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Lessons you need for this case

The seven notes in this case are written in seven secret codes. You must have finished all seven code lessons to solve the whole mystery. If you skipped one, go back and learn it now.

Check the box next to each lesson you have finished.

    Check all seven lessons to open the case.

    How this case works

    1. Read about the case and meet the eight suspects.
    2. Crack the seven notes. Each one is written in a different code, and nobody will tell you which code is which.
    3. Answer three questions. Who keeps stopping the Thunderbolt? Why do they keep doing it? What is really wrong with the ride?

    Be careful with step 3. A wrong answer locks the answer box for 3 minutes. Guessing will not work. Cracking the notes will.

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    Teacher note

    Answers are inside. Enter the teacher password.

    What is going on

    The Thunderbolt is the newest roller coaster at Thunder Canyon Park. It is the tallest and fastest in the state, and it was supposed to open on Monday.

    It did not open. Every morning this week, the workers have found the ride switched off. Somebody comes in the night and turns on the emergency stop. It takes most of a day to get the ride ready again, and then it happens all over again.

    The park owner, Max Thrillmore, is losing $10,000 a day. He has hired you to find out who is doing it.

    What we know

    STOP
    The emergency stopIt is switched on every night, from the control box under the station.
    The control boxThe lock is not broken. It was opened with a key. Only four keys exist.
    The rideNothing is broken. Nothing is cut. Whoever is doing this is being very careful with the ride.
    The notesSeven notes with strange writing, found around the ride. All seven are in the same blue pencil.
    A fake mustacheFound in the bushes by the big loop. Vic Viper was seen wearing one just like it.

    Max Thrillmore says: "It is Vic Viper. He wants my park to fail. Catch him by Friday, because I am opening this ride on Saturday no matter what."

    The timeline

    • Last month. Vic Viper is caught taking pictures of the Thunderbolt.
    • Last Friday. Ruby Wrenn finishes her last check of the ride. Then she and Max have a long talk in his office, with the door shut.
    • Monday. Opening day. The ride is found switched off. The big opening is put off.
    • Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. The same thing, every single morning.
    • Thursday night. The night guard hears tapping on the steel track.
    • Saturday. Max says the ride will open, with or without an answer.
    Words to know: emergency stop. Every ride has a big red button that shuts everything off. It is there to keep people safe when something is wrong.

    Eight people are on the list

    Each of them has a reason, or has a key. An alibi is proof that you were somewhere else when it happened. Look at who has one.

    Max Thrillmore says: "Why are there eight? There should be one. Vic Viper. Who else sneaks around in a fake mustache?"

    The seven notes

    Every note has a secret message. First work out which code it is. Then crack it. The keys are in the Code toolkit tab. You need all seven notes to answer who, why, and what is really wrong.

    Notes cracked: 0 of 7

    Caesar Wheel Review the lesson

    Every letter slides the same number of steps down the alphabet. Find the secret number, then slide the strip. Look up each code letter on the top row. The real letter is right under it.


    Pigpen Cipher Review the lesson

    Each letter is drawn as the shape of the pen around it. Shapes from the second grid and the second X have a dot. Use this key for this case.

    Polybius Square Review the lesson

    Every letter is two numbers. The first number is the row. The second number is the column. I and J share a box.

    Spartan Scytale Review the lesson

    The letters are not changed. They are only mixed up. The message was written on a strip of paper wrapped around a rod. Wrap the strip around a rod of the same size and the words line up again.


    Read across each row, starting at the top. If the rod is the wrong size, you get nonsense.

    Rail Fence Cipher Review the lesson

    The letters are not changed. They are written in a zigzag on the rails of a fence, then read one rail at a time. Here is HELLO WORLD on two rails.

    H . L . O . O . L . . E . L . W . R . D

    Read the top rail, then the bottom rail, and you get the code: HLOOL ELWRD. To crack one, count the letters and split them into a top rail and a bottom rail. If the count is odd, the top rail gets the extra letter. Then zigzag: top, bottom, top, bottom.

    Tap Code Review the lesson

    Every letter is two sets of taps. Count the first set to find the row. Count the second set to find the column. C and K share a box.

    Two taps, then three taps, means row 2, column 3. That is the letter H.

    Book Cipher Review the lesson

    The code is a list of number pairs. You cannot read it without the right book, page, or sign. In this case, the first number is the line. The second number is the word in that line, counting from the left. Write down each word you land on.

    No book, no message. Think about where the note was found.