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>
260 lines
9.9 KiB
YAML
260 lines
9.9 KiB
YAML
id: blue-lantern
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engine: story
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category: murder-mystery
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title: The Last Set at the Blue Lantern
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tagline: Cape Town, 1958. The band played on. The boss didn't.
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estimatedMinutes: 10
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difficulty: 1
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players: { min: 2, max: 2 }
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theme: { primary: "#1f3a68", accent: "#e8b04a", background: "#0b0f1c", headingFont: "Playfair Display" }
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roles:
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A:
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name: The Detective
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blurb: You have the band's paperwork, the police search log, and the stage manager's notes.
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B:
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name: The Regular
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blurb: You've drunk here every Friday for ten years. You know the staff, the bar, and the gossip.
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intro: |
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Friday night at **the Blue Lantern**, the hottest jazz club on Harbour Street.
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The last set kicks off at 23:00. Smoke, brass, a full house.
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When the band takes its bow at 23:25, club owner **Vincent Cole** is found in his
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office behind the stage. One bullet. Nobody heard a thing.
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One of you is the detective who caught the case. The other is the regular who knows
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everybody's business. **Put your heads together.**
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suspects:
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- id: ruby
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name: Ruby Day
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role: Singer
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description: The voice of the Blue Lantern. Fought with Vincent about her pay last week.
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- id: sammy
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name: Sammy Keys
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role: Pianist
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description: Quiet genius. Writes most of the club's songs. Never talks about money.
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- id: frankie
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name: Frankie Moretti
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role: Moneylender
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description: Vincent owed him. A lot. Sat at the bar all night watching the door.
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- id: lou
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name: Lou Banner
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role: Bartender
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description: Sees everything, says nothing. Vincent's oldest employee.
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- id: grace
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name: Grace Cole
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role: Vincent's wife
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description: Hates jazz. Came tonight anyway. Nobody knows why.
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chapters:
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- id: ch1
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title: Under the Drums
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narrative: |
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The office is right behind the stage. A gunshot in there should have stopped the room cold.
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Unless something louder was playing at the time.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a1-setlist
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title: Last set, taped to the piano
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type: document
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body: |
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**THE LAST SET** (no breaks, straight through)
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1. Night Train · 4 min
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2. Blue Moon · 6 min
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3. Take Five · 5 min
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4. Caravan · 7 min
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5. Goodnight Sweetheart · 3 min
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B:
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- id: b1-lou
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title: What Lou the bartender told you
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type: note
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body: |
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"Band kicked off the last set at eleven on the dot. Max always closes **Caravan**
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with a drum solo, the **last two minutes** of the tune. Loud enough to rattle the glasses.
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If there was a shot, it was under that solo. Nothing else is that loud in here."
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lock:
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id: lock-solo
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prompt: At what time did the drum solo start?
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inputType: code
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format: "HH:MM"
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answers: ["2320", "1120", "1120PM"]
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hints:
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- Add up the songs before Caravan, then work out when Caravan ended.
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- Caravan runs 23:15 to 23:22.
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- The solo is the last two minutes of Caravan, so it starts at 23:20.
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successText: |
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**23:20.** For two minutes, the whole room was drowned in drums.
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That's when Vincent died.
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keyName: Drumstick Key
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- id: ch2
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title: Who Left the Stage?
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narrative: |
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Everyone has an alibi. But an alibi for "the evening" isn't an alibi for 23:20 to 23:22.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a2-stagemanager
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title: Stage manager's notes
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type: report
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body: |
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- Ruby only sings on vocal numbers. **Caravan is instrumental**, so she's off stage for it.
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- **During Max's drum solo, the rest of the band walks off** and comes back for the final bar. House tradition.
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- The stage-left door leads straight to the office corridor. Ten steps.
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B:
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- id: b2-gossip
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title: Who you saw, and who saw who
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type: note
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body: |
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- **Frankie** was at the bar the whole set. Lou poured him a whiskey right as the drums kicked in.
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- **Lou** never left the bar. You were sitting right in front of him.
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- **Grace** was in the coat-check queue from about 23:15 to 23:25, complaining to Dolly the coat girl.
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- **Ruby** came to the coat-check at 23:21 to borrow Dolly's lighter. Dolly lit it for her.
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lock:
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id: lock-alibi
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prompt: Who had NO alibi during the drum solo?
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inputType: choice
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options:
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- { id: ruby, label: Ruby Day }
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- { id: sammy, label: Sammy Keys }
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- { id: frankie, label: Frankie Moretti }
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- { id: lou, label: Lou Banner }
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- { id: grace, label: Grace Cole }
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answers: ["sammy"]
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hints:
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- The stage manager says something surprising about who's on stage during a drum solo.
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- Everyone in the band except Max leaves during the solo. Which of them has a witness?
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- Ruby was at the coat-check. Sammy was off stage, alone, ten steps from the office.
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successText: |
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**Sammy Keys.** Everyone assumed the pianist was at his piano.
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But during the solo, the piano bench sat empty.
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keyName: Stage Door Key
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- id: ch3
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title: Vincent's Safe
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narrative: |
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Vincent's office safe is still locked. Four-digit dial. Lou says Vincent
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"kept the combination in his head and his heart."
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a3-sheet
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title: Sheet music on Vincent's desk
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type: document
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body: |
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*"Lantern Waltz", Vincent's favourite tune.*
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The first four notes are circled in red ink:
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## C · A · F · E
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Scribbled underneath: *"The safe plays my song."*
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B:
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- id: b3-piano
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title: Sticker strip on the rehearsal piano
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type: diagram
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body: |
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Sammy numbered the white keys for the beginners' class:
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```
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| C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
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```
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lock:
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id: lock-safe
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prompt: Enter the safe combination.
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inputType: code
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format: 4 digits
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answers: ["1643"]
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hints:
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- One of you has the notes. The other has the numbers for the notes.
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- Use the beginner sticker numbers, not the alphabet.
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- C=1, A=6, F=4, E=3.
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successText: |
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The safe swings open. Inside: a record contract from Galaxy Records.
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**Twelve songs, all written by Sammy Keys. All registered under Vincent Cole's name.**
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Signing date: Monday. Advance: more than Sammy would earn in twenty years.
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keyName: Safe Key
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- id: ch4
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title: The Missing Gun
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narrative: |
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Vincent was shot with his own .38 from his desk drawer. The police have torn the club apart.
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No gun.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a4-search
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title: Police search log
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type: log
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body: |
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| Area | Searched | Result |
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|------------------|----------|--------|
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| Office | Yes | Empty drawer |
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| Dressing rooms | Yes | Nothing |
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| Bar + storeroom | Yes | Nothing |
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| Coat-check | Yes | Nothing |
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| Drum kit, bass case | Yes | Nothing |
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| Alley bins | Yes | Nothing |
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| Grand piano | **No** | Lid locked, owner's prized Steinway |
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B:
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- id: b4-max
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title: Overheard from Max the drummer
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type: transcript
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body: |
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"When we came back for the last chorus, Sammy's first chord sounded *wrong*.
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Dead. A thunk, like something heavy was lying on the strings.
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He played the rest of the night up on the high keys only. Never seen him do that."
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lock:
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id: lock-gun
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prompt: Where is the gun hidden?
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inputType: text
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format: One or two words
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answers: ["PIANO", "THEPIANO", "GRANDPIANO", "STEINWAY", "INSIDETHEPIANO", "INPIANO"]
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hints:
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- Something was sitting on some strings.
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- Which part of the club did the police not search?
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- The grand piano.
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successText: |
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The police force the lid. Lying across the low strings of the Steinway:
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**Vincent's .38**, one round fired.
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keyName: Piano Key
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finale:
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type: accusation
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prompt: Four keys. One killer. Make the call together.
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maxAttempts: 2
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questions:
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- id: who
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label: Who killed Vincent Cole?
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options:
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- { id: ruby, label: Ruby Day }
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- { id: sammy, label: Sammy Keys }
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- { id: frankie, label: Frankie Moretti }
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- { id: lou, label: Lou Banner }
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- { id: grace, label: Grace Cole }
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answer: sammy
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- id: how
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label: How?
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options:
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- { id: gunsolo, label: Shot with Vincent's .38 under the drum solo, gun hidden in the piano }
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- { id: alley, label: Shot from the alley through the office window }
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- { id: poison, label: Poison in his whiskey, gunshot staged later }
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answer: gunsolo
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- id: why
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label: Why?
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options:
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- { id: debt, label: An unpaid gambling debt }
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- { id: songs, label: Vincent stole his songs and was about to sell them }
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- { id: pay, label: A fight over wages }
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- { id: love, label: A love triangle with Grace }
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answer: songs
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successEnding: |
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Sammy sits at the piano one last time and plays four notes. C, A, F, E.
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"I wrote that one too," he says. "Every song he called his. I found the contract Tuesday."
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He slipped off stage when the band cleared for Max's solo, took Vincent's gun from the
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drawer, and was back for the final bar before anyone looked up.
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**Case closed.** The band plays on. 🎷🔑
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failEnding: |
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The wrong person goes away. Sammy keeps playing, a little sadder every year.
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reveal: |
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**Sammy Keys** shot Vincent with his own **.38** during the **drum solo** and hid the gun
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**inside the piano**, because Vincent had **stolen his songs** and was about to sell them.
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