joshuaandClaude Opus 5.5
62245ca67a
Estimates were 2-8x longer than actual playthroughs. Base them on recorded best times, rounded up to a multiple of 5 minutes, and drop difficulties to 1-2 keys since no game warrants 3. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
4.9 KiB
GAMES.md: Spoiler Guide (designer reference, NEVER served to clients)
Every lock below needs info from both players. "A has / B has" shows the split.
1. Death at Vineyard Hollow (murder mystery · 20 min · 🔑🔑)
Roles: Inspector (A) / Estate Insider (B)
| Ch | Lock | A has | B has | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cellar keypad | Butler: "year it began, read backwards" | Gate plaque: Est. 1874 | 4781 |
| 2 | Time of death | ME temp 34.5 °C at 23:10, 1 °C/hr | Keycard log | 20:40 |
| 3 | Poisoned bottle | Lab: red, decanted, cork ends in 7 | Cellar book | 1998 Cabernet Reserve |
| 4 | Diary cipher | Ciphertext "ORAN BFJAC OARMJH", "rack-shift" | Rack 9 = his heart | FIRE SWART FRIDAY (shift −9) |
| 5 | Poison source | Tox: fresh Digitalis leaves; Vos's tablets sealed | Foxglove bed behind Swart's workshop; card in his apron | FOXGLOVE |
Killer: Pieter Swart · foxglove extract in the 1998 Reserve · to avoid being fired and exposed for label fraud. Red herrings: Dr Vos (digoxin, near the time window), Marcus (heir, in cellar too late), Isabelle (wanted the estate).
2. The Last Set at the Blue Lantern (murder mystery · 10 min · 🔑)
Roles: Detective (A) / Regular (B)
| Ch | Lock | A has | B has | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drum solo time | Setlist with song lengths | Set started 23:00; solo = last 2 min of Caravan | 23:20 |
| 2 | No alibi | Band walks off during drum solos; Ruby sits out instrumentals | Bar/coat-check alibis (Ruby at coat-check 23:21) | Sammy |
| 3 | Safe | Sheet music notes C·A·F·E | Piano sticker numbers C1…B7 | 1643 |
| 4 | Gun location | Search log: piano not searched | Max: dead "thunk" on low keys | PIANO |
Killer: Sammy Keys · Vincent's .38 under the drum solo, hidden in the piano · Vincent stole his songs and was about to sell them.
3. Murder on the Southern Star (murder mystery · 25 min · 🔑🔑)
Roles: Passenger Detective (A) / Railway Inspector (B)
| Ch | Lock | A has | B has | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Master key box | Rule: carriage × compartment, 4 digits | Plan: Gold Suite = carriage 6, comp 23 | 0138 |
| 2 | Real time of death | Watch 01:15 Greenwich; local is +2h; needle wound | Timetable: Matjiesfontein 03:10–03:20; thump at a platform | 03:15 |
| 3 | Telegram sender | Telegram text | "Name hidden where every line begins" | HUGO (acrostic) |
| 4 | Who lied | Corridor watched, nobody passed; only Vera owns a fur coat | Porter: fur-coat lady off car 6, back on car 4 | Vera |
| 5 | Motive word | "V. = 3·7·8·4·2·8", "ask the line" | Numbered stopping list | FORGER |
Killer: Countess Vera Orlova · hatpin to the base of the skull during the Matjiesfontein stop · Ashby had discovered she was a jewel forger.
4. The Clockmaker's Attic (escape room · 15 min · 🔑) (best "first game")
Roles: Tinkerer (A) / Collector (B)
| Lock | A has | B has | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk | Robin 3, Owl 7, Fox 9 | Sampler: dawn bird, hunter, night bird | 397 |
| Music box | "Sky-bow top to bottom, skip what the pendulum stole" | Painting: red, gold, green, blue; pendulum is green | RED GOLD BLUE |
| Gear drawer | Gears 48 → 16 → 24 teeth | Turn crank 5 times, count Gear C | 10 |
| Door (finale) | "Order treasures by year made" | Inventory with years | FOREVER |
5. Signal Lost: Station Echo (escape room · 15 min · 🔑🔑)
Roles: Comms Officer (A) / Engineer (B)
| Lock | A has | B has | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warning light | Morse chart | Blinking lamp ...-/./-./- |
VENT |
| Breach | Current pressures | Normal pressures + ">30% drop" rule | GRN-3 (Greenhouse, ~33% drop) |
| Generator | Crew roster (5 aboard) | Call sign EC-127 + "× crew aboard" | 635 |
| Beacon (finale, roles swap) | Blinking lamp ..../---/--/. |
Morse chart | HOME |
6. Tick Tock Together (co-op defuse · 10 min · 🔑)
Technician (A) sees the device, Expert (B) reads the manual. 3 levels = 3 keys. Device is generated server-side and solved by a solver that implements the manual exactly. Fixtures in the YAML are the unit tests.
7. In Sync (couples connection · 15 min · 🔑)
Round 1 match, Round 2 predict about A, Round 3 predict about B. 3/5 matches = key. One replay per round.
8. Labyrinth of Lanterns (co-op navigation · 10 min · 🔑)
Navigator (A) has the map, Explorer (B) sees only their own cell. 3 lanterns, 3 hidden traps.
########### S start (1,1) K lanterns (7,3) (9,5) (1,7)
#S..#.....# E exit (9,9) T traps (4,5) (6,7) (3,9)
#.#.#.###.#
#.#...#K..# Verified by BFS: every lantern and the exit are
#.#####.#.# reachable from S without stepping on a trap.
#...T...#K#
###.###.#.#
#K..#.T.#.#
#.###.#.#.#
#..T....#E#
###########