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I'm playing this old text adventure game for the computer. It's a fantasy game based on magic and such. In the game there are hints on how to progress the game. I have solved a few, but these other ones are very challenging. It looks like the author changes the methodology for each puzzle. There was one that was reversed with an extra letter at the beginning of each word, there was a typical cryptogram, and there was one that was a phrase using jumbles, but had one of the letters missing.

I don't have much more than what I'm about to post. In the game you look at things like statues and pools of water and you'll see a puzzle. So far the room description has nothing to do with the puzzle.

Here's an example of one of the puzzles that I mostly solved.

HA-TC EN-ESA-EOP ORE-EF GUSI- XX-HE XXX-E-

CHANT .......... BEFORE USING THE KEY

If someone can find that missing word I'd be very happy. But here are the real ones that I can't even get my mind around:

1: ID- UPI- OZS-OMSY-PM -P P-YSOM Y-R FS--RT

2: FEOAMUT WOTAQUOP JAGAROONI PISTOBBA

3: D-TU U-F VO-OPX- TQF-M I-SF.

4: HQOFOWY ASITPQNM IFQNPYTUVC QOTMAY GIOEM LOOPAS ASIT, ILLIADA FALGORIA SIMAJF. UNALOOP LA HEARTOY.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

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  • $\begingroup$ While the room description may not have had anything to do with the previous puzzles, if each of these are solved differently, more information pertinent to the area, or environment, for the puzzles, may provide assistance to those attempting to help, if you have it. :) $\endgroup$
    – Khale_Kitha
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 1:25
  • $\begingroup$ Are the dashes in the words splitting the lines? For example in #1 is P-YSOM one word or is it a two and four letter word? $\endgroup$
    – LeppyR64
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 2:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Aaron: would a link to a walkthrough be helpful? I found two, although neither one specifies the solution to the cryptograms. There is also a Let's Play on youtube. $\endgroup$
    – Daphne B
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 3:02
  • $\begingroup$ LOOP in the fourth text could refer to POOL. You talked about pools of water... $\endgroup$
    – fondor
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 7:30
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    $\begingroup$ @Khale_Kitha: Fun game, huh? I've thought about it from time to time the last 25ish years since I've played it. $\endgroup$
    – Aaron
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 13:27

2 Answers 2

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Number one decrypts to

US- YOU- IMA-INAT-ON -O O-TAIN T-E ?A--E?
which I bet is USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO OBTAIN THE (DAGGER?) or whatever noun is in the room somewhere
There doesn't seem to be any pattern here. I plugged it into a crypto-solver and messed around. I got lucky because I noticed that YSOM and OMSY have the same letters, and then I got lucky because I tried TION for YSOM which is pretty close to the real thing. After that it was just some switching back and forth.
Edited to add: it is based on a typewriter/computer keyboard. Take the given letters and then shift once left.

Number three is

go back one letter alphabetically
C-ST T-E UN-NOW- SPE-L H-RE
which I assume means CAST THE UNKNOWN SPELL HERE (and that makes the blank letters AHKNLE if that has any meaning

As to how I came to think of it:

I guessed the three-letter word U-F was probably THE and noticed how I could get there.

I'll update this if I think of any of the others.

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  • $\begingroup$ Awesome! I'm not very good at puzzles like this. You guys make it seem easy! hehehehe $\endgroup$
    – Aaron
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 13:29
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Your missing word(s) is(are):

OPEN SESAME

(This is the answer to the preamble question the OP asks - see comments)

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks! They tricked me. I thought it was one word. Probably an error on the programmer's part. $\endgroup$
    – Aaron
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 13:30
  • $\begingroup$ Pity this is identical to another answer that was already on the puzzle, but deleted. $\endgroup$
    – Khale_Kitha
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 15:12
  • $\begingroup$ Can you explain why you think that is the correct answer? Answers without explanations are usually deleted. $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 18:46
  • $\begingroup$ In the description, before listing the other puzzles, I referred to one that I mostly solved but couldn't figure out what one word was. The spacing has been correct in the other puzzles and I figured this one was too. Turns out that this "one word" was really two and Jon Mark Perry figured it out. The dashes are where "unknown" letters are. EN-ESA-EOP becomes OPEN SESAME (by finding out the two missing letters were M and S). $\endgroup$
    – Aaron
    Commented May 19, 2016 at 18:54

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