Blown Away (e)

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Blown Away Puzzle Solutions

13 December 1994

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Table of Contents

   * Access Panel
   * TV Game
   * Video Poker
   * Hostage Clues
   * Fuse Box
   * Lab Room Maze
   * Mercury Puzzle
   * Phone Game
   * 4 x 4 Puzzle
   * Intelligence Puzzle
   * Code Word/Audio Scramble
   * Grid Game
   * Detonator
   * 1-3-5-7 Switch Game
   * Slider Puzzle

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Access Panel

20 points

Use a 3 x 3 magic square:

[Image]Access Panel

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TV Game

0 points

SIGHT

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Video Poker

Left: TOY
Center: LOCK
Right: DAME

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Hostage Clues

Bookcase: Elephant, Answering machine, Bird book
Keys: City key above plant, Bookshelf, Rebecca book
Bookcase: Duck, Airplane, Coffee table: Stamp book

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Fuse Box

One of many solutions:

           1  3

        4  8  5  7

           6  2

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Lab Room Maze

110*    114
144*    142
163     141*
199     HMC*

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Mercury Puzzle

[Image]Mercury Puzzle

>: Set valve pointing right before blobs begin flowing

R: Select this valve direction for red blob
Y: Select this valve direction for yellow blob
B: Select this valve direction for blue blob

Note: Cannot do anything about yellow blob to upper-right selection valve
or blue blob to center selection valve, but strategy should account for
sufficient number of blobs to empty source containers before detonating
explosive.

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Phone Game

40 points

Average the integers, or find the missing integer-group rotation.
Use * to select digit, use * when finished.

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4 x 4 Puzzle

30 points

Use a 4 x 4 magic square:

[Image]4 x 4 Puzzle

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Intelligence Puzzle

30 points

PILOT   STEER   COW
STUFF   PACK    GROUP
CIVIL   FAIR    LIGHT
JOKE    CRACK   BREAK
PREY    GAME    SPORT
KITTY   POT     PAN

Note: Trying all letters will eventually force the correct answer.

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Code Word/Audio Scramble

60 points

Some code words: YAW, ROLL, PILOT, PITCH, GEAR, IMAGINE, JOYSTICK, FLIERS
Press number key 1-3 times to select letter from triplet, press * when
finished.

Audio: Put all colors outside ("MONUMENT"), then press ENGINE ENGAGE

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Grid Game

To move in a direction away from a wall, select a card having the wall
suit. For example, to move up must select a club. Follow directions given
by hostage. May not want to land on any previously-visited spot.

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Detonator

20 points

Code to enter is ACE

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1-3-5-7 Switch Game

80 points

In this game, you take turns with Justus turning on electrical switches
until only one is left off. The player who is left with the last off switch
loses. In each turn, each player can turn on one or more switches in any
one of four switch boxes.

It turns out that you can always force a win to this game since Justus
always goes first. No matter what Justus does, you can always alter the
arrangement he's left you so that ultimately he is left with the last off
switch.

The configuration of remaining off switches at the beginning of any turn
can be completely described by four numbers ordered from smallest to
largest. For example,

     0224

indicates one switch box having no off switches remaining, two switch boxes
with two switches off in each, and one switch box with four switches off.
The strategy is not concerned with which boxes have these switches off,
only that the numbers of off switches are 0, 2, 2 and 4 in increasing
order. It is irrelevant whether the box with 4 off switches remaining has a
total of 7 switches, or 5.

Using this notation, the off-switch configurations range from 1357 (at the
beginning of Justus' first turn) to 0001 (game over for whoever's turn it
is), for a total of 142 different configurations.

For any configuration you are faced with at the beginning of your turn, you
need to turn switches on so that the configuration is converted into one
for Justus' next turn that ultimately will result in him losing. For
example, if you have configuration

     0224

at the beginning of your turn, you can convert it to

     0022

by throwing all remaining off switches in whichever box has the 4 off
switches. It's easy to see that 0022 is a losing configuration for Justus:
if he throws one switch to change the configuration to 0012, you will throw
both remaining off switches in one box; if he throws both switches in a box
to change the configuration to 0002, you need only throw one of the
remaining off switches. Either way, Justus is left with the final losing
configuration 0001.

See 1357.TXT for a table of all possibilities. You have five minutes to win
the game.