10
$\begingroup$

The image below carry a hidden message. The image alone is not enough, you'll need to use the hints to uncover the hidden message. All the information needed to solve the puzzle is already given (as in no outside source needed).

image of the cards

Hint:

On the first day, the first sacrifice follow his family here while the others come alone. On the second day, the first sacrifice leads his family here while the other come alone. On the third day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone. On the fourth day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone. By sacrificing the heads of all that comes, can one reach the truth.

The final answer will be in text/ words.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
6
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ On the third day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone. On the fourth day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone... Are you sure this wasn't a typo? $\endgroup$
    – Ruslan
    Oct 9, 2014 at 19:19
  • $\begingroup$ @Ruslan which part? The clue for 3rd and 4th is actually the same so the line is repeated. $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 9, 2014 at 22:16
  • $\begingroup$ @d'alar'cop ah it should've been "heads of all that comes" (I'll fix that), the line is only meant to say the last step (the first part) to find the answer. $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 9, 2014 at 22:32
  • $\begingroup$ @d'alar'cop No problem, glad you like it :) $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 9, 2014 at 22:39
  • $\begingroup$ @moonRabbit Oh, ok, thanks for clarifying! I thought that the 3rd and 4th clues repeat in the spirit of the 1st and 2nd (i.e. follows then leads) and just wanted to make sure it wasn't a mistake. Very interesting puzzle, btw! $\endgroup$
    – Ruslan
    Oct 10, 2014 at 2:42

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
8
$\begingroup$

Spoiler:

SEND THE JADE FAST

Each card has a name and a family

ES NC DD
TH ED
JD AD EH
FH AS TC

The days are ordered from top to bottom. The sacrifices are ordered from left to right, so on day 1, the first sacrifice is ES, second is NC, third is TD.

If a family is mentioned it should be included, otherwise left out. If a sacrifice "follows" his family, then the family is listed first. If the sacrifice leads his family, then the family is listed second.

On the first day, the first sacrifice follow his family here while the others come alone.

SE N D

On the second day, the first sacrifice leads his family here while the other come alone.

TH E

On the third day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone.

J AD E

On the fourth day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone.

F AS T
Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Nicely done. I guess in a way the last line wasn't really need eh? $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 10, 2014 at 6:25
  • $\begingroup$ No, not really. Nice puzzle though. $\endgroup$
    – LeppyR64
    Oct 10, 2014 at 9:34
1
$\begingroup$

OK, communal puzzling time again :P I'm posting this as an answer for now, simply because there's too much stuff for a comment. This has been revised to follow moonRabbit's latest comments.

First things first, the notation (A|2-10|J|Q|K) (c|h|s|d) for the cards is wrong. It's "much simpler" than that.

I'm now pretty convinced that the clues refer to a "day" being a row of cards, a "sacrifice" being a card, and a "family" being all matching suited cards on the board.

Now taking the clues more literally, let's see how true they ring.

Day 1: 8 of Spades | 9 of Clubs | 2 of Diamonds

Clue: The first sacrifice follow his family here while the others come alone

Translation: the first card follows his suit, while the others do not

Well, we can have a quick look at the board that does indeed match - the Eight of Spades follows from the Ace of Spades, which we have elsewhere on the board. Each of the other cards is followed by another suited card (10 of Clubs, 8 of Diamonds).

Looking at the 3 other rows, the same holds true for them all.

This now gives us the following "sacrifices":

Eight of Spades

Three of Hearts

Ace of Diamonds

Ace of Spades

Assuming this is correct, we now have to "sacrific[e] the heads of all that come" to find the answer. That's as far as I'm up to so far.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ The notation is incorrect, it's actually much simpler than that. The interpretations of "sacrificing the heads" is also incorrect. The empty gap actually doesn't mean a thing, there are only 2 cards for the second row, so I placed them like that. $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 9, 2014 at 22:28
  • $\begingroup$ @moonRabbit updated my "answer" with a re-worked interpretation, which seems to make more sense to me. Not quite followed it through completely yet, though $\endgroup$
    – Joe
    Oct 9, 2014 at 23:00
  • $\begingroup$ @moonRabbit Don't give anything else away :p $\endgroup$
    – d'alar'cop
    Oct 9, 2014 at 23:16
  • $\begingroup$ Your interpretation of their "family" is correct and the way you write the cards at the end is the closer to solving the last line. But the "sacrifices" isn't just those 4, since the texts says (I'll use the 1st day for example) "the first sacrifice" which means 2 other cards are also sacrifice. $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 9, 2014 at 23:18
  • $\begingroup$ @d'alar'cop ah, I was posting when I noticed your message ^^; $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 9, 2014 at 23:20
0
$\begingroup$

Here is my interpretation. Each row in the picture is a day. So the first clue is:

On the first day, the first sacrifice follow his family here while the others come alone.

That row is: 8s 9c 2d

Assuming we are reading left to right, 8s cannot be the sacrifice since the sacrifice must follow his family. So say 9c is the sacrifice and 8s is his family and 2d is one of the others. Alternatively, 2d could be the sacrifice, 9c his family, and 8s either one of the others, or part of the family.

The next clue is:

On the second day, the first sacrifice leads his family here while the other come alone.

That row is:3h _ 8d

So, one interpretation would be that 3h is the sacrifice leading his family (none), and 8d is the other.

The third clue:

On the third day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone.

The row is: Jh Ad 8h

The Jh must be the first sacrifice, and Ad the second, while 8h is his family.

The last clue is:

On the fourth day, the second sacrifice leads his family here while the others come alone.

It's row is: 5h As 10c

This is the same as the previous clue, so the 5h is the first sacrifice, the As is the second, and his family is the 10c.

The final part of the hint reads:

By sacrificing the heads all that comes, can one reach the truth.

So, the sacrifices are: 9c 3h Jh Ad 5h Ah.

If we remove the heads of these (i.e. the number) in the original picture, you will have:

8s  c 2d
 h  _ 8d
 h  d 8h
 h  s 10c

... and this is where I get stuck...

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
6
  • $\begingroup$ This is the same conclusion I reached, figuring that by taking cards out, I could make a letter with the remaining pattern. Nope. $\endgroup$
    – generalcrispy
    Oct 9, 2014 at 18:01
  • $\begingroup$ @generalcrispy What about in some form of leet speak? $\endgroup$
    – Trenin
    Oct 9, 2014 at 18:04
  • $\begingroup$ Not even that... removing a card from some of the proposed locations doesn't produce a letter or a digit or a recognizable picture. $\endgroup$
    – generalcrispy
    Oct 9, 2014 at 18:28
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Unfortunately, the other problem I have with the hint is that it's sort of broken English, no offense to moonRabbit... but it's incredibly cryptic and hard to understand. $\endgroup$
    – generalcrispy
    Oct 9, 2014 at 18:30
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @generalcrispy the hints is like that because I wanted to go for the "feel" of fantasy to it (you know like how Yoda speaks). Though that doesn't have anything to do with the answer itself, I just like the fantasy wordplay. $\endgroup$
    – moonRabbit
    Oct 9, 2014 at 22:50

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.