From TES issue 20 (March 2003)

Series 2. Level 1.
PICK A CARD
This really was a minor puzzle in series 2, but is a memorable and interesting Knightmare room. The chamber had three doors on the far wall. As the dungeoneer entered, these became blocked by three large playing cards that came flying into the room. The left-hand door was blocked by the King of Diamonds, the middle door by the Queen of Hearts, and the right-hand door by the Jack of Spades. There was also a card on the floor in front of the dungeoneer, which had a heart, a diamond and a spade symbol on it. Treguard explained that one of these symbols would unlock a door for the team if the dungeoneer stepped on it. Here some prior knowledge was required, but there was no trick to the game: the dungeoneer had to pick a card according to the clue they had been given, and the corresponding door would open. Three teams attempted this and three teams succeeded, and they were all given the vital clue by Folly the jester, who was closely linked to this challenge. This is not surprising, as Folly himself may well have jumped out of a pack of cards at some point.

Winning dungeoneer Mark was given this challenge at the very start of his quest, when Folly told him to "chase the lady", meaning the Queen of Hearts. Mark stepped on the heart symbol and the Queen disappeared from the doorway. Then, at the beginning of Neil's quest, Folly told him to look out for the red king, meaning the King of Diamonds. Neil stepped on the diamond symbol and the King disappeared from the doorway. Similarly, Folly told Jamie to look for a black knave early in his quest, meaning the Jack of Spades. Jamie stepped on the spade symbol and the Jack disappeared from the doorway. All three teams completed the challenge without much hesitation or discussion. As for what would have happened if the team had missed or ignored Folly's clue, who knows? I don't think we would ever have found out though, as even Neil's team - who couldn't spell out a simple word like shovel - unlocked the right door with no trouble.

Difficulty: 3 No trouble whatsoever, really, but a clue was required.
Killer Instinct: 1 Jamie did have to answer a riddle for his clue, I suppose.
Gore Factor: 1 Life force would have run out, undoubtedly.
Fairness: 10 A good puzzle, but by no means too much of a challenge.

login to vote