joshuaandClaude Opus 5.5
bbe44e84c4
Add ten new games (18 in total) and the engine features they need. Story: Dead Air, The Masquerade at Montague House, The Kalahari Expedition, The Alchemist's Vault, Submerged: Deep Lab Nereid, The Kestrel Bank Job. Games can now set their own hint penalty and a hard time limit, shown as a countdown; running out ends the game with the fail ending. Defuse: Tick Tock: Overtime. Manuals are now rulesets, so each game has its own solver. Adds indicator lights, per-level strike limits, and the Passwords, Morse Light and Say It Back modules. Sync: In Sync: Deep Cuts. Adds telepathy (typed word) and ranking rounds, and a per-round bar for the key. Labyrinth: The Drowned Catacombs and The Mirror Maze. Adds one-way gates, a relative (no compass) Explorer, a mirrored Navigator map, and mazes with a lantern count other than three. Validation now rejects a maze where a gate can leave the Explorer stuck. Difficulty runs from 1 to 5. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
423 lines
18 KiB
YAML
423 lines
18 KiB
YAML
id: kalahari-expedition
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engine: story
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category: murder-mystery
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title: The Kalahari Expedition
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tagline: 1931. A diamond find. Two bodies in the sand. Nobody leaves until the truck comes back.
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estimatedMinutes: 60
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difficulty: 5
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players: { min: 2, max: 2 }
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theme: { primary: "#b5651d", accent: "#f4d58d", background: "#140d06", headingFont: "Playfair Display" }
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rules:
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hintPenaltySeconds: 240
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timeLimitMinutes: 75
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roles:
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A:
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name: The Magistrate
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blurb: Sent from Upington with the post truck. You have the medical notes, the photographs, and the dead man's papers.
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B:
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name: The Camp Clerk
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blurb: You keep the expedition's books. Rotas, inventories, maps, and every rumour around the fire.
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intro: |
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**The southern Kalahari, March 1931.**
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Professor Edwin Marlowe's expedition has been digging for six weeks. Two weeks ago, the sponsor,
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Felix Dunmore, announced a find that made headlines in London: **diamonds**, lying in the sand.
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Three nights ago, Marlowe was found dead at the bottom of the excavation pit.
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Last night, the camp cook, **Samuel Brink**, was found dead by the water barrels. "A snake," they say.
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The post truck won't be back for days. Someone in this camp has killed twice.
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☠️ *Nightmare case. One accusation. No second chances. The clock is running.*
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suspects:
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- id: helena
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name: Dr Helena Marlowe
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role: Botanist, the professor's wife
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description: Calm, clinical, and inheriting everything. Acted as camp doctor.
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- id: reyes
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name: Captain Arthur Reyes
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role: Guide and quartermaster
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description: Ex-army. Ran the camp with a sergeant's eye. Smokes a pipe.
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- id: dunmore
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name: Mr Felix Dunmore
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role: Sponsor
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description: Financier. His Dunmore Kalahari Diamond Company shares have tripled since the find.
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- id: bell
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name: Miss Clara Bell
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role: Photographer and journalist
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description: Sent by a London paper. Up all night photographing the stars.
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- id: kessler
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name: Dr Otto Kessler
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role: Geologist
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description: Marlowe's old rival. Said loudly at dinner that "the find makes no geological sense."
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- id: pienaar
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name: Jan Pienaar
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role: Driver and mechanic
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description: Keeps the two trucks alive. Quiet. Noticed things.
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chapters:
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- id: ch1
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title: Star Trails
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narrative: |
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Nobody saw Marlowe leave camp. But Clara Bell left her camera open to the sky all night,
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and the dig site is in the corner of her photograph.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a1-photo
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title: Clara's long-exposure photograph
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type: photo
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body: |
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*The night sky drawn into curved white arcs around the south celestial pole.
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In the bottom corner, the dig. A small orange streak shows a lantern there.
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Measured against the star arcs, the lantern streak **begins 60°** into the arc and **ends 75°** in.*
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- id: a1-medical
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title: Dr Helena Marlowe's notes on her husband
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type: report
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body: |
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Skull fracture, back of the head. Sand in the wound, but **no sand in the mouth or nose**.
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He did not breathe after he fell. He was dead **before** he went into the pit.
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B:
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- id: b1-photolog
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title: Clara's photo log
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type: log
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body: |
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Plate 14 · Star trails, camera facing south.
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Shutter **opened 22:00**. Closed 05:00.
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*(Note to self: the sky turns **15° every hour**, so a 7-hour plate gives 105° arcs.)*
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- id: b1-clara
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title: Clara's statement (given privately to you)
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type: transcript
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body: |
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"Arthur, Captain Reyes, sat with me by the camera from ten until four. We were... talking.
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Please don't put that in the official report. My editor would have a fit."
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lock:
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id: lock-lantern
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prompt: At what time did the lantern at the dig light up?
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inputType: code
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format: "HH:MM"
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answers: ["0200", "200", "200AM"]
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hints:
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- The star arcs grow at a steady rate from the moment the shutter opened.
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- 60° at 15° per hour is 4 hours.
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- 22:00 plus 4 hours = 02:00. (It went out at 03:00.)
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successText: |
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**02:00.** Someone was at the dig with a lantern from 02:00 to 03:00.
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Marlowe was killed then, before he was put in the pit.
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keyName: Starlight Key
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- id: ch2
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title: Footprints
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narrative: |
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The wind dropped that night. Two sets of prints lead to the pit. One is Marlowe's (size 9, hobnail).
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The other set leads there and back again.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a2-sketch
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title: Police sketch of the second set of prints
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type: diagram
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body: |
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```
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Print length (heel to toe): 31.5 cm
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Tread pattern: >>>> chevron
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Stride: even, about 78 cm. No limp.
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```
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*Note: in loose sand, a print spreads about **1 cm longer** than the sole that made it.*
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B:
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- id: b2-boots
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title: Quartermaster's boot inventory
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type: table
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body: |
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| Person | UK size | Tread |
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|-----------------|---------|-------|
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| Prof. Marlowe | 9 | hobnail |
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| Dr H. Marlowe | 5 | smooth |
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| Capt. Reyes | 11 | chevron (army issue) |
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| Mr Dunmore | 11 | chevron ("insisted on the same as the Captain's") |
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| Miss Bell | 6 | smooth |
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| Dr Kessler | 11 | hobnail |
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| Mr Pienaar | 10 | chevron |
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| Samuel Brink | 8 | smooth |
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- id: b2-sizes
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title: Bootmaker's size card (sole length)
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type: table
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body: |
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| UK size | Sole length |
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|---------|-------------|
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| 8 | 27.5 cm |
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| 9 | 28.5 cm |
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| 10 | 29.5 cm |
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| 11 | 30.5 cm |
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| 12 | 31.5 cm |
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lock:
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id: lock-boot
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prompt: What size boot made the second set of prints?
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inputType: code
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format: UK size
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answers: ["11"]
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hints:
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- Don't read the print length straight off the size card. Sand changes it.
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- The sole is about 1 cm shorter than the print, so 30.5 cm.
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- 30.5 cm is a size 11.
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successText: |
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**Size 11, chevron tread, even stride.** Only two people in camp own that boot.
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Check the inventory again. And remember who has an alibi from ten until four.
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keyName: Boot Key
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- id: ch3
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title: The Watch Rota
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narrative: |
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The camp keeps a fire watch every night. Whoever was on watch at 02:00 might have seen the lantern leave.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a3-rule
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title: Captain Reyes' standing orders
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type: document
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body: |
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**Fire watch.** Two-hour shifts: 20:00, 22:00, 00:00, 02:00, 04:00.
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Watch passes through the six watchkeepers in **alphabetical order of surname**, wrapping round.
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Each night, the **first shift** starts with the **next person** after the one who started the night before.
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- id: a3-samuel
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title: Dr Helena Marlowe on Samuel's death
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type: report
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body: |
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Two puncture marks on the ankle, **4 cm apart**, perfectly parallel.
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A puff adder's fangs are under 1.5 cm apart. Whatever this was, it wasn't a snake.
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Traces of a sedative in his coffee cup.
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B:
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- id: b3-roster
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title: Watchkeepers and the first night
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type: log
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body: |
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Watchkeepers: **Reyes, Bell, Dunmore, Kessler, H. Marlowe, Pienaar**
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(the Professor and the cook were excused).
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**Night 1:** first watch taken by Capt. Reyes (he drew the short straw).
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Marlowe died on **Night 3**.
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lock:
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id: lock-watch
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prompt: Who was on fire watch at 02:00 on the night Marlowe died?
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inputType: choice
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options:
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- { id: helena, label: Dr Helena Marlowe }
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- { id: reyes, label: Captain Arthur Reyes }
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- { id: dunmore, label: Mr Felix Dunmore }
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- { id: bell, label: Miss Clara Bell }
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- { id: kessler, label: Dr Otto Kessler }
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- { id: pienaar, label: Jan Pienaar }
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answers: ["pienaar"]
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hints:
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- Put the six watchkeepers in alphabetical order by surname first.
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- "Order: Bell, Dunmore, Kessler, Marlowe, Pienaar, Reyes. Night 1 starts with Reyes, Night 2 with Bell, Night 3 with Dunmore."
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- "Night 3: Dunmore 20:00, Kessler 22:00, Marlowe 00:00, Pienaar 02:00."
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successText: |
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**Jan Pienaar.** He tells you:
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*"Ten past two, someone walked out to the dig with a lantern. Tall, too far to see a face.
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Came back around five past three and went into the **north row** of tents. Samuel was up too,
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brought me coffee at half two. He said, 'I know who that is.' I told him to leave it."*
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North row tents: **Dunmore, Kessler, Reyes.**
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keyName: Firewatch Key
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- id: ch4
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title: Samuel's Note
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narrative: |
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In Samuel's recipe tin: a scrap of paper in his careful capitals. It's nonsense. On purpose.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a4-note
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title: Note from Samuel's recipe tin
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type: note
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body: |
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## RS XRMPVSI TN TSDJ XUSUS
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*On the back: "Prof taught me the secret way. My word goes under the letters,
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over and over. Count back by each letter of my word: A is 0, B is 1, C is 2..."*
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- id: a4-alphabet
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title: Alphabet strip
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type: diagram
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body: |
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```
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
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```
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B:
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- id: b4-samuel
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title: What everyone knew about Samuel
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type: note
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body: |
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Samuel greeted every single person, every single morning, with the same word, and painted it
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on his enamel mug: **KOFFIE**. "Everything good starts with it," he'd say.
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- id: b4-smokers
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title: Camp stores, tobacco issued
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type: table
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body: |
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| Person | Tobacco |
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|--------------|---------|
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| Capt. Reyes | Pipe tobacco, 2 tins |
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| Mr Dunmore | Pipe tobacco, 3 tins (Dutch cherry) |
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| Dr Kessler | None ("gave up in '29, doctor's orders") |
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| Miss Bell | Cigarettes |
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| Mr Pienaar | Cigarettes |
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lock:
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id: lock-samuel
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prompt: What did Samuel's note say?
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inputType: text
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format: The message (5 words)
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answers: ["HESMELLEDOFPIPESMOKE"]
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hints:
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- The key word is Samuel's word, KOFFIE, repeated under the message and skipping spaces.
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- "R − K(10) = H. S − O(14) = E. X − F(5) = S."
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- "The message: HE SMELLED OF PIPE SMOKE."
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successText: |
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**"HE SMELLED OF PIPE SMOKE."** The figure at the dig, returning to the north row, smelled of a pipe.
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Samuel knew who, and two nights later he was dead.
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keyName: Coffee Tin Key
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- id: ch5
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title: The Diamonds
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narrative: |
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Dr Kessler said the find "made no geological sense." Marlowe sent three stones to a gemologist
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in Cape Town. The reply arrived in the post bag the day after he died. Nobody had opened it.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a5-gem
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title: Gemologist's report
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type: report
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body: |
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The three stones are genuine diamonds. However:
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- They are **sharp-edged octahedra**. Diamonds carried by rivers into the desert sand
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are always **water-worn and rounded**. These have never been near water.
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- Their trace-element profile matches **reference sample K-3** in our collection exactly.
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*Conclusion: these stones were not found where you say they were.*
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B:
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- id: b5-reference
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title: Reference samples (Cape Town Gem Society)
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type: table
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body: |
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| Sample | Source mine |
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|--------|-------------|
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| K-1 | Jagersfontein |
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| K-2 | Koffiefontein |
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| K-3 | **Kimberley**, the Big Hole |
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| K-4 | Premier Mine |
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- id: b5-prospectus
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title: Dunmore Kalahari Diamond Co. prospectus
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type: document
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body: |
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*"Alluvial diamonds, discovered personally by our chairman **Mr F. Dunmore** at Site 7.
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Shares available now at a very favourable price."*
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lock:
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id: lock-mine
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prompt: Where did the "Kalahari" diamonds really come from?
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inputType: text
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format: One word
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answers: ["KIMBERLEY", "KIMBERLY", "BIGHOLE", "THEBIGHOLE", "KIMBERLEYBIGHOLE"]
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hints:
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- The report gives a sample code. The clerk has the codes.
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- Sample K-3.
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- Kimberley.
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successText: |
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**Kimberley.** Bought stones, scattered in the sand to look like a find.
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The "discovery" was a fraud, and the man who found them personally was selling the shares.
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keyName: Diamond Key
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- id: ch6
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title: The Unsent Telegram
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narrative: |
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Marlowe's last act was a telegram he never got to send. Like Samuel, he didn't trust plain words.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a6-telegram
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title: Marlowe's draft telegram
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type: letter
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body: |
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```
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TO: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE, UPINGTON
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1.4 3.3 3.9 5.4 7.1 6.2 5.2 4.5 6.7
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```
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*Pencilled underneath: "Line, then word. The rules we all signed."*
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B:
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- id: b6-handbook
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title: Expedition Handbook, Rules of Camp (page 1)
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type: document
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body: |
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1. Every member of the expedition shall carry water at all times.
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2. The camp fire is never to be left without a guard after dark.
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3. Report any find to the leader before it is moved or cleaned.
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4. No stone is to be called a diamond until it has been tested.
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5. Samples must be salted away in sealed tins, labelled and dated.
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6. The police at Upington must be informed of any death in camp.
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7. Stop all digging at once if the walls of a trench show cracks.
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8. A find that seems too good to be true usually is.
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lock:
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id: lock-telegram
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prompt: What word in Marlowe's telegram explains everything?
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inputType: text
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format: One word
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answers: ["SALTED"]
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hints:
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- "1.4 means line 1, word 4."
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- "The telegram reads: THE FIND IS ___ STOP POLICE MUST BE INFORMED."
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- Line 5, word 4 is "salted". A "salted" mine is one where someone has planted stones to fake a find.
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successText: |
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**"THE FIND IS SALTED. STOP. POLICE MUST BE INFORMED."**
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Marlowe knew. He wrote this the night he died. Someone made sure it never left camp.
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keyName: Telegraph Key
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finale:
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type: accusation
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prompt: The post truck's dust is on the horizon. One accusation. Get every part right.
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maxAttempts: 1
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questions:
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- id: who
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label: Who killed Professor Marlowe?
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options:
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- { id: helena, label: Dr Helena Marlowe }
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- { id: reyes, label: Captain Arthur Reyes }
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- { id: dunmore, label: Mr Felix Dunmore }
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- { id: bell, label: Miss Clara Bell }
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- { id: kessler, label: Dr Otto Kessler }
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- { id: pienaar, label: Jan Pienaar }
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answer: dunmore
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- id: samuel
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label: What happened to Samuel?
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options:
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- { id: snake, label: An accidental puff adder bite }
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- { id: same, label: Drugged and killed by the same killer to silence him }
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- { id: other, label: Killed by a second, different killer }
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- { id: illness, label: Heart failure from the heat }
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answer: same
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- id: how
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label: How did Marlowe die?
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options:
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- { id: fall, label: He fell into the pit in the dark }
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- { id: struck, label: Lured to the dig at 02:00, struck on the head, then put in the pit }
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- { id: poison, label: Poisoned at dinner, found dead at the pit }
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- { id: shot, label: Shot with the Captain's rifle }
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answer: struck
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- id: why
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label: Why?
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options:
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- { id: inherit, label: To inherit his estate }
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- { id: rival, label: Professional jealousy over the find }
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- { id: fraud, label: Marlowe discovered the diamond find was salted and was going to the police }
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- { id: affair, label: A love affair gone wrong }
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answer: fraud
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successEnding: |
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Dunmore lights his pipe with steady hands. Dutch cherry. Samuel was right.
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"Do you know what those shares are worth? Do you know what I'd have lost?"
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He scattered Kimberley stones at Site 7 and "discovered" them himself. When Marlowe found out,
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Dunmore asked him to the dig at two in the morning "to explain", struck him with a survey pole,
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and rolled him into the pit. He wore the same boots as the Captain on purpose.
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When Samuel let slip that he knew, Dunmore drugged his coffee and faked a snakebite.
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**Case closed.** The post truck takes one extra passenger back to Upington. 🏜️🔑
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failEnding: |
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The truck leaves with the wrong person in handcuffs. Dunmore's shares hit a record high the next month.
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reveal: |
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**Felix Dunmore** lured Marlowe to the dig at **02:00**, **struck him and put him in the pit**,
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then **drugged and killed Samuel** to silence him, all to hide that his diamond find was **salted**
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with stones from Kimberley.
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