Hello Steamgifters !

Enter here with no fear this is just a puzzle like others.
Xmas is coming os it's a perfect time for a gift.
And making a puzzle is perfect cause gifts are things for people who try their best.
Do this puzzle also for your own pride and for the fun to solve things.
Enjoy it, solve it and share your thoughts on this puzzle after you solved it to help me to improve my skill.
Claim your reward too after solving to join my whitelist.

It's time now for things that can help you :
Maybe read some guides can I help you( Zelgh's guide is like a Bible)
Also read things carefully and take your time. This is not a rush you have 2 weeks.

Let's go !


Here's something you will need to advance later : 424b425142425751425257425752574b0d0a

So now you'll have to solve the mysteries of this chess board with the hints below and access the final test before you can enter the GA.

1) There is 8 pieces to place on the board : White King, Black King, White Queen, Black Queen, White Bishop, Black Bishop, White Rook, Black Rook. All of them are on a black square.
2) Rooks are the pieces with the highest line number for their color.
3) Queens always come before kings in the alphabet when we refer to columns. And you won't find a rook in g column.
4) Three of the black pieces are on the lines 5 to 8 and three are on the columns a to d. At least King and Rook share those 2 properties.
5) None of the pieces you must place share the same line or column.
6) The white pawn is not near another piece.The piece you have to place in the first column is white.
7) There is a piece in e4 and f1 and they have the same color. The bishop of this color is in a lane between those 2.

There is no level restriction and the GA is in the top 20 wishlisted games by the steamgifts community.

Ga will end the 4/12/2016

Good luck !

Solution:

Step 1:
You have a chain of characters to decrypt 424b425142425751425257425752574b0d0a with hexadecimal. Hint for that was the first letters of the first part of my post (if you didn't realize already it was hexadecimal). Decryption give BKBQBBWQBRWBWRWK who is an order of chess pieces you have to place in step 2.

Step 2:
It's a logic puzzle that you can solve by following those steps:
a) Eliminate all white squares as pieces position. (hint 1)
b) place a piece in e4 and the piece in f1 (hint 7) and deduce there is also a pîece in d5 because D4 and F1 black squares are no longer possibilities (hint 5)
c) use (hint 6) to remove 2 other black squares. You now have only a6 as a viable position in first column and the same thing for b2.
d) You know from (hint 6) the first column piece (a6) is white so b,c,d are black and 5,7,8 are black too. With (hint 7) you also know e' and f1 pieces share the same color so they can't be black but are white. And the white bishop being in a row between those 2 pieces can only be in h3. And you als can deduce the 2 last pieces positions c8 and g7
e) (hint 2) mentionning rooks are the highest row number and knowing all white pieces you can deduce a6 is the white rook and c8 the black rook.
f) using second part of (hint 4) you can place black king in d5 and then using (hint 3) you can place the black queen in b2 and the white queen in e4. White king being in f1. Last piece is the black bishop in g7.

so we have now with the order:

BK in d5
BQ in b2
BB in g7
WQ in h3
BR in c8
WB in h3
WR in a6
WK in f1

Step 3:

Now you are searching how to access the final stage of this puzzle with no more real clue guiding you. Since you are here to solve the mysteries of this chessboards who have squares pretty messed up. Chessboard is an 8 by 8 squares so 8 characters for the ITH crypted in binary with black (0) and white (1) squares. so you had to convert all the chessboards in 0 and 1 and read your lines in the order you find starting from the piece position to the right side of the board and then from the left side of the board to the piece position. (that was the reading tricky part of the puzzle).

That give you:

00110010
01100011
00110110
01001000
01011000
01101011
01011001
01100001

you decrypt it and find 2c6HXkYa
And then you access here http://www.itstoohard.com/puzzle/2c6HXkYa to the final step.

Step 4:

The question is 1+0x1-0= ? a math equation with the 1 and 0 being the clues you had to use.
After using binary to come here you just have to count the number of 0 ( 36 black squares) and 1 ( 28 white squares) and then convert your equation

28+36x28-36= 1 000 (don't forget multiplication has the priority on addition and soustraction)

And you finally solve this puzzle. I hope you enjoyed it.

View attached image.
7 years ago*

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Passed the third step to find myself on what looks to be the last question - where only 3 succeeded until now. I can think of a lot of answers, but none seems to be the "right" one.

7 years ago
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Good job with the third step. Last step is part of the chessboard mysteries. With that in mind it should be easy.

7 years ago
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Been at this for 2 hours now, of which half an hour is (I think) to find "the final test"
I have done everything up to that point, just dunno what to do with "what I found out" :p (seems like it's not so easy for me)
I'll have another go at it tomorrow, I like this 1, very well done :D
Kudos to you Sir!

7 years ago
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How near is "near"? And by "lane," do you mean row?

7 years ago
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Got the chessboard set up. Now I just need to figure out what comes next.

7 years ago
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Near is adjacent squares and lane are rows indeed. But I see that you figured it out by yourself :D

7 years ago
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Solved. Bump! :P

7 years ago
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Don't know what to do with the chessboard.

Solve it later.

7 years ago
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There is a piece in e4 and f1 and they have the same color and three of the black pieces are on the lines 5 to 8 and three(white?) are on the columns a to d. How does this fking work? e4 and f1 is having the same color already how to fit 3 in 5-8 and 3 in a-d or wat u mean is that 3 black and 3 white are in both 5-8 and a-d?

7 years ago
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Three of the black pieces are on the lines 5 to 8 and three black pieces are on the columns a to d if it's more clear for you.

7 years ago
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I placed pieces on chessboard. I decrypt that something. And now I'm desperately looking for what to do next.

7 years ago
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You are not the only one who seems clueless at this stage :D. If you have an idea where will be the final stage you'll have atleast a hint about what you are searching.

7 years ago
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I realy want the game, but i think it's time to give up.

View attached image.
7 years ago
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I know what you feel but don't give up! You can do it.

7 years ago
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You are not the crestfallen warrior but the chosen one! You can't give up until you become the new heir of Fire :D.

7 years ago
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There should semi-hystretical laugh after the words, yes...

7 years ago*
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Problem is that I have idea where the final stage is and even though it make no sense (i got twice as much characters) I'm not able to leave that idea. My brain realy hurts now.

7 years ago
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I suppose you are trying to use pieces coordinates. Am I right?

7 years ago
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Exactly.
I can't figure out anything else from the chessboard or the pieces.

7 years ago
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I've a ggod and a bad news for you!

The good one is that you won't have the double of chars needed.

The bad one is that the coordinates are not what you need to use.

7 years ago
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Bump for I'm at the true final boss. Will I emerge victorious?

7 years ago
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ugh, my head. what do you do to my head, I ca-can't, ughh!

7 years ago
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Hey don't destroy the wall with your head!

7 years ago
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Bump for getting to "easy" question.

7 years ago
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The guy who said the question is easy must be dumb :(

7 years ago
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Damn i don't understand chessboard and so it just got harder for me!

7 years ago
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And one more bump for solved!

7 years ago
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А теперь по-русски.

7 years ago
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Nope bump :D

7 years ago
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bump for stuck after solving chess and code!

7 years ago
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Bump for solved! That was easily one of the most convoluted puzzles I've ever solved.

7 years ago
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Not gonna solve it but a DS3 giveaway gets a bump from me, for sure :D

7 years ago
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Praise the Sun \o/

7 years ago
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Chess and code solved, had a nice idea where a code could be hidden but it doesn't fit with what I see, hmmm...

7 years ago
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Maybe it can fit if you see it differently. If your idea is the good one :D

7 years ago
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Not being able to bounce my ideas of anyone is kinda worse then not having any ideas at all...

7 years ago
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Yep I can tell you on steam this evening if your idea is the good or not if you want.

7 years ago
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Bump for not solving it yet.

7 years ago
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Bump for solved and feeling brainly exhausted ><

7 years ago
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I'll bookmark this and do this later when I'm off the work, I think I have a lead what to do.

7 years ago
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After yukulele53 confirmed I was on the right track I tried one more idea and it worked out... last step is weird though...

7 years ago
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Do the colors on the board matter? Like place white pieces only on black?

7 years ago
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You have to solve the mysteries of the chess boards so all that is weird can matter at one point :D

7 years ago
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bump for getting stuck after solving chess and knowing what the something is

7 years ago
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Finally solved. Praise the brain! :)

7 years ago
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Bump for solved. Sometimes it really helps taking a break and going at it again a few hours later cause that's what totally helped me with the last step... After coming back I immediately had the right idea after totally not getting it yesterday...

View attached image.
7 years ago
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Closed 7 years ago by yukulele53.