Signal & Lantern · Original playtest chapter 01The Silent
Lighthouse
Four pieces of evidence. One missing signal. A harbor waiting for your answer.
Cooperative puzzle mysteryOffline or print & playNo locks or props
A fictional storm has silenced Lantern Bay's beacon. The keeper left three sealed records and a hidden message for the night crew: an assignment ledger, a coded maintenance note, and a clock log. Recover the crew code, the system word, and the restart time to bring the light back.
How to play: share the evidence, use paper for notes, and solve the records in order. The fourth record combines evidence from earlier puzzles. No outside knowledge or internet search is needed. Each puzzle has hints and a full solution below it. Printing produces the evidence sheets without spoilers; keep this file open for hints and answer checks.
This is a short, unpaid prototype. Age suitability, difficulty and play duration have not been measured. Progress stays in this page only and resets on reload. Nothing is uploaded.
Evidence 01 · The crew ledgerFour keepers, four stations
Each keeper works at exactly one station, and every station has exactly one keeper. The station plaques carry these digits:
| Station | Plaque |
|---|
| Observatory | 7 |
| Bridge | 4 |
| Garden | 2 |
| Archive | 9 |
Mira needs the telescope, which is only at the Observatory.
Sen tends the plants at the Garden.
Ivo works at neither the Observatory nor the Archive.
Rue takes the remaining station.
Record the station digits in this keeper order: Mira → Ivo → Sen → Rue.
Hint 1
Identify the stations for Mira and Sen first because their clues state them directly. This is the solving order, not the code order. Write the digits in the requested order: Mira → Ivo → Sen → Rue. Sen supplies the third digit.Hint 2
Only the Bridge and Archive remain. Which one is Ivo allowed to use?Full solution — spoiler
Mira: Observatory (7). Ivo: Bridge (4). Sen: Garden (2). Rue: Archive (9). Crew code: 7429.A word one step away
The keeper's encoder replaced every letter with the next letter in the alphabet: A became B, B became C, and Z became A. Decode this four-letter system word by reversing that rule.
UJEF
The system word names a rising-and-falling feature of the sea. This extra clue confirms your decoding; you do not need nautical knowledge.
Hint 1
The encoder moved forward. To decode, move backward.Hint 2
U becomes T. J becomes I. Apply the same move to the other two letters.Full solution — spoiler
U → T, J → I, E → D, F → E. The system word is TIDE.The restart window
The keeper wrote every time in 24-hour format. All events happen on the same day. Use all three entries to find the scheduled restart time.
| Entry | Record |
|---|
| Inspection | Started at 09:20; lasted exactly 60 minutes. |
| Reset | Started immediately after inspection; lasted exactly 90 minutes. |
| Restart | Scheduled exactly 30 minutes after reset ended. |
Write the restart time as four digits, without a colon.
Hint 1
Find when the inspection ends first, then add the reset duration.Hint 2
Inspection ends at 10:20. Reset ends at 11:50. There is one more wait.Full solution — spoiler
09:20 + 60 minutes = 10:20. Add 90 minutes to reach 11:50, then 30 minutes to reach 12:20. Enter 1220.Who can turn the key?
“The beacon did not break. I shut it down before the damaged lens could burn out. The reset will protect it, but someone must turn the key at the scheduled restart time. I am stranded on the far shore. Find the one keeper who can reach the tower in time.” — The keeper
Use your station assignments from Evidence 01 and your restart time from Evidence 03. Each person starts at their assigned station. They must finish their duty before leaving, then walk directly to the tower. Nobody can leave early. A keeper who arrives early can wait at the tower.
| Station | Duty ends | Walk to tower |
|---|
| Observatory | 12:10 | 15 minutes |
| Bridge | 12:15 | 10 minutes |
| Garden | 12:20 | 10 minutes |
| Archive | 12:10 | 5 minutes |
Which keeper can be at the tower by the restart time?
Hint 1
Add each station's walk to its duty-end time. Compare the arrival times with your restart time.Hint 2
The Archive keeper arrives at 12:15. The Observatory and Bridge keepers arrive at 12:25; the Garden keeper arrives at 12:30. Now check who works at the Archive.Full solution — spoiler
Only Rue, assigned to the Archive, arrives by 12:20. Rue arrives at 12:15 and waits five minutes. Mira and Ivo arrive five minutes late; Sen arrives ten minutes late.Send the instruction
Combine your four answers in order: crew code – system word – restart time – keeper name. On paper, write your instruction here:
____________ – ____________ – ____________ – ____________
A deliberate silence. A timely light.
Your message reaches Rue in the Archive. At 12:15, Rue climbs the tower with the instruction. Five quiet minutes pass. Then the TIDE system wakes, Rue turns the key, and a gold beam crosses Lantern Bay.
Across the water, the stranded keeper raises a lantern in reply. The silence was a warning, not a failure—and you understood it in time.
You completed the chapter. Which clue was satisfying? Which was confusing? Those are the questions that will shape the next adventure.
Final solution — spoiler
7429-TIDE-1220-RUE. On paper, this instruction completes the chapter: Rue reaches the tower at 12:15, waits until 12:20 and restores the light.