Dear player,
here you can find the solution for the game “The gold digger’s hideout”
Check this only if you’re blocked and used all tips!!
+ Claim size
This question asks for the standard claim size, which can be found in the newspaper: 22×10 yd², or 220 yd²
+ Below the ink splash
Claim areas in Minor Creek are documented by their corners. The claim area of the person under the ink splash therefore corresponds to the dotted area on the map:
The size of this claim is 24 squares or 24×10 yd². We know from stage 1 that the standard claim size is 22×10 yd².
According to the newspaper, Jack Pierce has recently won an extension of his claim area of exactly 20yd². As no other claim has a size of 22×10 yd² + 20 yd² = 240 yd², Jack Pierce has to be the owner of this claim. His name is therefore hidden below the ink splash.
The size of this claim is 24 squares or 24×10 yd². We know from stage 1 that the standard claim size is 22×10 yd².
According to the newspaper, Jack Pierce has recently won an extension of his claim area of exactly 20yd². As no other claim has a size of 22×10 yd² + 20 yd² = 240 yd², Jack Pierce has to be the owner of this claim. His name is therefore hidden below the ink splash.
+ Meeting point
We know from the newspaper that S.B. has recently found a large amount of gold which now has to be split between four people. As there is no other indication for a conflict in the available documents (the article about Russian Roulette refers to another village), the incident most likely occurred during this gold split.
There is only one claim location which belongs to someone with the initials S.B., as well as three other people:
The finder is Samuel Banks, the other three owners are Quint Benill, Jack Pierce and John Albertson. Using the address book, we can find the homes of all four owners on the map. The legend shows that the walking time per grid square is approximately 0.5 minutes. According to the newspaper, the distance to the game hall where the gold split took place is not more than 1.5 minutes away from any of the owners.
The only game hall fulfilling this requirement is Faro’s den. The coordinates for this game hall are E4-12, where E is the column, 4 the row, and 12 the house number.
There is only one claim location which belongs to someone with the initials S.B., as well as three other people:
The finder is Samuel Banks, the other three owners are Quint Benill, Jack Pierce and John Albertson. Using the address book, we can find the homes of all four owners on the map. The legend shows that the walking time per grid square is approximately 0.5 minutes. According to the newspaper, the distance to the game hall where the gold split took place is not more than 1.5 minutes away from any of the owners.
The only game hall fulfilling this requirement is Faro’s den. The coordinates for this game hall are E4-12, where E is the column, 4 the row, and 12 the house number.
+ Russian Roulette
The newspaper explains the rules for Russian Roulette. There is a sketch of the same revolver for each of the participants at the table, with the cylinder spun differently each time. Using the four depictions of the same cylinder, which each only show a part of the whole cylinder, the positions of the bullets can be reconstructed:
The only person with a bullet at the current shot position is at the bottom of the table in the sketch. Using the menu and the food sketches one can reconstruct that this person is Samuel Banks himself, the finder of the gold nuggets.
The only person with a bullet at the current shot position is at the bottom of the table in the sketch. Using the menu and the food sketches one can reconstruct that this person is Samuel Banks himself, the finder of the gold nuggets.
+ Hidden poison
Placing the ingredients of the drinks in the same order as they are listed in the menu reveals a text between two of the ingredients in each drink. The drinks with gin and rum show the word “GOOD”, whereas the ice tea reveals “POISON”. The arrow under POISON points to the ice, which therefore contains the poison. The bill shows that Quint Benill ordered the ice tea. He was therefore poisoned using the ice cubes.
“Ice”, “Ice cubes” and “Ice tee” are all accepted solutions.
“Ice”, “Ice cubes” and “Ice tee” are all accepted solutions.
+ Playing cards
“Order my favourite meal! – Samuel”. This hint contains two keywords: “favourite meal” and “order”. The only lead for Samuel’s favourite meal is the one he ate just before his death: “CLUB-meal: HEARTy, KING-sized ox steak with DIAMOND fries”. The here capitalised words correspond to a playing card each. If these are “ordered” according to the order in the menu, i.e. placed side-by-side, they reveal tools between them:
In the newspaper add for Max toolbox there are bolded letters or numbers for each of the tools. In the same order as the tools between the playing cards, they reveal the next location: C3-4
In the newspaper add for Max toolbox there are bolded letters or numbers for each of the tools. In the same order as the tools between the playing cards, they reveal the next location: C3-4
+ Letter to Quint
The crucial line in this letter is the last one: “P.S. What a sunny day!”. As we are looking for a location, the village map helps deciphering this message. “Sunny day” can only refer to „Sunside rd.”.
The abbreviated spelling of Quint (Q.B.) and Samuel (S.B.) gives the second hint: P.S. refers to a name! The only person living in Sunside rd. with the initials P.S. is Peter Sanders, according to the address book. His home location, B5-5 is therefore the solution.
The abbreviated spelling of Quint (Q.B.) and Samuel (S.B.) gives the second hint: P.S. refers to a name! The only person living in Sunside rd. with the initials P.S. is Peter Sanders, according to the address book. His home location, B5-5 is therefore the solution.
+ Visiting friends
First, the location of all the friends has to be determined using the address book and the village map (“Max toolbox”). There is only one path where Samuel wouldn’t have turned into any road twice:
The third person therefore lives at C4-6 (“Benjamin Arnold”).
The third person therefore lives at C4-6 (“Benjamin Arnold”).
+ The significant throw
Deducing from rule 1, the darts could only have landed on three red, or two black and one red field.
Using rule two and three, two of the darts could only have landed on 1-2 or 2-4. As both cases are two red fields, the third one also has to be red (rule 1).
With the minimum distance of two fields, the only valid combination is 2-4-9. The solution is therefore 249
Using rule two and three, two of the darts could only have landed on 1-2 or 2-4. As both cases are two red fields, the third one also has to be red (rule 1).
With the minimum distance of two fields, the only valid combination is 2-4-9. The solution is therefore 249
+ Chess
The names of the chess players correspond to street names. Ordering the names in the same order from north to south as the streets and writing them onto the board at the location of the white pawns, reveals a message in the white fields: “LOOK AT CHURCH”. The solution is therefore D5-1 or church
+ Catching horses
There is only one way to put the lassos on the pasture so that no horse is covered, and all horses are inside a lasso:
The lasso ends point to the solution: C7-2
The lasso ends point to the solution: C7-2
+ Burning church
“NEWly dark, now back to FULL brightness” refers to the burning church which has been newly restored, as well as the moon. Now, today, is full moon as can be read from the newspaper. Looking at the village map shows that there is a “Moonshine rd”.
The correct house number can be found via the current date (4th), as well as the building type (fire brigade). The solution is therefore D3-4
The correct house number can be found via the current date (4th), as well as the building type (fire brigade). The solution is therefore D3-4
+ Notice board
There are four relevant notes from Samuel on this notice board, recognisable by his handwriting as well as the white lines which connect the notes. For two of the notes, we already got the solution from the two previous stages: The horse pasture had C7-2 as solution, the burning church D3-4. The dart board was also part of a previous puzzle, with the solution “2 4 9”. These three numbers match one of the tournament dates which takes place in the “Mighty Meat” (third location).
On the last note, the “source of joy” not only refers to the church, but also the spring of the Joyful river. This spring is marked with an X on the map. As the white chalk lines on the notice board suggest, we are looking for four locations in Minor Creek, which need to be connected pairwise. The last step for this puzzle therefore is to map the source “to the other side”, i.e. the other side of the page, so that it is on the same page with the other three locations.
The four locations are then connected as the white cross on the notice board shows, to reveal the final location at the “crossroad”:
On the last note, the “source of joy” not only refers to the church, but also the spring of the Joyful river. This spring is marked with an X on the map. As the white chalk lines on the notice board suggest, we are looking for four locations in Minor Creek, which need to be connected pairwise. The last step for this puzzle therefore is to map the source “to the other side”, i.e. the other side of the page, so that it is on the same page with the other three locations.
The four locations are then connected as the white cross on the notice board shows, to reveal the final location at the “crossroad”:
The final solution is therefore D5-7, the home of Edward Lawson