Okay, pop quiz. Which of the following is the correct definition of the word Abacus? Is it (A) a contagious disease that causes high fevers and itchy backs, (B) a line of undergarments for men, (C) an ancient device used for counting and mathematics, (D) an escape game by Otousan, author of Libra and Bird Escape, or (E) both C and D are correct?
If you answered E, then congratulations—you got it right! (Don't get a big head, though. It's always the "both C and D are correct" choice.) Now, on to the subject at hand...
If you're familiar with Otousan's work, you know what to expect from Abacus: a four-walled room with simple, gradiented graphics and plenty of puzzles, most of which center around a particular theme. In this case, the theme is the blue enigma machine over on the cabinet there and the circular tumblers that it uses. All you need are your brain and your mouse: click around the room to navigate, particularly the bars with the arrows if you want to change what you're looking at. Pick up items and use them (click to select, click to use), or use the "About item" button to get a good look at whatever you've selected. Solve puzzles all around the room, get everything figured out, and eventually get that door open.
Is it a good game? Indeed it is. The puzzles show a bit more variation than Otousan's games typically do, and the game as a whole is a bit longer and more substantial (it must be, there's a save feature this time!), which is good for those of you who found the developer's past games too easy. The graphics and audio, as usual, are non-intrusive but clear, and everything flows logically. The only real downside is that one or two of the puzzles can be a bit too frustrating; if you don't know the tricks you can be shuffling those tumblers until your hair turns gray.
So if you're looking for a little mental challenge to help you through the week, Otousan delivers as always. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go lie down; my temperature reads 105 fahrenheit and my back itches like crazy...
Walkthrough Guide
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Abacus Walkthrough
You'll start facing a chair. Zoom in on the abacus on the table; you can play with it, but you can't do anything with it yet. Note, though, that it has five rows of ten beads of varying colors.
Zoom out and turn right. A door with no handle and a locked panel. Turn right again to face a weird five-by-ten panel with numbers in odd places.
Wait a minute. Five-by-ten? That's just like the abacus! Go look at it and note the colors that match up with the numbers. I'll do it for you: from 1 to 8, dark-dark-dark-light-light-dark-dark-dark.
Now check out the panel to the right of the gray panel. It wants a code of... dark and light? Input the eight-pip code we just deduced and hit ENTER/RESET. The gray panel will shift.
Hey, look at the way it shifted. I bet we could set the abacus like that! Set the bottom row as far left as possible, the next row up as far right as possible, and the other three with four beads on the left and six on the right.
It looks like a three-letter something. F-U-S? Interesting. But we're not done with the gray panel. Zoom in on the entry panel again and note that there's one more button, for a horizontal line apparently. Grab the coin stuck beside it.
Now zoom out, then in on the gap in the middle of the panel. Take the "2" tumbler and note that the blue ? disappears when you do. Well, we'll worry about that later. Zoom out and turn right, there's one view we haven't looked at yet.
There's a blue machine on the cabinet, but we'll worry about that later. The far left cabinet contains a gray book; leaf through it, but there's nothing of interest yet. The far right cabinet contains a blue book; leaf through it and it'll tell you how to use the blue machine. Grab the blue card stuck between two pages.
Turn back to face the abacus and zoom in on the orange thing below it. Stick the blue card where it says "CARD" and the coin where it says "COIN". (Try not to get them mixed up.) It wants a three-letter code; try "F-U-S" from the abacus.
Press ENTER and voila! You get a 3 tumbler. Maybe it did something to the card, too... examine it. It now displays a three-digit number that can be made with the digits 1, 2, and 3. (It's different every game.) Now it's finally time to use that blue machine.
The blue machine already has the 1 tumbler in it, how convenient! Arrange it and the other two tumblers to match the number on the blue card, then turn the crank on the side once to transfer that number to the display above. Finally, hit ENTER/RESET.
A peg popped up? Weird... wait, I remember this from one of Otousan's older games. Check the middle-left cabinet; it's unlocked now! Pick up the blue handkerchief on the top shelf.
Remember the instructions from the gray book? Use the handkerchief on the one bead on the abacus's top row that looks like it's smudged. ...Hm, examine that handkerchief and unfold it. Interesting pattern.
Hey, try making that pattern on the abacus. The middle row will have five beads on either side, and the rest forms a diagonal line, just like on the handkerchief. Now... what about the numbers the handkerchief displays?
If we match up the numbers like we did before, we get dash-light-dark-dark-dark-light-dark-dash. Go enter that on the input panel where we entered the last one like it.
The gray panel separates a bit more. Zoom in on the crack in the upper middle where you got the 2 tumbler. It's now got some more features, but grab that magnifying glass... and wipe off that dirty lens with the handkerchief.
There are two places you need to use the magnifying glass. The first is on one page late in the gray book, which reveals the code for the gold safe beneath the blue machine. Input it (it varies) and get another coin. The second is the bead you cleaned off on the abacus, which gets another three-letter code (KXH).
Let's use the orange machine beneath the abacus again. Coin and card in their respective slots, KXH where it calls for a three-letter code, punch ENTER.
It gives you a green key... and probably changed the card again. Examine it and it's got a new number... which according to the bar below is a three-digit number times a one-digit number.
Use the key on the matching keyhole near where you put in those bead codes for the gray panel, and the entire green panel will be exposed. Put any tumbler in the slot beside it and it'll activate and show you the dispensary of tumblers. The arrows move the slot, and the round button swaps the slot's tumbler with the one above.
Use this mechanism to swap the three tumblers you've got with the three bearing the digits from the password card's three-digit number (the "xyz" from "password = xyz * q"). Once you've got them, go back to the blue machine.
The password card identifies the password as "xyz * q". Put the tumblers in the machine according to the x-y-z, then turn the crank q times. This should make the machine display the password proper, so press ENTER/RESET. Take the screwdriver and note the code the safe is asking for... blue-blue-red-red? Maybe it's finally time to mess with those blue and red ? tumblers from the dispensary.
Use the screwdriver to remove the panel next to the slot on the green panel, revealing two more slots. Put your three tumblers in those slots (any order), then use them to retrieve the blue, red, and 0 tumblers. We'll have to use the blue machine to determine their values.
It's easier than you'd think: just put the tumblers in in this order: blue, 0, red. Then turn the crank once, look at what the machine displays, and input that verbatim in the safe. You'll reveal a pink book... with some cryptic clues, plus a third coin between the pages.
Those clues are telling you a new combination for the abacus. It'd take forever to solve it, so I'll just tell you: the proper arrangement has 6 beads to the left of the space in the top row, then 2 beads, then 2, then 8, then 0.
It spells three letters: P-J-E. Looks like another job for the orange machine below the abacus. Coin in, card in, P-J-E in, ENTER, and you get a knob. Remember that weird hexagonal slot on the blue machine, to the left of where the tumblers go? The knob goes there.
This time the card wants a more complex code, a three-digit number times another three-digit number. xyz * qrs? Well, we're going to need the tumblers with the numbers xyz from the dispensary if we want to input this one.
It's more complicated this time since we have to swap three tumblers at a time each time. Here's a tip: getting one or two of the tumblers you want is no progress. Just focus on getting the three of them together in the dispensary so you can take them all out at the same time.
Now, the blue machine. "Password = xyz * qrs". Put the tumblers in to spell the number xyz, then turn the crank qrs times to get the password.
Nah, just kidding. Doing that would take all day. That's what the knob's for. Shifting it left and right shifts the tumblers, changing the place value of our input. So turn the crank q times with the tumblers in the leftmost position, r times for the middle position, and s times for the rightmost position.
Done? Then press ENTER. There are no cabinets left to unlock, so instead the machine gives you a black key. Take the tumblers back and take the key, and use it to unlock the panel by the door.
A math problem? b/c = 3/a, increasing order for a, b, and c? Note the ring-shaped holes; we need to put three tumblers in those slots to satisfy the equation. Cross-multiplying to get 3c=ab helps. The official solution is 4-6-8, but a crafty player who got lucky with the values of the red and blue tumblers can come up with alternative solutions like 8-9-24. (If you're one of the crafty ones, you can recheck the values of red and blue by peeking at the safe in the middle-right cabinet.)
Once you've got your solution, get the appropriate tumblers from the dispensary (remember the tips I gave you last time you used it), then slot them in appropriately and the panel will move... and so will the door! You're out! Taste the fresh air!
Posted by: SonicLover
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May 9, 2012 9:21 AM