Can you solve this riddle?

Snarky · Sat 29/12/2012 08:31:27

Andail, I would say the fourth one is one of the easiest, because the cues that it's about music are so strong, though it might take two or three guesses to figure out which number that implies. As indicated in my post, the first and third were the ones that didn't immediately suggest to me an answer.

johnno56 · Sat 29/12/2012 08:55:42

My guess would be:

The two failures - The wife and handmaiden of Abraham. The wife, unable to bare children; The handmaiden, boast of her youth and taunted Abraham's wife.

The others would admire: Abraham's children. Isaac by Sarah (wife) and Ishmael from Hagar (handmaiden).

The "payment": That could be the religious unrest there has been between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael. Most notable would be the middle east problems.

That's my guess...

J

Stupot · Sat 29/12/2012 13:53:30

Quote from: Snarky on Sat 29/12/2012 08:31:27
Andail, I would say the fourth one is one of the easiest, because the cues that it's about music are so strong, though it might take two or three guesses to figure out which number that implies. As indicated in my post, the first and third were the ones that didn't immediately suggest to me an answer.

I agree, #4 is the one I got first, and what put me in the frame of mind to solve the others (apart from #3, I didnt get that one)

Babar · Sat 29/12/2012 18:23:33

I...don't know anything about the theory of music, unfortunately, and wouldn't have gotten the fourth at all.

Someone else had trouble with the four horsemen one and the seven wonders one as well (of being non-religious and not knowing about the concept of the "seven wonders").
If it is obvious you are supposed to derive numbers from the poem, people would probably get it much more easily, although personally (and this is totally unrelated to this thread, probably should rant about puzzles elsewhere, especially since I don't know exactly how it is implemented in your game, but still

), unless you've figured out and engineered some very strange situation where the existence of such a puzzle would actually make sense in the context of the game world, it would end up seeming a very tacked on, puzzle-for-the-sake-of-including-a-puzzle puzzle.

Anyhow, if it is for a wide variety of players from a mixed or unknown background (such as here on AGS), I'm not sure you'd be able to find a "sweet spot" of general knowledge that you can use for the riddle without making it ridiculously easy.

Stupot · Sat 29/12/2012 23:12:02

How about this one?

My first was found in the middle of Baghdad, and my second and third were found at the end of the Battle of Waterloo.
What am I?

Renodox · Tue 01/01/2013 23:59:47

Hmm... I get "hoo." Maybe it's an owl?

Stupot · Wed 02/01/2013 13:06:32

Quote from: Renodox on Tue 01/01/2013 23:59:47
Hmm... I get "hoo." Maybe it's an owl?

You're on the right track. Now you need to do something else with it.

Clue: The answer I'm looking for is mentioned in the riddle.

CaptainD · Wed 02/01/2013 13:08:51

I got it!!

I think...

The answer it WATER

HOO (or H2O)

Stupot · Wed 02/01/2013 13:51:40

Quote from: CaptainD on Wed 02/01/2013 13:08:51
I got it!!

I think...

The answer it WATER

HOO (or H2O)

H²Oray! CaptainD has it. It was maybe a bit misleading because water has 2 Hs not 2 Os, but I knew someone would get it after that last clue.

Slasher · Wed 02/01/2013 13:57:46

"Small on the foot yet big on the shoe"

What am I?

mkennedy · Wed 02/01/2013 15:26:04

Quote from: slasher on Wed 02/01/2013 13:57:46

"Small on the foot yet big on the shoe"
What am I?

Spoiler

The toe!

[close]

Andail · Tue 08/01/2013 12:10:56

Ok I thought of a more conventional riddle:
"What dish serves three and doesn't ever end?"

mkennedy · Sat 09/02/2013 08:21:33

Quote from: Andail on Tue 08/01/2013 12:10:56
Ok I thought of a more conventional riddle:
"What dish serves three and doesn't ever end?"

Spoiler

satellite?

[close]

Andail · Sat 09/02/2013 12:25:16

Oh, hehe, I totally forgot about this.
Apparently my riddle sucked since nobody solved it. But yeah, it's a bit silly, really.

Spoiler

The riddle is based on a double entendre - when I say "serves three", I don't mean it serves three people, but it literally serves the number three (as in serving the ball in a sport). So, what begins with 3, goes on forever and is also a dish?

[close]

Stupot · Sat 09/02/2013 14:14:35

I've got it!

Spoiler

pi (pie)

[close]

Andail · Sat 09/02/2013 17:02:34

Quote from: Stupot+ on Sat 09/02/2013 14:14:35
I've got it!
Spoiler
pi (pie)
[close]

Yay

Renodox · Sat 09/02/2013 19:49:11

Here's one that came from a game but I think it may be interesting.

"Brought to the table, cut and served, never eaten."

Stupot · Sat 09/02/2013 20:34:35

Spoiler

A deck of cards? You play card games at the table and you often 'cut' the deck, but you rarely eat the cards.

[close]

Renodox · Sat 09/02/2013 21:07:34

Wow! That was FAST!

Okay, here's one that may take more time:

You remove and throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside.

What is it?

Andail · Sat 09/02/2013 21:40:14

Quote from: Renodox on Sat 09/02/2013 21:07:34
Wow! That was FAST!

Okay, here's one that may take more time:

You remove and throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside.

What is it?

Spoiler

Corn on the cob? You throw away the leaves and cook the rest - then you eat the corn and throw away the core...

[close]