Nancy Drew 27: The Deadly Device Hints

How do I turn the power off?

• 1 of 9: After you find your way to the bedroom area in the lounge, the only thing to do is use the clock to go to sleep. But it doesn't last long. When the alarm goes off, head for the hallway, and you'll be told what to do. (The guy who was ordering you around is Gray, the facility's Security guy. You'll see more of him later.)
• 2 of 9: Before you do anything else, notice that there are some plastic cable ties on the bottom right two switches. You'll need to take them off before you can start solving the puzzle. (They go into a paper bag labeled "evidence" in Nancy's inventory.)
• 3 of 9: Now we can start turning the switches off. The goal is to get them all black, with no red or green lights. Read to the end of this hint for the fastest way to do this.
• 4 of 9: The puzzle is timed, but you have a full eight minutes real time, which is plenty. The only time I ever got caught was once when my real-world phone rang and I forgot to pause the game (sigh).
• 5 of 9: Each switch goes through three steps: black to red to green, then back to black again. So if a switch is currently green, one click will make it black; if it's red, it takes two clicks to get to black.
• 6 of 9: Each switch also affects the two above it and the two on each side, in a + pattern. So if you're not careful, you'll end up turning on more switches than you turn off.
• 7 of 9: The trick to these kinds of puzzles is to plan to leave yourself a + shaped pattern of lights the same color, so you can shut them off last.
• 8 of 9: Sometimes the best way to do this is click on the edges first. Save your game, then experiment to see what works.
• 9 of 9: Still stuck? Well, whatever works for you is the right way, but here's how I did it:
  • Power Grid 1, Amateur
  • Power Grid 1, Master
  • What do I do once the emergency is over?

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