Adrian Herbez Rotating Header Image

Posts Tagged ‘pkp’

Puzzle Keepers: Folio XIII

micro_3

This was the fourth Puzzle Keepers puzzle I created, this one on the occasion of my nephew’s 7th birthday. In this, I introduced an antagonist faction- the Knowledge Containment Initiative (KCI), as a sort of bureaucratic and vaguely fascist foil to the open nature of the Puzzle Keepers. The backstory for the puzzle was that a set of papers (“Folio XIII”) that had long been in the possession of the PK had been stolen by Knowledge Containment agents. The pages were blank, but both groups had good reason to believe that there was invisible writing that could be revealed by applying the proper substance.

KCI scientists worked at the problem, and were getting close. But luckily for our heroes, the information was liberated from a KCI facility and returned to the PK. However, since KCI is so committed to containing information, it was stored in an unconventional manner, on a series of slides. A KCI device for reading the slides was obtained as well, though it was unfortunately not in working order.

So, the puzzle had three components:

  1. First, the machine had to be repaired.
  2. Secondly, the machine could be used to read the slides.
  3. Lastly, the information so obtained could be used to solve an online component and reveal what was written in Folio XIII

Read more…

projects , ,

PKP: Cora Aldencamp’s journal

book_screenshotA while back, I created a second Puzzle Keeper’s mystery for my girlfriend’s niece. A full rundown of the puzzle can be seen here.

As I work towards making the Puzzle Keepers something that can be accessed by everyone (not just the immediate nieces and nephews the puzzles are made for), I’m working towards making more of the components digital. As such, I’ve created a version of Cora’s lost journal that can be read online. Clicking on the page will flip the pages of the book back or forwards.

Check it out here, and be sure to be on the lookout for the secret message hidden in its contents.

projects ,

PKP: The lost journal of Cora Aldencamp

I recently made a second PKP puzzle for my girlfriend’s niece. The puzzle revolves around a box that once belonged to Cora Aldencamp, a former PKP member. The box contains a series of stamps that can be used to uncover the code needed to unlock a secondary (virtual) box.

Once the correct code is entered, the user can print out a PDF that can be cut and assembled into Cora’s lost journal, which contains a further hidden message.

To see a full album of the build process, head here.
To try the web-based component (implemented in WebGL via Three.js), head here.
If you want to make your own copy of Cora’s journal, grab the PDF here.

projects , , ,

Puzzle Keepers of Palau #3: Alice’s Birthday

IMG_0133 Recently, my girlfriend’s niece turned 5 years old and as such, was invited to become a member of the Puzzle Keepers of Palau.

The puzzle in this case takes the form of a book (“Alice’s Birthday”) with hidden messages, revealed by looking at the illustrations through a red lens. Solving the puzzle requires tearing/cutting through the last page of the book to reveal a lock, with combination being revealed in the secret messages. Once the lock is off, a panel can be removed to reveal a key, which in turn unlocks a briefcase full of treasure.

For a full album of the puzzle process, head here.

projects , ,

Puzzle Keepers of Palau #2: the metal Apple

3nb0uG5A year ago, I created a secret society for my nephew for his 5th birthday, called the “Puzzle Keepers of Palau”. The society is a long-standing group dedicated to seeking out puzzles and solving them. He recently had another birthday, and I created another puzzle for the occasion.
The idea is that he has to use a set of physical components to solve a substitution cipher, which he can then use to solve a web-based riddle.

Check out the physical components here
and the web-based riddle here

While there’s only one copy of the physical clues, anyone with some experience with cryptograms should be able to solve the web-based component without them.

I’ve also put the files for the cryptogram up on github

projects , ,

Puzzle Keepers of Palau #1

My nephew recently turned 5, and as it’s his first “big” birthday, I wanted to do something special for him. So, I created a secret society dedicated to ferreting out hidden knowledge, and invited him to join.

My longtime friend and business partner, Blair Erickson was kind enough to help me with the creative, and suggested that the society be set in the Pacific Ocean. And so, the “Puzzle Keepers of Palau” was born.
Read more…

Uncategorized , ,