The Pirate's Cabin
You snuck aboard Captain Saltbeard's ship to find the lost treasure map, but the cabin door locked behind you with a heavy click. The only way out is the brass key inside the captain's sea chest, sealed with a five-digit lock. Scrawled on the chest lid is a message: 'Only a clever sailor can open me. Five puzzles, five digits.'
Solve each puzzle to reveal one digit of the code. Type your answer and press Check. Stuck? Take a hint, or show the answer.
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Puzzle 1Solved
Carved into the captain's desk: 'Sailors drop me to stay put, the news reader on TV borrows my name, and so does the last runner on a relay team. What am I?' The number of letters in the answer is your first digit.
Hint: It's heavy, made of iron and tied to a chain.AnswerAnchorAn anchor holds a ship in place, and news anchors and relay anchors share the name. ANCHOR has 6 letters, so the first digit is 6. -
Puzzle 2Solved
The captain's ledger reads: 'Started the voyage with a pocket full of gold coins. Paid the cook 3 of them, then lost half of what was left in a card game with the parrot. Now only 2 coins jingle in my pocket.' How many gold coins did the captain start with? That number is your second digit.
Hint: Work backward from the 2 coins left.Answer7Before losing half there were 4 coins, and before paying the cook 3 there were 7, so the second digit is 7. -
Puzzle 3Solved
A rolled-up note on the bunk shows a string of letters: EXIYGZHQT. A tiny scribble underneath says, 'Every other sailor on this ship is a liar. Trust the first one.' What number do you spell? That number is your third digit.
Hint: Keep the 1st letter, skip the 2nd, keep the 3rd, and so on.AnswerEightReading every other letter starting with the first gives E-I-G-H-T, so the third digit is 8. -
Puzzle 4Solved
Inside the captain's spyglass case is a secret code: GSIVV. Under it is the key: 'Flip the alphabet. A swaps with Z, B swaps with Y, C swaps with X, and so on.' Decode the word. It names your fourth digit.
Hint: G is the 7th letter from the start, so it swaps with the 7th letter from the end.AnswerThreeFlipping the alphabet turns G-S-I-V-V into T-H-R-E-E, so the fourth digit is 3. -
Puzzle 5Solved
Three small chests sit under the porthole, and the last part of the code is hidden in one of them. Chest 1 says: 'The clue is in this chest.' Chest 2 says: 'The clue is not in this chest.' Chest 3 says: 'The clue is not in Chest 1.' The captain's note warns: 'Exactly one of these labels is telling the truth.' Which chest holds the clue? Its number is your final digit.
Hint: Test each chest one at a time. For each, count how many labels would be true.Answer2Only if the clue is in Chest 2 is exactly one label true (Chest 3's), so the final digit is 2.
The lock clicks open!
You twist the dials to 6-7-8-3-2, the sea chest creaks open, and the brass key is wrapped inside the lost treasure map. You unlock the door and sneak off the ship before Captain Saltbeard returns.