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This is Jack's Basic Instruction FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for players, new and not-so-new, written by players. It is unofficial and reflects the views and opinions of many but not all. Originally created by Ray_A37817, this page is now hosted and maintained by dswtan (Stewart).
State of the game at Summer 2003: A steady stream of puzzles have appeared over recent months, resulting in a complete turnaround for the game! At the time of writing, nearly 150 puzzles are available! Sometimes they are released in enormous (compared to previous years anyway) batches! As we're now over halfway of the potential 216 in the Immediate though, and with puzzles coming at a relatively steady pace, there is a sense of the game eventually coming to completion, whatever that may mean. This is reinforced by three special Gatherings organised by the SKs together with local Stoners, to be held in Winnipeg (July), London (August), and New York (September). A documentary film of the game and its players is said to be being made at these events, so try to get to at least one! [dswtan]
State of the game at December 2002: WOW! We're back in business folks! NEW PUZZLES!!! *And* the SKs seem to have fixed all the broken closes and whatnot -- even The Movement is working!! WOW!! :-) [dswtan]
State of the game at October 2002: Well, shock horror, the elusive SKs may not be talking much, and new puzzles are likewise rare (was the last one really back in February, Stored Mind?), but the site is now working much more reliably, and some say it's actually faster! This seems to have resulted from a traumatic server move from California to Manitoba earlier this year, and later a machine upgrade. Some puzzles are still broken though, which is a complete pain, and the Movement seems permanently offline (but why aren't you already using The Stone Unturned anyway!). The known broken puzzles are: Subtext 1, Subtext 2. These unfortunately actually stop current players solving all the available puzzles (72 total) and reaching the secret "Lodge". :-/ There are also a few other "cracks", including dead links that used to be alternative answers or closes, and in Subtext 3, 7:C and 7:7 both read Pop 4. (Mail me if you know of any other issues please.) However, we have to admit that there is progress in the right direction here at last, after a long hiatus. Watch this space for further developments. [dswtan]
State of the game at April 2002: There have been many technical problems with the Stone website in recent months, which have been very frustrating for a number of regular players. The SK's have been silent on the matter -- but they are notoriously quiet creatures. No one knows whether these problems will be solved or not. Puzzle releases continue to be sporadic at best, but then they always had that tendency. It must be up to each individual player to interpret these events as significant of the state of the Enigma or not. If you'd like to discuss this and the game is down, please go here. Good luck to us all! [dswtan]
The Stone is a game, a series of puzzles, a pastime, a mystery. It's up to you to find and solve the puzzles and mysteries. Learning to find the right question is as important as finding the answers.
Everyone started out here just the way you are doing now. You're not alone. There is a growing community of people to aid in the search for answers. It is not believed to be a competition, though some people might like to think that. Many of us choose to cooperate and share our knowledge in order to gain the advantage of other people's viewpoints. I encourage you to do the same.
StoneKeeper: One of the people who work for Abject Modernity. Also known as an 'SK'. They are the administrators and keepers of the stone site and are thought to be in possession of the secrets of the universe. There are some players who don't quite believe this. They are also more elusive than Lord Lucan and Osama Bin Laden put together. :-/
Stoner: Also known as a player. A person who owns a registered stone. You are one, as am I. Sometimes referred to as a stonewearer, stoneowner or stoneplayer.
The Enigma: The Grand Mystery! Also known as the "Metapuzzle". This is not the puzzles directly included in the Immediate, but solving all or most of the Immediate is thought to be an important part of understanding the overall Enigma. No player at this time knows for sure what it is though many have theories. There are clues and hints scattered throughout the site in general, and on the answer pages in particular.
The Immediate: The grid allowing access to the puzzles that form the most obvious and most accessible part of the game. Looks like a cube or octagon grid. It is believed by some players to be a hypercube because of the curved lines seen inside the grid. Quote from Irageo: "Puzzles can be solved in any order, and there's really no such thing as an 'easiest' puzzle. So just browse around the Immediate, and see what strikes your fancy." As of the redefinition of the site, which occurred on the 9th April 2000, players now start with a limited selection of puzzles that are considered by most to be good/easier for those new to the stone. As you solve them more will become accessible.
The triangular 'cells' containing white dots are the locations of puzzles. The list way back at April 9th 2000 is listed below -- for a more up to date list, and lots of other information about the puzzles, see The Determinant or alternatively see Poobah's handy puzzle list (Aug03).
| 0:2 The Daymaker 0:9 Skywatcher 3:0 Hindsight 3:9 No Class 5:3 The Man 7:4 Letterhead 7:D Tow the line 9:D Fast Forward A:5 Liberaté C:7 The Pig |
0:4 Mice and Men 0:D The Undiscovered 3:1 The Spider 3:B April 3rd, 2001 5:4 The Forest 7:5 No Going Back 7:E The Gates A:0 Trivial C:1 Genesis C:9 Finnegan's Wake |
0:5 Perspective 2:B Unforgotten 3:3 The Waiting 4:D To Focus 5:6 The Call 7:8 Subtext 8:7 Subtext 2 A:1 Strained Class C:2 Pocket Change C:B Dimensions |
0:7 Dominion 2:C The King's Ransom 3:5 The Shadows 4:E Mean Street 5:7 The Tower 7:9 Bunches 9:A The Giants A:2 Fossils C:3 The Hunt D:2 The Haystack |
0:8 The Gift 2:E Exhausted 3:7 The Deep 5:0 Vantage Point 5:8 The Clouds 7:B Questions 9:C The Bug A:3 Magic C:5 Manifesto |
The Commons: The place to communicate with the entire
registered stone community. All of the puzzles have had hints posted there
-- such hints we generally call "nudges". Look for
help there first and then if you still can't solve the puzzle post a request, or
contact someone -- or use the online resources posted later in the FAQ. Nudges for
the puzzles in The Immediate are posted in the "PG" (Playing the Game) board. The Commons is
divided up into a number of such boards, allowing discussions to take place in specific topic areas. What the other boards
are used for is discussed in the "Welcome to the Community" page at the Stone site. Read it carefully.
Note: a very important skill to learn in playing the game efficiently, and treating your fellow
Stoners politely, is that of "searching the Commons". There are a series of controls at the bottom
left panel of the Commons screen when you are in a board, and those controls allow you to search the
messages posted previously by you and other Stoners in various flexible ways. Try the
controls out and see how they work. Practise. Get into the habit of searching for the answers to
your queries by searching in this way first, before you post a new question. New questions are
generally welcomed and we are a tolerant Community, but there are years of previous posts now,
representing a vast archive of answers to many questions. You'll learn many wonderful things by
searching the Commons. You'll do yourself a favour by searching there. -- Stewart
The SKs (stonekeepers) sporadically post the following message. Pay attention to it.
The Commons is a place for Stone owners to discuss all manner of things related to the Stone Enigma and other aspects of modern life. It's a great place to get help when you're having trouble with a puzzle or other elements of the game, and you need a gentle nudge in the right direction. It's also a great place to help other players.
The rule of thumb within The Commons is to keep your clues cryptic and carefully worded so to further the spirit of the puzzle.
This means offering clues that will help others with the direction they're moving in, but never giving away too much. Your cryptic advice should be worded to 'inspire' the creative re-thinking of puzzle information, alternative research angles, and other sorts of new directions that will still allow the player to solve the puzzle on their own.
Like 'spotting' for a weight lifter.
We understand there will be certain times when more direct or detailed help is requested. If conducted privately, other players working toward solution will not be affected or influenced.
This msg will be re-posted periodically for the benefit of players entering the Enigma.
Thank you, and enjoy! :-)
-- The Stonekeepers
URLs: You know what they are, However, the SKs have assured us that fooling around with the URLs is not part of the game. Should you mess up something, there may be serious consequences, not to mention that you will be rather unpopular thereafter.
Others/Stonemates: You are matched with another player, your "Other". It's random and based upon both buying an identical stone. It's believed that the stone that matches yours was sent to a store within 3 months of when you registered. Patience.
It could sit in the store waiting to be sold for some time after that and then in the owner's possession before the owner registers. Your stonemate may not ever register or like the game. You may register and find you have an other right away. That's because you are the stonemate to an previous player. Your stonemate may not wish for an ‘other' and refuse to communicate with you. There are players in the wider community who will substitute.
Why are there stonemates? The SKs have said that you can solve the enigma on
your own without one, and that they will be of some unknown (to the players)
value or importance in the future.
A quote from the SKs:
"A
Stonemate is intended to be a metaphor for community. Having one fate-determined
cyberpal as a built-in part of the game suggests or indicates that working
together is an important dynamic. Fortunately, the players have extended the
sense of community farther and faster than one pairing of players could ever
begin to do."
Help/pleH: Find and read all the help pages. There are at least ten of them (!), including one called "Secret Help" (which used to be called "pleH").
Communities: Your 'community' is believed to be the top
three symbols on your stone. This belief is derived from Page 15 of the black
book that came with your stone.
An SK quote about the significance of
communities:
"The Players of The Stone are ahead of the game.
Communities, as defined by symbol-sets, will become more of a factor when
converted to an automated feature. This is anticipated when there are millions
of registered players. And there will be. Bonding within your Community now will
allow for stronger fraternity later."
"24/44": A player invented designation to show other players your progress. I.e., 24 puzzles solved out of 44 known. Some choose to include the unavailable puzzles of the Immediate and their designation reads 24/216. Some believe there are puzzles we don't yet know exist or are unsure of the total and use 24/??
"A12 3B4": This is seen at the bottom of many posts. The
'Find Your Other' page allows you to find people one at a time based upon their
stone symbols. These players have chosen to announce their symbols in order to
find close matches (believed to be a community). The numbers and letters used
are the names of the symbol graphic files found on the find your other page.
Which may or may not be in numerical order. There is a longer and better
explanation on MiCTLaN's web site or you can
go to TekBird's
comprehensive Community lists site.
By searching the commons for "A12" you will find
everyone who posted with the symbols A12.
As of the April 9th 2000
redefinition of the site, the 0 and A symbols have been switched. The consensus
is that we continue to use the old description method. In other words the
question mark is the zero and the pyramid is the 'A'.
Journeys: Journeys are real world treasure hunts for clues. They lie buried somewhere out there. See the "Buried Clues" section of the Stone Site, and the Journey pages mentioned in the links referred to later in the FAQ.
If you find a buried clue, you may receive a prize from the SKs. The way it's evolved is the first person to find the stone gets the prize. Teams are for searching and should you find yourself in a location with other searchers be advised that who ever finds it is under no obligation to share the prize or the ownership of the clue, though they are expected (but not obliged) to share the story of the hunt and a picture of the clue with the wider community. There are expected to be dozens of journeys around the world. There may be one close to you. More patience.
Gatherings: A gathering is a real life, face to face, in-person get together of players. They range in size from informal gatherings of a few people to organized events of 30 or more players. They're a chance to meet, get to know, and socialize with other players as well as a chance to discuss ideas and do a little brainstorming. Sometimes it's a heck of a party. It is always, only what the participants make of it.
The Unknown: The Unknown are the demo puzzles accessible to
all internet surfers. They are considered to be easy by most of the seasoned
players (though a couple are not that easy ;-)). As such, they are a good place to start to learn how to solve the Puzzles.
A quote direct from the SK's:
"The puzzles of The Unknown
are designed for beginners in the game. As a pre-requisite of sorts, we highly
recommend you solve them, and consider them. The content of The Unknown will be
dynamic. It may be adapted for several purposes as the central Enigma evolves.
This may be confusing to some, a relief to others."
How many puzzles: Not all the puzzles are open to you initially. As you progress through the Immediate by solving puzzles, more puzzles will become accessible to you. These puzzles are shown as white dots on the Immediate. You can also always check your progress by clicking the Profile link when logged into The Stone. It's at the bottom of the Commons screen for example. As of Summer 2003, nearly 150 puzzles are available in total. We expect -- though there are no guarantees with the SKs! -- 216 puzzles in total.
White dots, grey dots, and purple gerbils: Gray dots in the Immediate show which puzzles you've solved. White dots show which puzzles are accessible to you, i.e. which you allowed to solve. Almost, that is -- because when the SKs release a new puzzle, a white dot shows as normal, but when you click it, you receive warning to say that the puzzle is not yet available. Now Stoners, as a rule, are an impatient lot. Some will even spend days clicking that white dot until the puzzle becomes available! Generally, in less than a week, the puzzle will finally work. A recent trend in the game has been for people to note the time when this is first noted by a post to the PG board in the Commons with the subject "timestamp". This is also associated with another recent development, the purple gerbil. The latter is simply a player-produced record of who solved the latest puzzle(s) first -- a status known as "being in the Lodge". The Lodge is a secret place I can't tell you about... You get there when you solve all the puzzles available in the Immediate. The top purple gerbils are now recognised by the SKs and the latest winner will usually appear on the Community page at The Stone -- something they've recently (2003) started doing again after a long break.
BoB: One of the most well-known of the SK "tricks" to hide enigmatic information, "BoB" stands for "Black on Black" text. They are all over the game, so look out for them! There's even one at the end of this paragraph. Can't see it? Try selecting it with your mouse... Hello, I'm a BoB!
Where to buy a Stone: Physical Stones have become scarce, but are still available in a few places, particularly in the UK. Check on The Portal for example, and look for Netfysh, who are a particularly longstanding seller and member of the Community.
There are many players willing to help and a few post regular messages to the commons. Here are a few to get you started:
From DrRitch:
It's always tough in the beginning. These puzzles are tricky (don't let anyone tell you differently, either). You'll get the hang of it after you get a few under your belt. Just hang in there. Ok -- here goes (the primer):
Well, the first thing is to start solving puzzles!
*heh*
The puzzles
are in the "Immediate". Once there, the puzzles are indicated by white dots.
Select a dot, and near the bottom of the page, click the 'enter' button. You can
also select letters or numbers that are along both sides of the Immediate to
access a puzzle's coordinates. You may need this capability later to refer back
to puzzles for various reasons.
The Forest (5:4), To Focus (4:d), and Tow the Line (7:d) are good starter puzzles (or try a demo- The demo puzzles, while not "easy" per se, are a good way to get a feel for the game. You won't get credit for them, but you'll learn an awful lot. There are some excellent tips on this page as well. These can be found at: The Unknown. Also, I've noticed that many newer players are having some success with Strained Class (a:1).
Now, when you get stuck on one, and you will, don't feel bad. We all did (and still do). First thing is to read the "help"- it's an icon along the bottom row and looks like a question mark. This won't help in any obvious way, but it will give you a "feel" for the game.
Next is to "search the archives" from the Commons' main page for clues to that puzzle. Next would be to post in the Commons. Then you e-mail someone. This is just a general principle (you can mail someone and *not* post in the Commons, if you would rather do that).
A couple of tricks:
1) MOUSEOVERS (aka "rollovers"). A "mouseover" is when
you move your cursor over a section of the puzzle, and words will appear on the
lower bar of your screen (not in the puzzle itself). Generally, the cursor
should turn into a hand. To double-check for mouseovers, when you're on the
puzzle page, go to "view" and "view source" from the pulldown menu of your
browser. Look for "onmouseover" and "mouseout". What you find between those two
will be clues for the puzzle.
2) Along with mouseovers, there is "Black on Black" (also known as "BoB") text in some areas. This text can be found by "selecting all" from the "Edit" pulldown menu of your browser. Try this on the HELP page, and you'll see what I mean. -- DrRitch [ed. dswtan]
From Pelo:
From Krittany:
You will find it almost impossible to solve the puzzles without using the amazing power of searching the Internet. If you are new (a "newbie" ;-)) to searching the 'net and using search engines, you had better learn quickly! Here's a good starting point: About Searching
And here's a daunting directory of Search Engines: About Engine A-Z
But to help you out here, over the life of The Stone your fellow Stoners have pulled together many of the best links and these are now to be found here: The Portal
As far as general search engines go, your best bet today (2002) is Google, but you might also like to try Copernic. However, a tip: you may find that it pays to use more than one engine! So try a few and see which ones help *you* the most. It's often a personal preference thing.
If you want to see what was on the old page for this section, go here.
If you get stuck, there are plenty of avenues you can turn to find help. Besides the Commons (you can find tons of help for almost every puzzle by searching the Archives), many players can be reached via E-Mail or ICQ (an instant-message program) or IRC (Internet Relay Chat). Be advised that it's custom to not provide answers but hints or nudges, even here. Here is some further advice from Stoners:
Talking is an important aspect to this game. It's up to you to decide how much of it you want to do. But, to get clues to puzzles, we've all had to ask someone, sometime. Find out who's cool and who's not, who's uptight and who's funny, or just who gives good "nudges". This can be important. There are a few related sites you may want to check, outside of the Commons. This is a *great* way to get hints from your fellow Players.
KEEP IT CRYPTIC. It's easy to mistakenly give away too much info in the Commons when helping out other players. Try to avoid specifics (including stuff you find on answer pages). This is just for your future reference.
Remember what you see as you search for these answers. Also, keep a log of
the answer pages after you solve a puzzle. There are secrets around every
corner, and many people (including myself) have not solved them all.
--
DrRitch
Rules On Posting
What's obvious to you isn't to at least one other person on the face of the Earth. Anything you say may have been overlooked or not seen at all by someone else. I can say that I have solved a couple of puzzles using clues I garnered from just reading other people's questions. The bottom line is that there is no way to tell for certain if anything you say might be the one thing that makes someone else go 'AHA!' Maybe if we all came up with a few 'common law' ground rules, we could flush out what exactly constitutes giving something away.
For example:Additionally...
When asking for help, usually general statements are best, since, I've found, most people will reply by e-mail anyway. Saying things like, 'I know the general theme of the puzzle,' 'I have the question,' 'I've got a close answer,' and such are perfectly acceptable. It's when you start going into details that people will start to get picky with your posting skills. If people need more information to help you, they will ask. Chances are they will ask you what you have so far anyway.
The other resources (ICQ ActiveList, IRC chat room, etc.) are available for help too.
The feature 'Search the Commons' is a very valuable tool- use it first. You can find every puzzle referenced, since everyone finds different ones difficult. You might just find the hint you need without having to ask for help.ICQ
ATTENTION NEWBIES!!!!....Posted by Pelo on 12/3/1999
ICQ (read 'I seek you') is a software program that allows users to communicate with each other via the internet using a contact list.
Its distinct advantage over e-mail is that once you are connected you can see who else from your contact list is connected at the same time. This can provide you with instant access to help for solving puzzles. ICQ also allows you to chat with other users, send files, urls, and other options.
Contact lists can be built by exchanging ICQ# with other users or by joining Activelists. Activelists are ready made contact lists on specific subjects that you can join. If privacy is an issue you can ignore users and/or require authorization for them to add you to their lists.
The ICQ software is available free of charge for most operating systems at this address: http://www.icq.com
However please note that only the windows X version (ICQ99b) currently supports the Activelist plug-in.
A 'The Stone' Activelist is currently owned and operated by Iridescent. The list requires that she authorizes you. Upon requesting membership, please include your stone id, your ICQ nickname and your puzzle solved status, to prove you are an actual stoner.
The Activelist can be joined by searching the ICQ repertoire for 'theStone.net' or the list ICQ# 48726530
If you cannot join the Activelist [which Macintosh users seem unable to do -- Stewart], you are welcome to search the commons, for other player's ICQ numbers.
Good luck
Pelo A19-957
Additionally...
ICQ ActiveList: theStone.net
Posted by Iridescent on 12/15/1999
Also, a note from the person who has to approve all ya'll....
First, please be patient... I work, so you won't be added immediately, unless you catch me at home in the evenings...
Second, please don't just send me a blank request and expect it to be
approved (and a message simply saying 'well?' won't cut it either). the whole
point to approving rather than just automatically accepting anyone who tries
to join is so that i can make sure (at least to the best of my knowledge) that
only stone owners are members, so send me something to prove you own a stone.
-- Amanda
IRC
Just in case some of you do not know, we are meeting Sunday evenings at
DALnet #thestone for Stone related chat (sometimes it's even actually Stone
related!). The official chat is Sunday evenings at 9:00 PM Eastern, but there
is usually someone there 24 hours a day it seems.
-- MiCTLaN
IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. More information and software can be found by searching for 'IRC' on the internet. There are many networks and #thestone chat room is located on DALnet.
Be advised the AOL users may not be able to access DALnet due to a dispute between AOL and DALnet. DALnet was chosen because it is one of the better networks. As well there are a number of free software programs available. You will need 'pIRCh', 'mIRC' or the Mac equivalent.
...and the rest. There are quite a few discussion boards dealing with The Stone, and occasionally are advertised by various players. One was started by Dark_o_clock (a Stonekeeper) in Lycos.com. Another was started by Kayaker in Yahoo Groups. You may find this sort of thing more to your liking, instead of downloading ICQ or mIRC, or you may want to do all the above! -- DrRitch [edited by dswtan]
See the Community section of The Portal for all the places to go! -- Stewart
By Stoners & Miscellaneous:
|
Irageo Frogmistress |
Pelo MiCTLaN |
krittany megeen |
Iridescent DrRitch |
Crooty Mastethom |
| Stewart (real name) | dswtan (stone name) | dswt@earthlink.net |
| Jack_F_F (IRC name) | Ray_A37817 (stone name) | raybosek@shaw.ca | ICQ # 31635244 |
