Masquerhode- The Competigame is Solved!

[The Bishop]

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=1003
My Dear Readers,

I am delighted to say that the competition to discover The Last Errand Of The Bishop has been solved by Mr Hiram K Hackenbacker - how appropriate that it should be 'Brains' who worked out the solution!

Last night there was a flurry of correspondence between Father Unwin, Matthew and Mr Hackenbacker. The final solution will not be available until the last episode review has been published but it is certain that Hiram knows what to do.

As it happens, he has only solved 50% of the master clue but by availing himself of the secondary clues he has arrived at the answer. I am personally delighted that he has used a combination of master clues and secondary clues as it shows that both were of value.

I have Mr Hackenbacker's permission to publish the aforementioned correspondence and it has been 'an intellectual treat to see the way he has grappled with this problem" as Professor Moriarty once said to Sherlock Holmes.

For those of you who have been disappointed there is still the opportunity to work out the other 50% of the master clue that I mentioned above. When the answer is known you might well say "How absurdly simple!"

Bonus Clue: How often do people use the word ERRAND these days?

[The Bishop]

FROM: HIRAM K HACKENBACKER

Ah Bishop, there you are.

I am intrigued by rumours of your so called "last errand" and I a trying to discover what it might be. I don't want ask for any additional information as that would be cheating, but I have come up with a few outlandish theories. Permit me to humour you with them.

I think each clue points to a number and counting the numbers, and taking each number from each clue, that gives:

Clue 1: Number of letters in BISHOP = 6

Clue 2: 15 and 6 (Given in clue)
Also "OF" is capitalised in the clue and in the alphabet, "O" is the 15th letter and "F" is the 6th, leading me to conclude that each answer is a letter and the letters combined solve the mystery. More on that shortly.

Clue 3: Matthew's position in Hall of Fame = 3 (Third)

Clue 4: Number of letters in CATCH = 5

Clue 5: This is a long shot, but "reverps"ing "Hobson", you could argue the clue is "No 'S' but 'H'" (as in Halt). Assuming that gives an H for the answer.

Clue 6: Number of spaces Matthew moves to land on The BISHOP = 7 (as first space not counted when moving)

Summary-most:

So that gives the answers 6, 15 and 6, 3, 5, H, 7

Equating the numbers to letters, that gives: F, O, F, C, E, H, G
OR if clue two is 15+6 = 21 then that gives: F, U, C, E, H, G

And now I'm stuck, because in all honesty, I'm probably on the completely wrong track.

Any fair advice or thoughts that don't constitute an advantage would be appreciated.

[The Bishop]

FROM: FATHER UNWIN AND MATTHEW

Hello Hiram,

Thanks very much for your interest and questions. I will try to reply honestly by saying where you are on the right lines and where not! The actual solution to the puzzle is very simple indeed and uses a consistent methodology which is evident in every episode review.

All other clues - the ones that people seem to notice - are supporting clues and are not actually necessary but they tend to point you in the same direction. Supporting clues always involve a Word and sometimes involve a Number.

Clue 1: The word BISHOP is a secondary clue of the word-type and 6 is also a secondary clue of the number-type.

Clue 2: The word OF is a secondary clue of the word-type but you are looking for whole words and not letters.

Clue 3: You are getting warm. Matthew's position in the Hall Of Fame is very important.

Clue 4: The word CATCH is important but the number of letters is not.

Clue 5: Nice idea. The word Halt has been replaced with Salt. SALT is an anagram of the word-type clue you are looking for. Possibly that anagram will help you with the master solution..

Clue 6: I understand what you mean and you are getting very warm. However, it is not The Bishop that you are trying to land on but Matthew. You may say that Matthew is not in this picture but then maybe you are not looking in the right one!

As I have said, forget about letters and concentrate on words if you are going to solve the puzzle using the secondary clues. You have identified some of the words but you need to find a way to arrange them and Clues 3 and 6 are your best bet! The anagram in Clue 5 could help you unlock the master riddle if you think outside the box.

Best of Luck!

From Father Unwin and Matthew

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=1007
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=1008

[The Bishop]

FROM: HIRAM K HACKENBACKER

Thank you for your assistance, Father. I have a most urgent message for you and Matthew.
I believe that after studying the 6 reviews so far, Matthew's position in the Hall of Fame denotes the position of the word in the answer to the riddle. Assuming the answer to the riddle is 13 words long (for 13 epidoes/reviews), and taking Matthew's position into account for the answer to each review so far, I have come up with this:

Clue 1: Word Bishop, Position 6
Clue 2: Word Of, Position 4
Clue 3: Word Spies, Position 9
Clue 4: Word Catch, Position 8
Clue 5: Word Last, Position 2
Clue 6: Word Errand, Position 3

The answer so far would be:

_ last errand of _ bishop _ catch spies _ _ _ _

Using common sense to fill in some blanks (until more reviews are available), I surmise the following:

The last errand of the bishop is catch spies _ _ _ _ (for creative purposes let's say last four words are "attempting to steal minimiser" until the next clues materialise)

Hopefully I'm somewhat closer to the answer now.

[The Bishop]

A MESSAGE FROM THE BISHOP:

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=83&pictureid=1294

Hello Hiram,

Thank you for your communication which was received with much excitement at my Whitehall offices last night. Agent Blake and I conferred long into the night and here is a picture taken by our special photographer to mark this occasion.

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=83&pictureid=1295

On the strength of it we had no alternative but to contact the Prime Minister, George Lomax, who has now been fully briefed.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER, GEORGE LOMAX:

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=83&pictureid=1293

George Lomax: "Congratulations, Mr Hackenbacker! You have solved, or will certainly eventually solve, The Last Errand Of The Bishop. You have fully earned the prestigious award of the Matthew headcast and the government recognises your achievement."

"As you know, this government believes in transparency and therefore I would respectfully request that The Bishop be permitted to record all the previous communications between you and he in an official Competigames Solution thread. Please confirm that you agree to all such correspondence being made public and the Bishop will do the rest. We are proud of you - Well Done!"

[The Bishop]

FROM: HIRAM K HACKENBACKER

Well this is most certainly a welcome surprise, Prime Minister! Naturally, I am more than happy to allow The Bishop to make any and all coorespondance public and I am most flattered by your kind words!

[The Bishop]

Matthew surveys the Hall Of Fame ...
[picture excluded]
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=83&pictureid=1296
Don't worry, Matthew has not reverted to using makeup - this picture was taken without flash.

[Steve Gerard]

Congratulations Hiram K Hackenbacker and keep up the engaging reviews The Bishop, simply brilliant.

[The Bishop]

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=72&pictureid=1003

My Dear Readers,

As you know, Hiram K Hackenbacker is the winner of the Competigames Competition and here is the final correct solution which he sent earlier today.

FROM: HIRAM K HACKENBACKER

Greetings Bishop,

I have continued to follow the competigames as promised and the almost-final solution I have arrived at is:

Clue 1: Word Bishop, Position 6
Clue 2: Word Of, Position 4
Clue 3: Word Spies, Position 9
Clue 4: Word Catch, Position 8
Clue 5: Word Last, Position 2
Clue 6: Word Errand, Position 3
Clue 7: Word The, Position 1
Clue 8: Word One, Position 11
Clue 9: Word To, Position 7 (I’m not 100% sure about this, but I think it’s correct)
Clue 10: Word The, Position 5
Clue 11: Word For, Position 10
Clue 12: Word Day, Position 13
Clue 13: Word More, Position 12 (This is a guess, based on the title of the remaining episode “More Haste, Less Speed)


The last errand of the bishop: to catch spies for one more day

All the best,
Hiram K Hackenbacker

Bishop's Footnote: The answer to Clue 9 is indeed 'TO'. The source of words is 'Recall To Service' and the position of Father Unwin in the grid indicates which word to select - he is in the 2nd square so the selection is the 2nd word, which is TO. Matthew's position indicates where the word TO is used in the final solution and this is position 7.

THE LAST ERRAND OF THE BISHOP: TO (position 7) CATCH SPIES FOR ONE MORE DAY