Host materials · includes answers
Welcome to the balloon railway control room. A test pulse moved several switches together; the starting positions are still recorded. Your team has the original records on the table. First recover five pieces of information, then use the final plan to configure the railway switches. Keep every result beside its badge so another teammate can check your reasoning.
Rotate player roles · Choose a useful hint · Manage two teams
Look at the training cards that share one signal.
In an unordered pair, a word cannot be assigned by its left/right position. Use the overlap with another pair.
Give each signal a different word, check every training example and only then decode the received message in its printed order.
WAIT-SEND
A consistent one-to-one mapping satisfies every training example. Use the complete mapping to read the two-signal message in order. Result: WAIT-SEND.
Start with the status field in Train cards.
The tag links an item to a bay; rows in separate records need not line up.
Keep only entries meeting every status test. Follow each printed join to the report field; do not guess from row position.
WEST
Check source status first, then join the matching tag. The useful information comes from separate records, not their printed row order. Result: WEST.
Find the column letters and row numbers on the grid.
A coordinate gives column first and row second; keep the printed coordinate order.
Read the full word before using the conversion table. If the word is missing, recheck each row and column rather than choosing a similar word.
8
D2, A1, B2, C3 reads HOME. The conversion table gives 8. Result: 8.
Find opening stock, closing stock and the DONE or CANCELLED marks.
Only completed entries change stock. A cancelled plan cannot be added or subtracted.
Apply every known completed change to opening stock. Compare that result with closing stock to recover the missing completed return.
2
Known stock: 12 + 5 - 1 = 16. Closing stock 18 minus 16 gives the missing return 2. Cancelled +7 never arrived. Result: 2.
Find the symbol key and the message strip.
Use the same key every time a symbol repeats. Read the message in its printed order.
Write the complete decoded word, check every symbol, then use the conversion row for that exact word.
5
The decoded word is HOME; its row gives 5. Result: 5.
Find the starting states, dial order and pulse-card key.
Each selected vector lists turns for every dial. Several different cards can affect the same dial.
Add one dial column at a time to its starting state, wrap around the three-state loop, then check that all five pulse cards were used.
A1-B2-C1-D0-E0
Select one pulse card for each of the five badge results. Add the turns by dial column to the printed starting states and wrap each total around 0, 1, 2. The checked configuration is A1-B2-C1-D0-E0; each pulse pair has equal size and total turns, so its shape does not identify the correct choice.
Pause whenever the group needs a break. This is a planning estimate.