Cerrobend Labyrinth Solution

How It Works

The obvious part of the puzzle was to get the metal ball out of the 3D maze. The real challenge was determining what to do next.

Solution, Part 1

The puzzle on the bottom of the maze was simple, each square had the mall directory's picture of a store, with all of the text removed. There was a number next to each picture. Teams needed to find the name of the store and index into the name using the number.

  • Everett Mall Directory - .pdf file
  • s(P)encer's gifts
  • foot (L)ocker
  • (O)ld navy
  • ba(T)h and body works
  • cingular (W)ireless
  • (H)ot topic
  • zumi(E)z
  • har(R)y ritchie's jewelers
  • bord(E)r's
  • (P)arfumerie
  • z(A)les
  • shoe spo(T)
  • exit hole ---
  • amazing t(H)ailand
  • vic(T)oria's secret
  • c(O)nsumer opinion
  • verizon pl(U)s
  • ja(C)kson hewitt tax service
  • t(H)ings remembered
  • w(E)isfield's
  • macy'(S)
  • (F)amous footwear
  • reg(A)l cinema
  • kit's (C)amera
  • orang(E) julius

Solution, Part 2

The answer to the puzzle on the bottom of the box was "Plot where path touches face." Another hint to this concept was the phrase "Getting there can be half the fun!" which was printed on the top of the cube. Following the shortest path from the start to the exit and marking where the ball touches the outside of the cube will produce a letter on each face, spelling "MELT".

Solution, Part 3

The ball looked suspiciously like lead, and a note on the cube's top warned that it contained lead. It was, in fact, Cerrobend - 50% Bi, 27% Pb, 13% Sn, and 10% Cd. This alloy has the interesting property that it melts at about 157 degrees F. A call to the phone system suggested that one should use hot water and a great deal of care.

Hot water could be obtained from a number of stores in the area. If a ball was dropped into hot water it melted to reveal a small stamped piece of copper. The word on the copper strip, "ICARUS" was the answer, and when called in to the phone system lead to the next clue. (Look up Icarus if you don't see why the name is appropriate for this puzzle.)

Design Notes

Construction took many many man-hours, including several hurdles which had to be overcome. Stories to be added as time allows.

Several people expressed interest in the plans to the maze. Here they are, if you want to torture yourself. Print out the two parts sheets and rubber-cement them to cardboard. Legal pad backing is perfect. Cut out all the parts with an X-acto knife, remove the paper, and put them together according to the master plan. There are 23 pieces.

The master plan shows the sixteen planes of the maze in order, looking from the top, front, and side. There is a code to the edges of the master plan, which indicates the intersecting faces "above" and "below" each square of the plan. See the Perl script to see how this was done.

The suggested order of assembly is listed below, if you can figure out which piece got each name. At some points you will have to partially disassemble the maze to add another piece, and a great deal of twisting and turning is sometimes required. You will need to fold the top tine of the little f downward to get the OK into place, and fold it back up afterward. Marbles are a little smaller than the balls we made, so your tolerances don't have to be nearly as precice. Still, it will be better to err on the side of cutting the tabs wide