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Nancy Drew 27: The Deadly Device Hints

How do I use the Key Cards program?

  • 1 of 16: This is another section that's heavily protected, blast it. Read to the end of this hint for complete directions.
  • 2 of 16: First, we need a long password. There are no specific hints about this, but you'll find a gentle nudge on the keycard reader on the right side of the desk.
  • 3 of 16: There's a sticker of a gear with a U in the middle and an arrow pointing left. Hmm.
  • 4 of 16: You may have noticed other stickers around the place. Maybe you'd better see how many you can find.
  • 5 of 16: In fact, there are 12 of them altogether, 11 in this room and 1 in the workshop. Find them all and either draw them or have Nancy take a photo of them before you continue.
  • 6 of 16: Now it's probably occurred to you that these letters need to go in some specific order, but what order?
  • 7 of 16: There are 12 of them, and they go in a circle. To me, that suggests --
  • 8 of 16: -- a clock face. Put them in order from 12 o'clock to 11 o'clock, and that's the password you need.
  • 9 of 16: It's just a random collection of letters that doesn't spell anything, but here it is:
  • 10 of 16: And we're in -- but now comes a second level of protection. Bugger! Again, read to the end of this hint for complete directions.
  • 11 of 16: If you picked up the paper with the colored squares from the workshop cabinet, what you'll now see is a blank white board in the middle, a jumble of colored squares at the upper right, and an orderly pile of colored squares at the lower right. The goal here is to put the loose squares into the white workspace to make an exact copy of the pattern at the upper right.
  • 12 of 16: This puzzle looks comparatively easy, but it's not. For one thing, some pieces overlap others, and you get different colors depending on which one is on top. So you have to put the pieces in place in the right order or spend a lot of time reordering them.
  • 13 of 16: For another, some pieces need to be rotated 90 degrees first (which you can do by right-clicking after you pick a piece up). And it's not always easy to see how the pieces that end up covered by other pieces are laid out.
  • 14 of 16: Here are detailed instructions and a picture to show you how to put the pieces in place:
  • 15 of 16: Once you think you have the pieces in the right place, put your blank keycard in the card reader on the desk and press the green "Send" button on the screen.
  • 16 of 16: Take the card and go next door to try it in the card reader next to the lab door. If the light turns green, you're in; if not, come back to Security and try again. The program will remember the way you left the design, so you don't have to start again; usually a little fine-tuning is all you need. But be aware of the time -- you might have to re-distract Gray to have enough time to finish safely.