Nancy Drew: Danger By Design Hints

Help, bars! How do I get back out again?

  • 1 of 14: This is the hardest puzzle in the game. Read to the end of this hint to get the answer.
  • 2 of 14: It's a code, and a real stinker at that --
  • 3 of 14: -- or rather, it's several codes. You're going to use one code to translate the phrase here into a string of letters, then use another to translate that string of letters into words.
  • 4 of 14: The first code you need is a variation on the date shift cipher, on pages 8-10 of the code book; the second is the M380. Here's a worksheet for you to use, if you want to try to do it on your own.
  • 5 of 14: The phrase here translates roughly as, "A final puzzle, dear friend." But it's more meaningful in French.
  • 6 of 14: Where else have you seen the phrase "cher ami"?
  • 7 of 14: That's what Noisette called her decoding machine, the M380. There must be some significance to Noisette using this phrase here, don't you think?
  • 8 of 14: Write the phrase "Une derniere enigme cher ami" and write 380 over and over underneath it, one number per letter. Then advance each letter the number of times written under it, and write the new letter under the number. For example, the first letter is U, and there's a 3 under it. U plus 3 is X (U-V-W-X), so U = X.
  • 9 of 14: But this gives you another gibberish phrase:
    So clearly we have to keep decoding.
  • 10 of 14: Now you need to enter that new series of letters into the M380. But how to set the wheels?
  • 11 of 14: Remember, you're looking for three Roman numerals. How about the numerals at the end of Noisette's letter on the pedestal?
  • 12 of 14: Set the wheels to X, IV, and III, then type in the letters you got earlier. Notice that this one is different from the other M380 code you did, in that you don't get one letter for every letter you type. As long as it doesn't make you start over, though, you're doing it right. If you typed accurately, you'll have this:
  • 13 of 14: Finally, you need to translate this into English. Use the French-English dictionary if you have trouble here; you'll find all these words on page 1.
  • 14 of 14: And now you have the code! Enter this into the door panel to open it and get out: