1.11.02a Balance Sheet Puzzle

Status

::FINAL::

Location

Act I: Schroeder's Restaurant. (See Consolidator 1) Act II: Gym (See Consolidator 2)

Type

Optional Puzzle (INVESTOR)

Plot Setup

(See Consolidator 1 or 2)

Props

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

Plot Point to Convey

None

Short Description

An unusual financial balance sheet reveals instructions on how to raise money.

Open Time Period

(See Consolidator 1)?

Staff Instructions

(See Consolidator 1)

Handout Instructions: Players will ask for puzzle by name.

Hints: Teams may call in for hints. But if you familiarize yourself with the attached hint document, feel free to give hints.

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

Detailed Description

Trenchwood Labs (or Chronos Labs) has run out of money. The game fairy (Chronos or When) asks the players to fix the errors in the lab's financial balance sheet, which doesn't seem to use the same rules as normal balance sheets. After fixing the errors, they can scrutinize the sheet to uncover hidden instructions on how to solve the lab's financial woes.

How To Give To Teams

Over the phone a lab assistant tells them words to the effect of,

FOR JOURNALIST TEAMS:

We're run into a problem that could really benefit from the special expertise of you and your colleagues:

CONTINUE FOR ALL TEAMS:

We seem to have run into a little bump in the road on our way to rescuing Doctor When. It's not a technical problem. Rather (and this is so embarrassing) it seems we've run out of money.

Would you please help? Ask the lab assistant for the "Balance Sheet" research project. When you're done call the Institute and speak with any lab assistant.

SUPPLEMENTAL EMAIL

Research Project Title: Balance Sheet

Objective: Help Institute keep operating long enough to rescue Doctor When by avoiding bankruptcy

Upon Completion: Call the Institute and speak with any lab assistant

Puzzle Answer

INVEST ONE CENT IN PAST

Puzzle Solution

Typical Solve Process

1. Figure out the two missing numbers (Yerevan = 15, Phuket = 10) by realizing that the summations are done mod 24.
2. Realize from the mod 24 and the “Department Of Defense” references that the numbers can also be interpreted as “military time.”
3. Look up the UTC time zone offsets for each location referenced.
4. Convert each foreign time to its equivalent simultaneous time in San Mateo, i.e., “if it’s 12:00 in Easter Island, what time is it here?” (assume all times are standard).
5. Index the resulting numbers into the alphabet

Puzzle Data

Assets	As printed	UTC	Delta	Local time	Letter
Current
Cash (Pacific Standard Trust)	9	-8	+0 = PST	9	I
Short-term investments, Managua Money Market Fund	16	-6	-2 = PST	14	N
Accounts receivable, Seoul Food Products	15	+9	+7 = PST	22	V
Inventory, Broome, AU janitorial supplies	21	+8	-16 = PST	5	E
Notes receivable, Libyan Aviation	5	+2	+14 = PST	19	S
Pre-paid rent, Latvian Laboratory	6	+2	+14 = PST	20	T
Total Current	0
Long-Term Assets
Equipment, Yerevan University	15	+4	-12 = PST	3	C
Building, Pago Pago tachyon storage facility	2	-11	+3 = PST	5	E
Long-Term Investments, Buenos Aires Bonds	19	-3	-5 = PST	14	N
Ulaanbaatar administrative yurts	12	+8	+8 = PST	20	T
Total Long-Term	0

Liabilities	As printed	UTC	Delta	Local time	Letter
Liabilities
Gravina Island Bridge Loan	8	-9	+1 = PST	9	I
Accounts Payable, Easter Island Head Office	16	-6	-2 = PST	14	N
Total Liabilities	0
Net worth
Contributed capital, Pyongyang People's Victory Fund	9	+9	+7 = PST	16	P
Reserved stock, Vanuatu Hedge Partners	20	+11	-19 = PST	1	A
Reserves, Phuket All-Services Bank	10	+7	+9 = PST	19	S
Retained earnings, Margilan Maritime Credit Union	9	+5	+11 = PST	20	T
Total Net Worth	0

Manager

Allen

Hints

(waiting for Wei-Hwa to upload Word document)

How Confused Players Describe Which Puzzle They’re Working On

“Consolidated Balance Sheet For Department Of Defense”

Common Sticking Points

Sticking Point	Suggested Suggestion
Didn’t solve for two missing numbers first	“Have you found the two missing figures?”
Can’t figure out why totals add up to 0, i.e., that it’s mod 24.	“That is odd. What kind of strange arithmetic could possibly have both 72 and 24 equal to zero?”
Don’t make the intuitive leap to also think about the numbers as times.	“I wonder why he/she used an arithmetic that goes up to 24 and then starts back at zero?”

Response to Correct Answer

Lab assistant on phone says words to the effect of

Why of course! All we have to do is use the time machine to make an investment in the distant past. And then by the miracle of compound interest we'll be swimming in money today! We'll get right on that.

Since this is an optional puzzle, the next step can vary. Check the timing. It will most likely be the Income Statement puzzle, but could be just sending them to the next mandatory puzzle.

To Do

Update location info, above.