NGH
How do I open the safe inside the fireplace? 11 hints left

Hint 1

About the time you're discovering the fireplace, you'll get a message from Moira telling you that she's back home again. Go talk to her --

Hint 2

-- and she'll give you a book marked "Mom's Case Notes" in your inventory. The clue to opening this safe is in there, on the loose page just inside the cover.

Hint 3

But being Nancy's mom and a paranoid spy to boot, she's not going to just tell you the combination, oh NO. She's got to put it in the form of a logic problem, groan. Read to the end of this hint for the solution.

Hint 4

If you haven't solved a logic problem before, the way they work is that they give you a set of rules about the solution, but it's never quite enough. You have to apply the rules as you can, and when a solution contradicts the rules, it means it's wrong and you need to try again.

Hint 5

You might find this puzzle easier to solve with something like sticky notes with the letters and numbers written on them that you can move around on a table or something.

Hint 6

For example, in the Amateur puzzle, it says that the vowels are in the middle column in the top two rows. That means the A and the E are in those two top center spots, but you don't yet know which is on top.

Hint 7

Ah, but you do, because another rule says that the top row is BEF; that means the second row is A. Another rule says that E is above H, which is above 6. So the third row is H, and the 6 is somewhere below that, but we don't know where yet. See how this works?

Hint 8

So work your way through the rules and see how far you get. If you're sure of everything but two or three letters or numbers, you can try a little experimentation -- that is, get everything else set, then change those two numbers and see if you stumble across the right answer.

Hint 9

Give up? Okay, here's the solution -- but as usual, this won't work until you've gotten the book from Moira and at least looked at the first page.

Hint 10

Inside the safe you'll find a box with some interesting contents and a locked cylinder cipher. Yes, another level of security, folks.

Hint 11

The unlocked box holds a fly-shaped listening device (it's a bug, see? Big jokers, these spies), some more notes from Kate, and an old MP3 player that's out of juice.

Guide help

This is the low-spoiler guide for "How do I open the safe inside the fireplace?" puzzle in Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy. Unlike in normal walkthrough, you get gradual hints on how to solve the puzzle. Click the big button below to see your first hint. If the hint contains a spoiler, you will be warned about it before clicking.

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Hints written by Lynn S. HendricksBuy me a coffee
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