. During the process of calibration help them discover that the Doctor has not bounced around in time as long as the last time
2. Watch The Doctor--Watch the video of Doctor When in 1986
3. Guide the players to realizing that this time the envelope is not in 2012 and that they will have to go into the past themselves.
4. Introduce them into the functioning of the return time wormhole archway
5. Introduce them to the four main steps steps of their mission
6. Send them to mission training

The interactions should go something like this (but feel free to improvise):

VISITOR: Who would have guessed--there's a hidden message! It says, "Woe! You're trapped in endless loops unable to unite them forever in final bliss. To transform their future lives journey back in time and modify the writing on the newspaper. Words not used will help show what to do." The "words not used" say "Substitute right with its reflection."

LAB ASSISTANT: Well, then we had better repair the time machine ASAP! Using your design for co-keypad #34 we almost have the time machine working. But now we need to recalibrate it before we can use it to carry out those instructions. The Temporal View-O-Scope has recorded flashes of the different times and places Doctor When has randomly bounced to. If you can predict the next time he'll materialize in, we can use that to set everything right. You don't by any chance know that, too?

VISITOR: Last time it was at the Big Bang.

Lab assistant fiddles with the machine.

LAB ASSISTANT: Darn it, that didn't work. Maybe we've already altered the timeline. Let's look at the View-O-Scope log.

The visitors review the Temporal View-O-Scope footage again on a lab computer using access code 100030. It is exactly the same as in Act I, but ends after only a few vignettes. (Most importantly, it ends before Doctor When loses his envelope.) Based on their memory and/or notes of the longer film from Act I, the visitors know that the next place the Doctor will be is France right before the revolution.

VISITOR: Good thing we double checked. Actually the next place he'll be is France right before the revolution.

LAB ASSISTANT: I'm recalibrating using that. It works!

I've opened a portal taking him to the destination coordinates he programmed into the time machine before he left. Let's just lock the View-O-Scope onto him and see what he's up to.

Enter code 100031 into your copy of the View-O-Scope Computer Remote Access Program and watch the Doctor in 1986.

LAB ASSISTANT: That's odd...I thought he'd come right back to 2012.... Now what was that you were saying about changing a newspaper?

VISITOR: The yearbook pieces told us to change the writing on the newspaper.

LAB ASSISTANT: What newspaper?

VISITOR: That envelope that Doctor When had contained a newspaper with a message on it.

LAB ASSISTANT: But we just saw Doctor When put the envelope in the locker! That newspaper is in 1986.

VISITOR: This is a problem. In the last timeline, we found the envelope here in 2012 and sent it back to him. But this time we fixed the machine so quickly he didn't bounce around in time long enough to lose the envelope.

LAB ASSISTANT: Then I suppose we'll have to go back to 1986 and change the writing there. But wait...none of the lab assistants or even Prof. Chronos can go back...we're the only ones who know how to operate the time machine. Who could possibly undertake this task?

VISITOR: Uh...we could go back....

LAB ASSISTANT: What?! That plan is crazy...so crazy it just might work!

OK, so you've never time traveled before. Don't worry. This should be easy. No pressure. But the structural integrity of the universe does depend on you.

All you have to do is step into the chamber, wait till it opens a time wormhole, and then walk through into 1986! After you exit the wormhole just walk over to the high school, find the locker, remove the envelope, change the writing on the newspaper according to the instructions from the yearbook pieces, put the envelope back in the locker...and try not to disturb anything else in the timeline unless you have to.

By the way, it's quite a coincidence that your mission takes you to Paine Memorial High School. Our instruments have detected that there's some sort of chronotonic nexus where many different timelines intersect quite near the lockers at the gym. I have absolutely no idea why that gym is so important. But it does mean that it is an excellent location to project the return time portal archway. So that's where you go after you put the envelope back in the locker. You'll be able to see it, but the people in 1986 won't.

Once you get to the archway, if it glows green, that means head on through. If it's red, then it's not quite ready.

Oh, and I probably shouldn't even bother to mention this, but if it flashes red, that means there's some sort of temporal anomaly that you'll have to fix. But that's very unlikely to happen.

Oh, and just to be safe be sure to bring anything you might need with you! In particular, anything from 1986 that might prove useful...

VISITOR: Like a cassette tape? Or a Choose Your Own Adventure Book?

LAB ASSISTANT: Sure! Oh, and I suppose those yearbook pieces are from 1986, too. Better bring those just in case. You do know where the high school is, right?

One more warning about traveling back in time -- no communication devices that haven't been invented yet! If you have a smart phone, set it to "airplane mode" so it isn't searching for non-existent cell signals. It's okay to use it as a camera or calculator or MP3 player, just no communication!

If the players suggest bringing something very bulky or heavy, like a boom box, improvise some reason why that won't be necessary ("that technology will probably be easy to find in 1986")

We want this mission to go perfectly for you. So here's a little pamphlet that a helpful government agency prepared as well as a mission dossier we threw together.

The lab assistant hands them a flyer entitled, "So You're Going To Be A Time Traveler" and two copies of the mission dossier.

And just to be doubly sure, the Doctor envisioned a time when there would be many time travelers. To prepare them, he drafted a training simulation. Head over to the Chrononaut Rapid Acclimation Protocol.

The lab assistant ushers them over to Mission Training a/k/a "Chrononaut Rapid Acclimation Protocol."

Site Close Down: n/a...the site stays open.

Other Instructions:

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

n/a

?

3.00 Registration Redux

Visitors turn in their waivers and are given "security badges"

Your Role: You are a lab assistant at Trenchwood Institute, called away from your research tasks to be a registration clerk.

What To Wear: Lab coat and Trenchwood Institute name badge

What Your Character Knows:

• You think it is Saturday.
• You think you've never seen the players before in your life.
• You don't know what Doctor When will be demonstrating. You've been so focused on your little part of the endeavor that you don't know the "big picture" (and Doctor When is very secretive).

Puzzles At This Site: none in this event

Where To Get Materials:

• Chairs and tables onsite
• Everything else from GC HQ

Setup Instructions:

• Set up chairs and tables outside of Institute
• Place a pile of lanyards on the table

Handout Instructions: The interaction should go something like:

RECEPTIONIST: Good morning. I see you're on our exclusive guest list. Have you completed your non-disclosure agreement and liability waiver?

VISITOR: What?! We gave them to you yesterday.

RECEPTIONIST: That's impossible. We just opened registration this morning.

VISITOR: I swear. I handed them to you myself.

RECEPTIONIST: Sir, I assure you I've never seen you before in my life.

But I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes the lab equipment leaks a wee bit of radiation that causes people to have déjà vu. And elephantitis. Well, hardly ever. The elephantitis that is.

And here are your security badges. I see you already have lanyards. Welcome to the Trenchwood Institute. Prepare to be amazed! Please step over to one of our photographers so that they may record your participation in this historic event for all posterity.

The receptionist hands over a packet of security badge inserts. The visitors take the pack and pass through the doors.

Site Close Down:

• Join the presentation inside 3.01 Introductory Lecture 1, Reprise
• 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.

The players sign in, get their badges, and then enter the Institute.

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A