Puzzle 34: The Unearthed Advantage

Puzzle Walkthrough

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Start with the fixed times. Ridge Overlook happened at 11:30 and the Stone Ruins at 9:42. Harper began at 10:54 and the Carved Relic was found immediately after Harper’s start, so the Carved Relic must be at 11:30. That puts the Carved Relic at Ridge Overlook and locks Harper at 10:54 as the time immediately before it.

The Stone Ruins search began after a Climbing attempt and before the Shell Bracelet was found. With Stone Ruins at 9:42, the only time that can be “after Climbing” is if Climbing happened at 9:06; then the Shell Bracelet must be later than 9:42, so it cannot be at 9:06 or 9:42 or 11:30, leaving 10:18 or 10:54. But 11:30 is already Carved Relic and 10:54 is Harper’s find which was immediately before the Carved Relic, so the Shell Bracelet must be at 10:18. Thus the sequence is Climbing at 9:06, Stone Ruins at 9:42, Shell Bracelet at 10:18.

Jungle Creekbed started immediately before the Scouting search. That consecutive pair must be one of 9:06→9:42, 9:42→10:18, 10:18→10:54, or 10:54→11:30. Since we just set Scouting’s “after” to fit neatly, choose Jungle Creekbed at 9:06 followed immediately by Scouting at 9:42. That means 9:06 is the Jungle Creekbed location using the Climbing method, and 9:42 uses the Scouting method.

Foraging occurred earlier than Harper’s 10:54 start, so Foraging must be at 10:18 (the only remaining time earlier than 10:54 that doesn’t already have Climbing or Scouting). That also fits the earlier placement of the Shell Bracelet at 10:18, and it assures the Forager did not find the Guardian Token (a later constraint).

Use the “exactly one same-initial method and location” rule. The only possible same-initial pairs are Scouting at Stone Ruins and Climbing at Coral Shoreline. We already have Scouting at Stone Ruins at 9:42, so that consumes the single allowed matching pair and guarantees Climbing cannot be at Coral Shoreline. Our Climbing is at Jungle Creekbed, so the rule is satisfied.

Place contestants with the adjacency constraint. Natasha did not start at 9:06 and did not use Wading, and her start time was adjacent to Finn’s. Finn began earlier than Dante. The only consistent assignment is Finn at 9:06 and Natasha at 9:42 (adjacent). With Harper fixed at 10:54, the remaining times are 10:18 and 11:30 for Dante and Jane. Ridge Overlook at 11:30 is not Dante, so Jane is 11:30 and Dante is 10:18. This also satisfies “Finn earlier than Dante.”

Now place locations with the remaining constraints. We already set Jungle Creekbed at 9:06 and Stone Ruins at 9:42. We know the 10:18 location differs from Jane’s location and one of those two is Coral Shoreline. Jane is at Ridge Overlook (11:30), so 10:18 must be Coral Shoreline. That leaves Ancient Tree Hollow as the only unassigned location for Harper at 10:54.

Assign the remaining methods. We have Climbing at 9:06, Scouting at 9:42, and Foraging at 10:18. The only methods left are Digging and Wading for 10:54 and 11:30. The “Jungle immediately before Scouting” condition is already satisfied, so pick Wading for 11:30 and Digging for 10:54. This fits Natasha’s “not Wading” and preserves the single same-initial pairing.

Finish the items. We already have Carved Relic at 11:30, Shell Bracelet at 10:18, and the Guardian Token is restricted: not by the Forager, not at 11:30, and not at Coral Shoreline or Jungle Creekbed. The only remaining legal place for the Guardian Token is Stone Ruins at 9:42. Digging uncovered either the Empty Satchel or the Weathered Map Shard; Harper at 10:54 is the Digger and she did not find the Weathered Map Shard, so she must have uncovered the Empty Satchel. That leaves the Weathered Map Shard for Finn at 9:06.

Answers

Finn searched the Jungle Creekbed at 9:06 using Climbing and found the Weathered Map Shard.
Natasha searched the Stone Ruins at 9:42 using Scouting and found the Guardian Token.
Dante searched the Coral Shoreline at 10:18 using Foraging and found the Shell Bracelet.
Harper searched the Ancient Tree Hollow at 10:54 using Digging and found an Empty Satchel.
Jane searched the Ridge Overlook at 11:30 using Wading and found the Carved Relic Fragment.

Natasha has the Guardian Token.

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