Solution: Fortune Cookies
Answer: PROSPERED
Written by Eunice Wong, Sim Hong Jhun, Adib Surani
This duel with a demon consists of nine rounds. In each round, the demon will play a fortune cookie which is actually a cryptic clue, while players will have a choice between two fortune cookies which are also cryptic clues. The cryptic clues and their answers are as follows:
Demon’s cookies in round order:
| Round | Fortune Cookie | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fifth in Spanish held by Joaquin Torres (6) | QUINTO | JoaQUIN TOrres |
| 2 | Deity replacing mansion's front with quartz finish is a monster (8) | GODZILLA | GOD + (quart)Z + (v)ILLA |
| 3 | Grit solemnly without end (6) | GRAVEL | GRAVEL(y) |
| 4 | Describe distracted porter (6) | REPORT | PORTER anag. |
| 5 | Humped animal eating honey initially for a long while is one prone to quick change (9) | CHAMELEON | H(oney) in CAMEL + EON |
| 6 | Prunes are sources of some nutrition in piecewise servings (5) | SNIPS | "some nutrition in piecewise servings" initials |
| 7 | Shake, swing first, yaw backwards (4) | SWAY | S(wing) + YAW< |
| 8 | Confusing tone is part of melody (4) | NOTE | TONE anag. |
| 9 | Rotten chewed up rice for policeman (7) | OFFICER | OFF + RICE anag. |
Players’ cookies in order drawn:
| No. | Fortune Cookie | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May the vale get rearranged into lead or mercury (5 5) | HEAVY METAL | MAY THE VALE anag. |
| 2 | Screen flipped Indian bread after the first day (7) | MONITOR | MON + ROTI< |
| 3 | Test former lover before noon (4) | EXAM | EX + AM |
| 4 | Last lotus listens, obtains wool (6) | SHEARS | lotu(S) + HEARS |
| 5 | Strange - one cloth made of flax has the middle cut out (5) | ALIEN | A + LI(n)EN |
| 6 | Sailboat found in Connecticut terminal (6) | CUTTER | connectiCUT TERminal |
| 7 | In Rome, three in the present and ten in the past is something that no longer exists (1-3) | T-REX | TRE + X |
| 8 | God is firstly very unearthly, loving, and is able (6) | VULCAN | “very unearthly, loving” initials + CAN |
| 9 | Love symbol moving top to bottom for planet (5) | EARTH | HEART -> EARTH |
| 10 | Tabloid venom without end (3) | RAG | RAG(e) |
While solving the cryptic clues and/or clicking on fortune cookies to try to defeat the demon, solvers may realise that each fortune cookie answer in fact represents one of the five playable moves in Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock (RPSLS), a variant of Rock Paper Scissors popularised by the TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
Also relevant to the game and this puzzle are the verbs that describe how each pair of playable moves interacts (or, as the demon itself asks: "How did you do that?"), e.g. “Scissors cuts Paper”, “Paper covers Rock”, and so on.
In round order, indexing the damage dealt each round into the corresponding RPSLS verb will yield the final answer PROSPERED.
| Round | Demon’s Fortune Cookie (RPSLS move) | Player’s Winning Fortune Cookie (RPSLS move) | Verb | Damage | Extracted letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUINTO (Spock) | MONITOR (Lizard) | Lizard POISONS Spock | 1 | P |
| 2 | GODZILLA (Lizard) | HEAVY METAL (Rock) | Rock CRUSHES Lizard | 2 | R |
| 3 | GRAVEL (Rock) | EXAM (Paper) | Paper COVERS Rock | 2 | O |
| 4 | REPORT (Paper) | SHEARS (Scissors) | Scissors CUTS Paper | 4 | S |
| 5 | CHAMELEON (Lizard) | CUTTER (Scissors) | Scissors DECAPITATES Lizard | 5 | P |
| 6 | SNIPS (Scissors) | ALIEN (Spock) | Spock SMASHES Scissors | 6 | E |
| 7 | SWAY (Rock) | VULCAN (Spock) | Spock VAPORISES Rock | 5 | R |
| 8 | NOTE (Paper) | T-REX (Lizard) | Lizard EATS Paper | 1 | E |
| 9 | OFFICER (Spock) | RAG (Paper) | Paper DISPROVES Spock | 1 | D |