01 / The apothecary’s lock
Four bottles belong in a row, in slots 1–4 from left to right. Each bottle carries a digit. Arrange them using all three clues, then read the digits from left to right.
- Blue sits immediately to the left of Coral.
- Amber is not at either end.
- Dusk sits somewhere to the right of Coral.
A small hint
Try the possible positions for the Blue–Coral pair. Leave room for Dusk.Solution and why
Blue, Coral, Amber, Dusk → 2974. If Blue–Coral were in slots 2–3, Amber would have to be at an end. Slots 3–4 leave no room for Dusk. That leaves slots 1–2, Amber in 3 and Dusk in 4.02 / The shifted message
Inside the parcel, a note reads: “My typewriter put every letter one place too far forward in the alphabet. Move each letter back one place to read my instruction. A wraps around to Z.”
IJEF UIF LFZ VOEFS UIF CMVF DVQ
Decode the message. What color cup does it name?
A small hint
Start with IJEF: I → H, J → I, E → D, F → E.Solution
“HIDE THE KEY UNDER THE BLUE CUP.” The answer is blue.03 / The keeper’s four boxes
A slip beneath the cup describes four closed boxes: Moon, Sun, Star and Wave. Exactly one box contains the lighthouse key. Exactly one of these four labels is true. Which box holds the key?
Moon: “The key is in Sun.”
Sun: “The key is in Moon.”
Star: “The key is not in Star.”
Wave: “The key is in Sun.”
A small hint
Try each possible hiding place and count true labels. Two labels say the same thing; count them separately.Solution and why
Wave. Key in Moon makes 2 labels true; Sun makes 3; Star makes 0; Wave makes exactly 1 (Star’s label).The lighthouse wakes.
You turn the key. A warm beam sweeps the harbor, guiding the last boat home. The parcel’s secret was not treasure: it was a promise that someone would keep the light on.
All three puzzles solved.
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