Time Tunnel

While traveling across the surface of Kreludor, Resistance agent Gorix happens upon a large vault, sealed with a formidable code-based locking mechanism. There's no telling what could lie beyond the massive stone door, but like any good spy, Gorix wants to know. Will his wit see him through?

Can't I just blast it open..?

How to Play

In Time Tunnel, your goal is to find the solutions to twelve randomly-generated codes, each of which is made up of four colored stones. While codes will only consist of combinations of white, black, blue and red in the beginning, as the game progresses more colors will be added: orange in the sixth code, and purple in the tenth. To submit your guess, simply click on the four round stones in the center of the code dial to select the colors you want, then press the large yellow Unlock button to the right.

If the guess you submit is incorrect, it will be returned to the outer edge of the dial with four circles next to it. These circles represent the stones, with the colors indicating whether a stone is in the correct position or not: green circles show that a stone is both the correct color and in the right position, orange circles show that a stone is the correct color but in the wrong position, and white circles show that a stone is neither the correct color nor in the proper position. You have twelve tries on each code in the game; if you're unable to solve it, the game will end with Gorix being unable to open the vault.

This is supposed to keep me out? HA!

As seen in the screenshot above, the first guess was all white stones, but the correct code contained no white. The same was true with all black, but when trying all blue a green circle appeared, showing that the code contained a single blue stone. Unfortunately, the order the circles are in has no bearing on the the proper positions of the stones, so there's no way of knowing which of the four blue stones is right.

Knowing that there is blue within the code, one of the stones was kept blue, while the rest were made red; the resulting orange and white circles show that the code contains no red, and that the blue is now in the wrong place. The blue stone is then moved to the second slot, and the rest filled in with orange; the result is a single green circle and three white ones. This shows that the blue stone is now in the correct place, and that there are no orange stones in the code. As the only color of stone left is purple, the combination shown in the center of the dial is the only possible solution to the code.

Scoring

Each code you're given starts with a time bonus of 120 points, which decreases at a rate of one point per second, effectively giving you two minutes to solve the code. While you won't get a game over from the time running out, you will only receive 25 points for solving the code. In addition to this, you will also receive 200 points upon beating the game, for a maximum possible score of 1,940. For a score high enough to get a gold trophy (usually above 1,800), you will need to solve every code in one or two tries, which requires considerable luck (and quite a bit of time spent restarting the game).

Strategy

The code shown in the How to Play section is quite simple, and was included to demonstrate the basic logic behind the game. This section will cover a more complex code step-by-step, explaining how to quickly find the solution. It's usually best to start by submitting four white stones, as it keeps your timer from going down, and lets you know how many (if any) white stones are in the code.

It looks like the code contains a single white stone (note the green circle), so next we should add three black ones, to check if there are any in the code and to figure out where the white stone belongs.

No blacks, and we seem to have displaced the white one. Let's try the white in another spot, and see whether there are any blues.

One stone is in the correct place, and another is not. As three of the spaces are occupied by blue stones, the one that's out of place must be the white; let's move the white again, and replace two of the blues. There's no way to know which blue is the correct one at this point, so we're just going to replace the two on the ends.

Ah, now this is telling. With three stones out of place, the blue's current placement can't possible be the correct one, as the white stone was there last time. Since we know that neither the blue nor white goes there, that means we have to move one of the reds. There are three stones out of place, however, and the reds can't switch place with each other; this means that the stone currently in the right place has to be red. As the white has to be moved and we've already tried placing it in the three other spots, the only place it can go is on the far right, meaning that the red should be moved to the blue's spot, and the blue to the white's.

Aha, so that's how it's done...

While some guesses may produce confusing results, just remember what you've learned about the code so far and apply it to the current situation. If you want a high score, however, you shouldn't spend too long thinking about your next move.

Quick Tips

• Remember where you've confirmed certain colors do not go.
• Focus on solving the codes, rather than on the time remaining.
• Introduce new colors while confirming the positions of existing ones to save time.
• If frustrated, forget about your score and take time finding the solution.

So, after all that, what lies hidden in this high-security chamber miles above the surface of Neopia?
Well, you'll just have to open it yourself to see...

Aw, Grundo Stix... Guess I'd better get to work.

This game guide was written by: Chesu