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[adamrj]

Sept Citez

[Freddyy]

Sepratez

[Syndil]

There seems to be a bit of concern over a few things. There is the 1st column in the inside of the box with the missing triangle, and there is the unused clue SSSSSSST. I believe I know how they go together.

The clue that gave us the keyword SSSSSSST was:

"All eight but one will see the same
For you to find that final name"

It seems clear to me that "final name" refers to the final 8 digit solution. Thus, the keyword SSSSSSST must somehow be used to find the solution. But how?

Consider the inside box of the US/UK puzzles. We have 7 columns that make perfect squares, and 1 unique column with one triangle missing.

Now consider the keyword. Seven like characters followed by 1 unique character.

Perhaps the keyword is a template.

Therefore instead of simply ordering the numbers on the lid according to 12345678 (come on, too simple!), we should make sure that the unique member of the sequence is at the end of the solution. The column with the missing triangle represented the 4th number in the sequence, so we should start with the 5th number of the sequence, and order the solution according to 56781234, so that the 4 is at the end. Thus I believe the US solution is 24764364.

It is also important to note that the same riddle and clue was used for each country, so I looked at the puzzles for the other countries to see if it still worked out. In order for my theory to be sound, there should be a unique characteristic to one of the sequence indicators found in the box for each country. And there is.

For the UK, it is the same as the US. They have the exact same columns just arranged in a different order. The unique column for the UK puzzle is the 4th column (same as the US 1st column). Therefore their sequence is the same as the US sequence, 56781234, which makes the UK solution 90363889.

For Japan, the unique character is fairly easy to see. It is the grouping of 3 dots, which is the only grouping that requires a diagonal connection to one of the dots. So the JP sequence is 45678123, making their solution 08829365.

For Spain/Austria, I believe the unique character is the grouping of lines shaped like a zero, as zero is the only non-positive number represented. However this is admittedly slightly troubling, as the zero already represented the 8th number in the sequence, so putting it last according to the template does not change the solution, as the sequence is still 12345678.

For the US/UK puzzles, I sincerely doubt that the missing triangle was either a mistake, unintentional or a red herring. I beleive it was put there intentionally and for a reason. Many people who have noticed the missing triangle have wondered why it was there, and I believe this method explains why quite nicely.

This method resolves the issue of the missing triangle, uses the as yet unused keyword SSSSSSST, and fits perfectly with the Port Royal riddle to boot. The riddle itself tells us that the keyword will be used to find the final name, which explains why it was not used on Port Royal itself. The riddle is outright telling us the keyword is to be used for the final solution.

To further strengthen my case, consider that Volvo intended us to start with the Port Royal riddle. After all, that was the first part of the final solution that we were given. It just seems that most people completely forgot about the riddle after they got to Somewhere.

After reading the Port Royal riddle, it should have been clear that the riddle is intended to help find the final solution. We should have filed that bit of information away in the back of our minds, and we should have been actively seeking ways to apply the riddle and keyword to the final puzzle. Therefore when we found the missing triangle, instead of causing us confusion and strife, it should have been our eureka moment, resolving the issue of how to use the keyword.

[adamrj]

Good thinking

[dlightle]

Wow

[Twoswords]

I, however, (and I realise I may be alone here!) reasoned SSSSSSST is the noise a snake makes - so I was back at Lundy again, where there are no snakes (a saint chased them away according to legend) taking you from SSSSSSST to 'serenity', follow?

Or maybe not!

[Syndil]

If the missing triangle was simply a mistake we are to ignore, then you are still left with the issue of the Port Royal riddle that tells us it is to be used for the "final name" and the unused keyword.

Also, I was able to find the missing triangle without Photoshop. When I was solving the puzzle on my own, I simply used a piece of graph paper. I made X's in all of the squares using a straightedge, and flled in the bits from the puzzle and wrote the remainder down seperately. I immediately noticed the missing triangle.

And yes, I don't believe we were supposed to be aware of the other countries' puzzles. I simply used them to check my work.

The Spain/Austria puzzles are a bit troublesome, but not if you consider that there is a definite difficulty gap among the puzzles, which I believe is intentional and may be related to the population size of the country for which each puzzle is intended.

The US clearly has the most difficult puzzle, with the inside sequence consisting of the shape columns and the outside lid consisting of cryptic lines.

The UK is next, with the same columns inside (in different order), but with much easier to decipher numerals on the lid.

The difference in the order of columns from the US puzzle is also significant here. When I was solving the US puzzle and started with the 1st column and noticed that it indeed did NOT make a complete square, I believed that I was on the wrong track. Adding the symbols from the first column gave me one additional triangle and one blank triangle, which hardly seems like a bit of useful information. Trust me, that little missing triangle caused me to stop and search for other methods. Wasted tons of my time.

In the UK version, you would have gotten 3 complete squares until you got to the column with the missing triangle, thus making the inside of the UK puzzle slightly easier than the US puzzle. It would have been much easier to ignore that blank triangle and continue on after having been successful with the first 3 columns.

And think about it. If the UK puzzle was indeed intended to be slightly easier than the US puzzle as I am postulating, it again makes perfect sense why the US puzzle starts with the troublesome column and the UK puzzle does not. It is as if the puzzlemakers knew the column with the missing triangle would cause confusion, so they put it first for the more difficult puzzle. What other reason would they have to change the order of the columns anyway?

Japan has the next easiest puzzle, with the dots on the inside and easy to decipher numerals on the lid.

And finally there is Spain/Austria. The easiest to decipher inside (as the inside numerals are CLEARLY not the answer, and counting the strokes clearly gives you a sequence) with easy to decipher numbers on the lid.

If the Spain/Austria puzzles were in fact intended to be the easiest, then perhaps that is why my method does not alter the final sequence. With or without the keyword template, you still get the right answer.

[Syndil]

Re: Wow

[Twoswords]

BTW for those that haven't realised - Abaco Island is the main island of a group in which Castaway Cay is one of the smaller (maybe smallest) island.

In the past Abaco was populated but Castaway Cay had maybe only one permanent inhabitant. It's history then became a bit 'chequered' - it had an airstrip - so you can guess it's history.

Disney then developed it into a resort - it may share co-ordinates with the other larger islands.

[rbing]

End Game

[medwards2020]

Little Abaco

[Twoswords]

You're right it's seven miles away. My mistaken location came from reading this:

http://outside.away.com/magazine/0199/9901blackbeard.html

Interesting bit of background.

[Buttercup]

Castaway Cay

[Twoswords]

So you think maybe I was off line at Lundy then! LOL

[Boz]

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