Runes
Owner
Glasson
Presentation
Teams are greeted by a Marcan who tells them:
We know these runes are magical, and we have a device to channel the energy they can create into some harmless and useful tricks. Sadly the people who were able to discover this magic were not able to harness the energy. They started a large fire, destroying all documentation of how the rune were used. All that remains are their notes outlining the process they used.
Try and use them to rediscover the magic. You can try out your research safely at the magic-channeling machine™. Once you think you've unlocked their energy, let a proctor know, and we let you test on a machine with the safety removed.
Walkthrough
Runes is a duck-style puzzle in which 4 players (labeled player 1-4 in this guide) trade and permute the order of 7 runes (labeled A-G in this guide) in order rediscover "lost old magic" and to channel the resulting "magical" energy to do some cool stuff to be built later
There are 3 instances of the puzzle, each with different names and runes that map to the generic player 1-4/rune A-G mentioned in this guide. The name used for each rune in the puzzle is constant across all 3 instances. You can easily identify which instance an intern is solving by the first letter of their characters names. The options are Green, Yellow, and Purple. The mapping of data per instance is in the data section at the bottom.
At any given time a player is "using" 4 runes by placing them ordered positions (1-4) in front of them, and has 3 extra runes on side in an unordered "library". On a given turn/day a players instructions may ask them to change the order of the runes in front of them, switch runes they are using with one in their library, trade runes with another player, or some combination of these operations.
Throughout the puzzle interns may come up and try a ordered set of 4 runes in our special "magic channeling device" to see if they've found the right combination. Some of these combinations may trigger a minor magical effect (such as a light flashing) to signify they have followed the instructions correctly up until this point and should keep going.
Each player's turns are listed below with state being represented by the ordered listing of the runes being used, a hypen, and then the library: (ABCD-EFG). Highlighted rows cause the minor magical effects.
Player 1:
| Day: | Start State: | Operation: | End State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AFDC-GAA | Swap C rune in position 4 with A rune from library | AFDA-GAC |
| 2 | AFDA-GAC | Give player 4 A rune from library. Replace it with B rune they give you | AFDA-GBC |
| 3 | AFDA-GBC | Swap C rune from library with A rune in position 1 | CFDA-ABG |
| 4 | CFDA-ABG | Swap A rune in position 4 with B rune in library | CFDB-AAG |
| 5 | CFDB-AAG | Give player 2 F rune from position 2, replace it with E rune they give you | CEDB-AAG |
| 6 | CEDB-AAG | Put D rune from position 3 into library. Move E rune from position 2 to position 3. Place G rune from library into position 2. | CGEB-ADA |
| 7 | CGEB-ADA | Take F rune from player 2, place in position 1. Give them C rune | FGEB-ADA |
Player 2:
| Day: | Start State: | Operation: | End State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GAGD-DEE | Replace A rune in position 2 with one of the E runes in your library | GEGD-DEA |
| 2 | GEGD-DEA | Trade the G rune in position 1 to player 3. Place the C rune they give you in position 1 | CEGD-DEA |
| 3 | CEGD-DEA | Give player 4 the D rune from position 4. Replace it with F rune they give you. | CEGF-DEA |
| 4 | CEGF-DEA | Trade libraries with player 3 | CEGF-CBF |
| 5 | CEGF-CBF | Give player 1 E rune from position 2. Put the F they give you in position 2. | CFGF-CBF |
| 6 | CFGF-CBF | Trade F in position 2 to player 3. Replace it with the E they give you. | CEGF-CBF |
| 7 | CEGF-CBF | Switch C rune in position 1 with B rune in library. Reverse order of your runes. Give player 1 F rune from your library | FGEB-CCC |
Player 3:
| Day: | Start State: | Operation: | End State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FBBC-CBF | Give B rune from position 2 to player 4. Replace it with E rune they give you | FEBC-CBF |
| 2 | FEBC-CBF | Give player 2 C rune from position 4. Replace it with G rune they give you. | FEBG-CBF |
| 3 | FEBG-CBF | Reverse order of your runes | GBEF-CBF |
| 4 | GBEF-CBF | Trade libraries with player 2 | GBEF-DEA |
| 5 | GBEF-DEA | Give player 4 F rune from position. Replace it with the A rune they give you | GBEA-DEA |
| 6 | GBEA-DEA | Give player 2 the E rune from your library. Move B rune from position 2 to library. Move G rune from position 1 to position 2. Take F rune from player 2 and put it in position 1. | FGEA-DAB |
| 7 | FGEA-DAB | Swap B rune in library with A run in position 4. | FGEB-DAA |
Player 4:
| Day: | Start State: | Operation: | End State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEFD-GCE | Give E rune in position 2 to player 3. Replace with B rune they give you. | BBFD-GCE |
| 2 | BBFD-GCE | Give player 1 B rune from position 1. Replace it with A rune from player 1. | ABFD-GCE |
| 3 | ABFD-GCE | Give player 2 F rune from position 3. Move E from library into position 3. Place D rune they give you in your library. | ABED-GCD |
| 4 | ABED-GCE | Reverse your runes | DEBA-GCD |
| 5 | DEBA-GCD | Give player 3 the A rune from position 4. Place F rune they give you into position 4 | DEBF-GCD |
| 6 | DEBF-GCD | Swap B rune in position 3 with G run in the library. | DEGF-BCD |
| 7 | DEGF-BCD | Swap D in position 1 with B in library. Reverse runes. | FGEB-DCD |
Hinting
Common places where teams struggle / suggestions for hinting them through it.
Changes Since Beta/RC:
List changes here so GC staff who played know what's new.
Data
The mapping for the data is:
| Green/Instance 1 | Yellow/Instance 2 | Purple/Instance 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | Gretta | Yasmine | Paula |
| Player 2 | Greg | Yusuf | Patrick |
| Player 3 | Gail | Yvette | Penny |
| Player 4 | George | Yves | Peter |
| Rune A/Berekana |  |  |  |
| Rune B/Ehwaz |  |  |  |
| Rune C/Mannaz |  |  |  |
| Rune D/Raipo |  |  |  |
| Rune E/Jera |  |  |  |
| Rune F/Opila |  |  |  |
| Rune G/Hagalaz |  |  |  |