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Test of the Venery

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This page contains information directly lifted from Tale 3, and has not yet been confirmed as accurate for Tale 4.
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Needs More information on specifics of clues, hints and lockboxes, this guide was taken from T3, please update and make an Atlas page for locations and someone that is good with wiki, please feel free to change my horrible layout

The Test of the Venery challenges you to create a puzzle that can potentially cover a large portion of land. Veneries consist of a series of lockboxes scattered across the land, each containing a key that leads to another lockbox and a clue that will lead to this next lockbox. A simple venery will play as a single chain between lockboxes. More complex veneries can exist, that have multiple chains going on at once.

Principles

Demonstrate the Principle

Construction

A Venery consists of a Venery Gathering Point and at least 7 lockboxes placed around the land.

Venery Gathering Point

Built in a Small Construction Site (1 Canvas, 4 Rope).

Simple Lockbox

Made in a Forge (2 minutes to cool)


Designing a Venery

  • Hints are on the "exterior" of the lockbox, and will appear if, and only if, the lock box requires a key and the player does not yet have that key.
  • Clues are on the "inside" of the lockbox, and will appear if no key is required, or once the player has all of the required keys.

Puzzles like the Venery are subjective: what one person finds challenging and fun, another might find infuriating. You can't please all of the players all of the time, but there are a few tips you can follow to make your puzzle as entertaining as possible.

Every Venery Tells A Story A venery should be more than just a random series of locations and objects. It should tell a story, with each location revealing a little more of the tale. It adds depth to your puzzle, and gives the player additional motivation to keep playing.

You don't need to write a novel: just decide on a simple storyline, and let that guide the development of a puzzle. Is the player trying to find a lost camel? Is he on the trail of the man who stole his gem collection? Is she following a map to some elusive treasure? Are they touring exciting landmarks across the face of Egypt?

You decide!

Location, Location, Location! When selecting objects for your lockbox locations, try to choose distinctive sites. Unique landmarks such as a particular sculpture, or the only deep well for 200 coords would be excellent choices. One single apiary in a field of 4 dozen would be an awful choice.

Once your player finds your lockbox location, there should be no doubt in their mind that this is the place!

This doesn't mean that you can't use common, everyday objects in your puzzles. It just means that you'll have to be careful to guide the player to the target you've chosen, rather than having them run willy-nilly across Egypt.

Clues Blues No matter what form your venery takes, the clues you write will make or break your puzzle. The trick to writing good clues is to give the player just enough information to figure out the target, without telling them the answer. Designing good clues is a puzzle of its own!

Here are some ideas to get you started.

Hint, but don't tell. Rather than telling the player to simply "go east", find a way to subtly guide them in that direction. The sun rises in the east, so you could tell the player to "journey in the direction of the rising sun". Nowhere do you say the word "east", but the clever player will figure it out. (The less clever players will ask for help.)

Be colorful. Let's say that, in your venery's story, you tell the tale of the Lost Queen Pleocatra, and have the players follow her wanderings through the desert. Why not wrap your hints into the story? "Pleocatra grew thirsty. After a moment's wandering to the north, she found a lone Royal Cactus, and judging that it must be fit for one of her royal upbringing, she drank the sap straight from the trunk."

In this paragraph, you've given the player clear directions to "go north a short distance until you find a single Royal Cactus", and you've furthered the tale of your venery, all in one shot.

Feel free to add colorful details to your clues: the venery is as much story as it is puzzle.

Play with the puzzle. You can have fun with your clues by rhyming, telling riddles, even inserting puzzles of your own in the venery clues. The more unusual your venery, the more people will be drawn to it, and the higher a rating you are likely to receive. Don't be afraid to bend the rules and try new things!

How about a venery done entirely in song lyrics? 

   Sweet desert rose
   This memory of Eden haunts us all
   This desert flower
   This rare perfume, is the sweet intoxication of her love
   (with the next lockbox on a nearby sea lily)

...Or a venery that uses word games? 

   You'll find your next clue in the public works compound. All you have to do is take out the trash:
   BTORAXKISLHN
   (remove the letters T-R-A-S-H from the above, and you're left with "box kiln")

...Or a venery where all the lockboxes are attached to players? Let the manhunt begin!

Now that you've got some ideas to play with, let's see some top notch veneries! 



   Taken from T3, and modified a bit

Venery Locations

  • Green for recognized (passed) puzzles (use "Gr" prefix on pin)
  • Red for unrecognized (unpassed) puzzles (use "Rd" prefix on pin)


Region Coordinates Designer Passed Title Remarks About
Falcon's Bay 4295, -614 Nissim No Science-Fiction at Falcon's Bay in English et aussi en Francais On the road just North from the cs
Falcon's Bay 4299, -1174 Jacen No How I get maried in French and soon in English North of UThought
Saqqarah 783, -756 Fryoj No Saqqarah Uni-Run Venery/FAQ East of CS(by Essence of Harmony)
Shabbat Ab 1376, 1725 Ping Yes Felix and the Fatestone II: Electric Boogaloo Just south of the CS (along the road)
Shabbat Ab 1388, 1735 Eaglior No Egyptian Ninja Just south of the CS next to EoH Do you have what it takes to be a Ninja?
Shabbat Ab 1471, 1996 McArine Yes A course in math. Close to UArch
Shabbat Ab 1469, 2008 Sefet No The Sum of the Parts Close to UArch
Shabbat Ab 1389, 1744 Ankhanet No The death of Bahita South of CS by the EoH
Shabbat Ab 2317, 2335 Ephemere No First steps in Egypt Deutch, English, Français 15-30 mins
Shabbat Ab 1482, 1759 lilinou No Une promenade en amoureux/A romantic walk English, Français East of the CS
Nomads Paradise -1533, 2519 Voyna No A tale begins (Une histoire commence) Across road from S Thouhgt
Meroe 809, -3651 Katezinha No The Scatterbrained Oracle Just West of CS
Meroe 834, -3630 Elfus No Marr the Vampire Just between 2 beetle sculptures, near the breezeaway Basic, short story, easy venery
Queen's Retreat 594, -6151 Dreasimy Yes The PATH-OPENER, Keeper of the Names Just north of the CS, across the road, in front of the Mentor Shrine in front of the Breezeway 15 - 30 minutes, 230 coord max travel from start
Meroe 839, -3638 Malard Yes Path of Discovery A short journey around the landmarks of Meroe Next to Essence of Harmony and 7 Cubit Obelisk
Meroe 828, -3629 Nkuku No Music was my first love, Egypt will be my last Song lyrics galore! Might need to google. At intersection, just north of Meroe CS
Queen's Retreat 593, -6144 Traak No Shroomers Delight Quick, fun, shrooms Just north of CS, near the EoH
Meroe 835, -3636 Astrina No A bag of Cartouches North of the Meroe CS on the road 10-15 minutes to complete

Recent winning Veneries

Semi-automatic Recognized Puzzles list

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