A TRAINFUL OF (PAINFUL?) PUZZLES

What is this?
This is a puzzle event. Yay! Let's call it a train even though it really isn't a train -- but "train" is such a popular catchword around here that I felt I should use it no matter what. Anyway, there are two months worth of puzzles awaiting you, altogether 22 of them, all of various difficulty and design (some common on SG, some -- I hope -- entirely new and unheard of).

What is it for?
The main purpose of this event is to have fun and provide some exercise for those little grey cells. The puzzles are not meant to be hardcore, and I believe any average solver should make it to the final metapuzzle. This is also my little giveback event and a humble homage to all the great puzzlemakers here on SteamGifts.

How about the gibs?
No worries. There will be gifts for solving each puzzle and a little extra treasure for solving the metapuzzles. Everything will be restricted to level 1+ and a basic SGTools check.

How long will the giveaways be open?
I will post a new puzzle every three days. Each giveaway will last for ten days. This means we will have several things running at the same time and it might get a bit messy but I will try to make it as organized as humanly possible. (I chose this unusual format for my event to make all puzzles /except for metapuzzles and the bonus puzzle/ accessible to everyone. Even if you fail seventeen times you can still try your luck with the eighteenth one -- and maybe succeed.)

Will there be... er... any hints?
You haven't even seen the puzzles yet! But yes, of course, since you will need to solve all 18 of them to get to the final metapuzzle, I feel a hint system of some sort is a necessity. I will be even as generous to give two hints for each puzzle. Will they be free for everyone? Yes... kind of. The schedule for hints will probably vary, depending on how much will people struggle with given puzzles.

Can I contribute to this event?
Oh, glad you asked! Yes, definitely. If you have any unused keys lying around, if you planned to hide your next giveaway from bots anyway, if you just want to make this event even more awesome, please don't hesitate and contact me. The more the merrier! Thanks a lot in advance.

PUZZLE GIBS STATUS HINTS SOLUTIONS
1. The Magnificent Ten FINISHED OPEN Hint 1.1, Hint 1.2 LINK
2. One Dot Dot FINISHED OPEN Hint 2.1, Hint 2.2 LINK
3. Quipu FINISHED OPEN Hint 3.1, Hint 3.2 LINK
4. Wall of Numbers FINISHED OPEN Hint 4.1, Hint 4.2 LINK
5. Piggy Time FINISHED OPEN Hint 5.1, Hint 5.2 LINK
6. A Shortlist FINISHED OPEN Hint 6.1, Hint 6.2 LINK
7. Broken Nonogram FINISHED OPEN Hint 7.1, Hint 7.2 LINK
8. Chesswords FINISHED OPEN Hint 8.1, Hint 8.2 TO BE DONE
META 1 FINISHED OPEN nope LINK
9. Dungeon of Liars FINISHED OPEN Hint 9.1, Hint 9.2 TO BE DONE
10. Version 101.2 FINISHED OPEN Hint 10.1, Hint 10.2 LINK
11. Sniper FINISHED OPEN Hint 11.1, Hint 11.2 LINK
12. Word Search with a Twist FINISHED OPEN Hint 12.1, Hint 12.2 LINK
13. Cabal of Pleasure FINISHED OPEN Hint 13.1, Hint 13.2 LINK
14. 8E28 FINISHED OPEN Hint 14.1, Hint 14.2 LINK
META 2 FINISHED OPEN nope LINK
15. Mastermind FINISHED OPEN Hint 15.1, Hint 15.2 LINK
16. Starry Night FINISHED OPEN Hint 16.1, Hint 16.2 LINK
17. No Way Out FINISHED OPEN Hint 17.1, Hint 17.2 LINK
18. The Magnificent Seven FINISHED OPEN Hint 18.1, Hint 18.2 LINK
META 3 FINISHED OPEN nope LINK
BONUS FINISHED OPEN nope LINK

Notable contributors: Potvora, Ameto, Cornpops

6 years ago*

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Bump....solved 7 and waiting for hints for 6

6 years ago
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#7 was rather easy, even if it did take some time. #6 though... Waiting for that hint. bump

6 years ago
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Have had the #7 nono solved for a few hours but still no idea what to do with the resulting image... no generic terms seem to be the correct answer... should i recognize it from somewhere specific?

6 years ago
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I'm afraid it's still too early for hints on this one... maybe try a different approach?

6 years ago
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Hint helped to confirm hypothesis I tried and fail. Have to follow this way so.

6 years ago
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bump for solving car 5!

6 years ago
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Bump for taming the pig.

6 years ago
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Bump for 5 solved at last!

6 years ago
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number 7 solved, not too bad. Back to #6 for me.

Edit: actually had it solved but the page timed out and wouldn't change text from wrong. Solved meta answer, just waiting on puzzle 8 now.

6 years ago*
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nickchanger a man needs a car #8

6 years ago
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it's on its way, man, arriving on midnight...

6 years ago
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Maybe you should post #9 before number #8!

6 years ago
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Feel free to bruteforce the answer to #9. :P

6 years ago
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I had a sudden change of heart around 4 p.m. today, and decided against using the puzzle I originally prepared... It wasn't a bad puzzle but it was a bit similar to Piggy Time and I thought it might be a bit boring to have them here in such close succession... So I had a busy evening designing a completely new puzzle from a scratch -- I hope there are no mistakes and everything will work as intended... Enjoy and good luck!

6 years ago
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I've read it, but don't know what it means

6 years ago
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I know that the wording is not perfect, I had to fit it in 35 characters, but there are not many options to what it could possibly mean... still, if more people have problems understanding it I will clarify it in a free hint...

6 years ago
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Ditto, I have an instruction, but I don't get something meaningful when following it.

Also, 8x9 chessboard? Puzzling, indeed.

6 years ago
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or... revealing?

6 years ago
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Unfortunately, not yet.

6 years ago
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Bamf

6 years ago
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Got it, but I don't have it.... :/
Too tired now, back in 20 hours :P

6 years ago
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Bump because I solved Car 7 yesterday but forgot to bump.

6 years ago
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Bump for 8 solved.

6 years ago
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Hmmm, I have solved some of #8 but can't figure out what to do with the message.

6 years ago
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Same here, but at least I got this far this time :P

6 years ago
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Same here also. Even knowing what we are after, I still cannot find it

6 years ago
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bump for new hints... we need more solvers on the Shortlist!

6 years ago
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Edit: NEVERMIND the below, I figured it out... :-)

I have no idea how to apply the keyword to that list. Looks like this will be the first one I will be unable to solve...

Maybe I need some math knowledge that I just don't have? The second hint was pretty useless because the keyword was fairly obvious, I just don't know what to do with it...

6 years ago*
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I'm in the exact same boat here.
eta: honestly the second hint is pretty much the first hint but worded in a different manner. :/
eta 2: the only word that I think makes sense with the hint in mind is pier. The other ones still make little to no sense to me.

6 years ago
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I figured it out... It was easier than I thought...

6 years ago
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how could you leave me to suffer alone.

p.s. grats and also encouraging, hopefully I'll figure it out

View attached image.
6 years ago
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Think less math more clever. :-)

6 years ago
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I rephrased the second hint to make it easier. Sometimes it's difficult for me to guess where most people will get stuck in the puzzle, so it may happen I focus on the wrong part in my hints. :P

6 years ago
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Thanks for rephrasing it--I get where you're coming from, sorry if I sounded too annoyed lol.

I'm still stuck. I've tried to substitute the kw with a symbol, multiplying the base value by the numerical value of letters, but nothing I'm trying seems to be yielding anything that makes sense. x.x

6 years ago
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You've been overthinking it:) You should pay more attention to the number 3 and to its position. It shows you how to apply the value (or the rest of the value, to be more precise) of the keyword.

6 years ago
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I always overthink things. xD

Thank you! I'll take another crack at it later!

6 years ago
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Bumb for solving 6 :)

6 years ago
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Stuck on 6... I can't figure out how to use the KW. Any help? :D

6 years ago
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Did you check the updated hint 6.2? I tried to make it a bit clearer like an hour ago...

6 years ago
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Yes, but I don't understand what does "apply" means. I have to apply the kw to some letters? 🤔

6 years ago
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Maybe this can help you?

6 years ago
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Nope, unfortunately I can't figure it out... I think i'll pass this one. Thank you anyway ;)

6 years ago
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last one, since this is the final day of this puzzle: from the value we talk about, you have the first numeral already written there as a clue, and you will need seven more numerals to solve the puzzle...

6 years ago
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Illumination! I'm preparing tomorrow exam of tree phylogenetics and i got it! I feel a little bit stupid for overthink so much sometimes... but hey, I got it and now I'm a little bit happier :D
Thank you again for all the puzzles!

6 years ago
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cheers! good luck with your exam!

6 years ago
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Bump :)

6 years ago
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Bump for finally understanding car 6! Thanks for the help, Nick! :D

6 years ago
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A clarification added to Car #8. I hope it will help those stuck with the message they discovered. I probably should have found some way to make the message clearer.

6 years ago
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Thanks for the clarification. That helped. Bump for meta 1 solved then.

6 years ago
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Followed the instructions found on #8 a few different ways but still can't make any sense of what remains. Will have to wait a few days for another hint. Bump in the meantime

6 years ago
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Irritating. I have solved the first 8. I get to the meta. I clearly have the red letters, but I am missing something. Grrr.....

It is always amazing what stumps people. I got really tied up on number 2. but others such as 4, 6, 8 I could see the correct approach straight away.
7 I could see the approach, but it took a long while to work it through.

Others I read on here solved the meta with a handful of answers but are stuck on stuff I plowed through.
Sigh....

6 years ago
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Oh, the last meta1 question was meant to be just a formality. Maybe I should have made the question mark red as well to indicate the last step...

6 years ago
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Well I finally got it. I was, as I suspected, a total muppet. I am really, really, really enjoying this event. Truly superb.

6 years ago
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Took me a while to figure this one out. You should be writing puzzles for a living (if you don't already).

6 years ago*
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bump for solving 8th and meta. Notice helped me in the 8th puzzle a lot.

6 years ago
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