Ninja's Riddle Thread

So, I just came up with what I believe is an amusing idea that was definitely not inspired by Lenny Conundrum >_>.

I will come up with riddles, puzzles and brain teasers in general (don't rule out the possibility of math problems showing up here, either) weekly or bi-weekly (depending on what I feel like doing at the time and how fast I can make up riddles and how much time I have yadda yadda yadda) which you guys will work out. The riddles can deal with a wide variety of subjects, so remember to keep an open mind when you are trying to solve one.

Aside from being something you guys can do in your spare time or to relieve your boredom, I might ask Sami to see if I can give out yen/prizes to the first few people who are able to solve the posted riddles. –Sami approved it, so...yeah. =P

PM all answers to me; don't post them here because some people might want to figure it out on their own and this way more than one person will be able to solve the riddle (prizes will most likely be in a 1st/2nd/3rd format). You will only get one submission per riddle, so be sure you have the right answer before PMing me as I will only accept the first PM as your answer. Make sure that the subject line of the PM is "Riddle #(Number of Riddle)" or something along those lines. You can submit only the answer or put your answer in quotes or say "The answer is: _____" or whatever. The format may vary from riddle to riddle, just make sure that I can tell which part of your PM is your actual submission. Once I post the answer to the riddle (which I will probably do in conjunction with posting a new riddle), there will be no more submissions accepted for that riddle. I will not inform you whether or not your submission is correct before the answer to the riddle is posted (so don't pester me about it =P).

Collaboration in solving riddles is allowed, but restrict it to PMs rather than the c-box because anyone can log on to the c-box at any time and view your conversation. Remember, though, that the order I receive the PMs will determine the placing and consequently the prizes awarded. Also, keep in mind that you might not always be receiving the correct answer from someone, whether it is intentionally or unintentionally.

This is not a staff run event; only I will make up the riddles and know the answers (although I might accept suggestions every once in a while but naturally the person who suggested the riddle will not be able to submit an answer). This means that staff members can participate if they desire to.

We'll start off with an easy one...

Riddle #1 (9/26/2009)
64, 67, 75 and 93; what in common have we?

I'll even give a hint for this, since it's the first one: "Don't rule out any possibilities."
It's more of advice, really, but take it or leave it. xD

Answers are to be submitted as one word (use common sense).

Prizes: 1st-800 yen; 2nd-600 yen; 3rd-500 yen

Answer #1
"Trade"

The numbers correspond to the pokedex numbers of pokemon that evolve only by trading (Machoke, Haunter, Graveler and Kadabra).


Toldja it was an easy one. =P

Only two people submitted answers, though...

First Place-Shine
Second Place-Prostiboots
Third Place-None

Riddle #2 (10/1/2009)
Which force descends upon a grassy plain,
In two the balance splits once again.
One will gain from the other’s loss
There lies great power in coin’s toss.
Hidden emerges the left from the right–
Which will prevail, will win the fight;
That of the day, or the night?

Prizes: 1st-1500 yen; 2nd-1200 yen; 3rd-900 yen

I'm not going to lie...this one's pretty dubious. =K

Answer #2
"Hoothoot and Noctowl"

Now really, how did I get /that/ from the riddle? Well, the first key step was to realize that the poem was 7 lines long, and each line had 7 words. After going through some guesswork, you might have been able to figure out that you had to take a word from each line that corresponded to the line number, so the first word of line one, the second word of line two, and so on and so forth. Then, you have a more direct question: "Which two gain power from the night?"

This is also a bit tricky. It's actually referring to profile pokemon; Hoothoot and Noctowl are the only ones that have abilities which grant them power depending on the time of day, so therefore the answer is "Hoothoot and Noctowl."

Those of you who did submit answers had some quite interesting ones (Malachi's "Eeveelutions" and Prostiboots's "Seesaw"), but unfortunately no one was able to get the right answer this time because you weren't actually supposed to interpret the poem. =P

Riddle #3 (10/6/2009)
One day, you’re walking along, just minding your own business, when suddenly you come across a wallet on the ground. Since you are such a Good Samaritan, you decide to check it to see if there’s any identification so you can return it to the owner.

Upon thorough investigation of the wallet, it becomes clear that there is no I.D. or name anywhere inside of it. As you are looking through one of the pockets, however, a small paper falls out. You pick it up and see that it is labeled “Address” and has the following written on it:

“From the top-

6/7, 3/3, 7/23, 1/2, (3–6)/155”

Whose wallet is it?

Answer #3
"Charles Xavier Reed, Jr."

The 'address' contains two important parts: "From the top" and the list of numbers. Upon first glance, you might suspect that there is some sort of pattern in the numbers, however this is not the case. The numbers actually refer to positions of forum categories, sub-forums, topics, posts, and words on Shuten Dojo. There are seven forum categories (Important, General, Dojos, Global Trade and Battle Center, Profile Pokemon, Role-Playing, and Help & Ideas). This corresponds to the 'denominator' of the first number in the series. "From the top" indicates that you should look in the sixth category from the top (Role-Playing). The next number indicates that you should look at the third sub-forum out of the three in Role-Playing (still from the top). The next few numbers indicate the seventh out of 23 topics and the first out of two posts. The final number is not -3/155, but instead indicates that the actual answer consists of the words 3-6 out of the 155 words in the first post. These words were "Charles Xavier Reed, Jr."

Sadly, there were no submissions again this week. >_>

I did forget to put up the prizes last week, but oh well. >_<

Riddle #4 (10/14/2009)
WZMM SZ WDZ KFSGZC TN IZTIMZ BDT ZJCKZU WDZ IVHLDAL/ITAVTK RHS GJURZ TK JAQTF MZJRFZ.

Prizes: 1st-900 yen; 2nd-700 yen; 3rd-500 yen

Answer #4
"15"

The line of letters was a simple cryptogram. Once decoded, it read "Tell me the number of people who earned the Psychic/Poison Gym Badge on Aikou League."

And yes, it was possible to decode. =P

I would have accepted "12" as an answer as well, because the Hall of Fame on Aikou listed 12 winners of the badge instead of the 15 listed in the Psychic/Poison Winners Thread.

First Place-Prostiboots
Second Place-None
Third Place-None

Boots was also the only one to submit an answer, btw. >_<

Riddle #5 (10/22/2009)
The men and women merely players. (2: 2-6, 1-6, 2-1, 1-2)
Or give me death. (2: 1-1, 2-3, 1-3, 1-5, 2-1)
One giant leap for mankind. (2: 1-2, 2-4, 1-1, 2-3)
Eat cake. (2: 1-4, 1-4, 2-5, 2-6)
The destroyer of worlds. (3: 1-5, 3-9, 2-4, 2-1, 1-4, 1-6)
Everyone becomes a poet. (1: 1-5, 1-4, 1-3)
Technology for all the wrong reasons. (3: 1-7, 2-8, 3-3, 2-1)
Not words but meanings. (3: 2-1, 3-1, 2-2, 1-1)

Solve the anagram and you'll get what you have: a false opposition.

Prizes: 1st-1500 yen; 2nd-1300 yen; 3rd-1200 yen

Answer #5
"Pseudoantidisestablishmentarianism"

The phrases listed were the ends of famous quotes. The bolded number in the parentheses next to each quote referred to how many words were in the name of each author. The authors were as follows: William Shakespeare, Patrick Henry, Niel Armstrong, Marie Antionette, Julius Robert Oppenheimer, Plato, Richard Buckminster Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau. The first number in each ordered pair referred to which name to look at, and the second number referred to the position of a certain letter in the word. For example, 2-1 for the first semi-quote referred to the first letter of the second word of the author's name, the first 's' in Shakespeare. Following this process for all the pairs gives you the anagram letters needed to find the word "pseudoantidisestablishmentarianism." I even told you that the answer was a false opposition. o_0

No one submitted answers in the two whole months that the riddle was up, so I have decided to move on to an easier riddle. >_>

Riddle #6 (12/15/2009)
Anagramatically speaking, what is equal to eleven plus two?

Prizes: 1st-650 yen; 2nd-500 yen; 3rd-350 yen

SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER THE EASY RIDDLE. GAH.