The Lost Symbol - Symbol Quest
September 08, 2009
In anticipation of next week's release of The Lost Symbol, I've been playing the Symbol Quest game (found on the official Lost Symbol site).
While not of the scope and length I'd expected after playing other Dan-Brown-esque games, it was a fairly interesting game which may well hold some secrets to the theme of the upcoming novel.
Here's how it works:
We're presented with a flash-movie of an empty dial surrounded by floating symbols. The aim of the game is to drag the correct symbol into the centre of the dial based on the textual clues which appear below.
Each success turns the dial one degree - we're aiming for 33 in total - and have only three "lives" (unsuccessful attempts) to complete the game.
When we reach the targets of 11 and 21 successful matches, the screen refreshes to load a new set of symbols. When we reach 33, we're presented with a congratulatory screen, and a secret message if completed with no mistakes :)
Need some help?
To complete this game, you needn't be a symbologist by profession! Google helps a lot, and once you know roughly what you're looking for an image search may be handy too.Still stuck? While I won't offer the answers here (that would just spoil it!) I'll post some friendly tips instead.
The hints are randomly generated, so you're unlikely to receive them in this particular order.
Without end
Find the word for which the definition is "without end". Or simply guess by finding the symbol which seems to have no beginning or end.The "S" in Mozart's D.S
This one was difficult to Google for. It's a musical notation, not necessarily one used only by Mozart. Big hint (highlight text to view): from the sign.Leo's chaste neighbour
Look for Leo in a daily newspaper/magazine. Who is he next to? Her symbol should be easy to find from there.IESOUS CHRISTOS THEOU YIOS SOTER
Not too difficult. Google this term and you'll easily find some symbology text which explains it.Quicksilver
Find another name for this element, and locate the symbol ;)Scribe of Sidereus Nuncius was the first to see rings around it
"Rings around [??]". Big hint: it's a planet.Silence for Berlioz, Bizet and Bartok
Don't forget we're looking or symbols here. What do these three figures have in common? Once you know, Google for a symbol which would represent silence for these men.Circle's circumference divided by its diameter
Think math, and a symbol you may have learned about in school.Octothorpe
This is a wonderful name for a symbol found on a very everyday device. Google the word to discover what it is.Sounds like a resident in the Garden of Eden
This had me flummoxed for AGES. Google does not help unless you already have some clue. We're not looking for the female inhabitant here. Change the middle two letters of the other's name to find the symbol required.Hood ornament for Emil Jellinek's daughter
Google the last three words if you can't guess this one easily. You'll find the name of a hugely recognizable brand, which is named after this man's daughter.French Monarch's lily
Are there any symbols which appear like flowers on your page? Look at the dial for inspiration.Robert Langdon's favourite symbol
I knew this one from having played the Da Vinci Code Quest. Offhand, I can't remember where this appears in the Robert Langdon books, though I'm sure it must. In any case, this symbol is a symbolic representation of both Physical and Eternal life...Meditative chant
Think of what you could chant while sat cross-legged and meditating... Extra hint:there are only two letters in the word which this symbol represents.Opposing, yet unified
The symbol for this hint is easily recognisable as one which combines to opposites to complete a whole. You may guess this more easily if you think along the lines of Feng Shuei or Asiann symbology.Greek Goddess of Triumph
Despite having a fascination with Greek mythology, I did have to Google this one! Think of a goddess who may like to run very fast ;)Venus' Hand Mirror
Can you see a symbol which looks a little like a hand mirror? Of course, this symbol is representative of something more. If you're still confused, search for the symbol of Venus.The Golden Ratio
Search online for the Golden Ratio to find the word which this symbol represents. To confuse us, this symbol appears at an angle unlike those we may find quickly.
Proofreader's mark from the Latin "Delere"
Look up some Proofreaders symbols or marks to link this symbol with it's Latin meaning. An image search works particularly well for this one.Anagram of "Madras Pen"
One word. And use this anagram solver if you're still confused.The cross of Bogart's Falcon
Discover where Bogart's falcon may have flown from, then simply match this to a symbol on the screen. It doesn't look much like a bird, but think of wartime and you may well guess (as I did).Who uses this symbol
This is not a question. More of a statement. So the question really is "Who is WHO?". Find out and you'll have your answer.An age in the hair of Broadway
Okay, I'll admit I made a good guess on this one and thankfully was correct. I considered "the age of [??]" and located an astrology site for my answer.Casanova, Mozart and Houdini had this in common
Googling may not find answers quickly for this one. You need to think of something which may secretly unify these three men. I suspect also this is a major theme of The Lost Symbol.Zeus' Games
There is a particular event which has it's origins in ancient Greece. Can you find the symbol to represent this?The fork of Zeus' younger brother
A fairly straightforward answer, as the "fork" hint really sums up this symbol! Alternatively, you could discover Zeus' younger brother and find his watery symbol.Centaur archer
Another astrological symbol. What is the missile an archer fires? And who might this archer be?One eyed man + two ravens
This represents a particular Nordic god. Search using the words on screen to easily locate your answer.Alpha's antithesis
Alpha is a symbol of the Greek alphabet. It's antithesis is at the opposite end of the spectrum.Demisemiquaver
Consider musical notation, and look at the symbols on screen. This one is not difficult to guess."Fourth rock" from the sun
If Earth is the third rock fro the sun (to quote the title of a popular TV show!) what would the fourth rock be? Google the symbol for this to see your answer.Hieroglyph of seven body parts in one
These seven body parts are not necessarily limbs. They could even be seen as one particular part of the body.Latin "recipe" offered by doctors
This is a symbol your doctor may write when filling out a form after a visit. Letters are included in this symbol.Did you complete this quest?
I am intrigued by the message we hear after solving the Symbol Quest. Unfortunately I'm unsure if this Easter Egg will be applicable for us in the UK. Will we have the same appearance to our book as those reading in the US?In any case, I'm sure this particular aspect of the book will hold many more puzzles for those of us intrigued enough to solve them!
Let me know what you think by leaving your comments below - but no answers to the symbol quest please!
44 comments
Hi, I just solved it and heard the message, I've ordered my copy from Amazon.com, and can't wait to get it. :)
ReplyDeleteLeo's chaste neighbour???
ReplyDeleteI'm Stuck on that!! =(
An age in the hair of Broadway????
ReplyDeleteIm clueless on it!! ;(
Who is WHO.??..that is the question...The only one i cant find!!
ReplyDeleteFor Leo look up astrology :)
ReplyDeleteI've also heard the message from Dan Brown himself,I thought that this game was related to book itself for unlocking the secret of codes or something like that..
I've taken the time and made an answer key for this game. I'm just trying to decide what to do with it now. Darn game. There were a lot of symbols that were not used at all.
ReplyDelete"WHO" is short for an organization..
ReplyDelete"An age in the hair of broadway"; the symbol looks a bit like one of the words in that phrase.
----
I can't solve the "Sounds like a resident in the garden of Eden". How different are the other two letters in the middle??
Leo's neighbor is Scorpio
ReplyDeleteThe resident in heaven is Adam, the name of the symbole you're looking for sounds like Adam :) Hint, "it's da bomb"
ReplyDeleteFinished the puzzle :D ... nice
ReplyDeleteWhats the cross of bogarts falcon?
ReplyDeleteStuck on that!!
Finished it!!!
ReplyDeletebtw..whats the "book jacket" and who do we call?
Figured out the secret message at the end, decoded it, and :::ahem::: went there, so to speak. The secret message WILL NOT HELP YOU until the book's launch day. I already have checked and it is a red herring (that is extremely odd)...for now. Proof it will be there on launch day!!! One hint: jazzy muzak
ReplyDelete"Kafka, Poe, or Khepri embodied" search only for the names, and you'll get the answer. Hint it's a animal and VW car.
ReplyDelete@Matt H. - I wondered about this but was busy working last night and had no more time for puzzling. Thanks for letting us know. Hopefully the book cover will be the same in the US as in the UK so we all have a *chance* ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat job, you were more than helpful to solve this :-)
ReplyDeleteIronically enough, i did this at my work-pc and guess what(?) ... no speakers to hear the message!! Yeah hahahaha!!
Btw, it's not polite to tell the answer, when you were asked not to :-(
The Cross of Bogart's Falcon is an easy one, you don't need to spend hours at google searching or anything, the frase itself tells you what the symbol is... Just check one-by-one the words of the frase.
Just finished the game. I found your site while searching for answers.Thanks for the clues. If playing the game keep a record of questions and answers. It makes it easier to finish. Hope the jacket for the book in Australia is the same as US.
ReplyDeleteA little google, a little wikipedia and some inginuity helped. Great little game with a crappy payout. We should have at least gotten a preview of the first chapter or soemthing.
ReplyDelete"Each success turns the dial one degree ..."
ReplyDeleteActually, the pointer advances around the dial by about 10.6 degrees for each success -- at the finish of the sequence the pointer is at the 350 degree mark.
I really think that Mr. and Mrs. Brown are really letting their Harvard Symbologist play with his symbol this time. I’m sure that we’ll enjoy the book as much as Robert Langdon, and Mr. and Mrs. Brown did. I really didn’t know until this morning that we (the males) are represented by the fourth rock of the sun. And I’m having a very hard time to imagine Kafka, Poe or Khepri embodied in a bug. I live in Southern Asia. Therefore, Mr. Brown can’t possibly send the book to me even if I’m one of the fortunate winners. So I request Dan Brown to contact me at my mobile 01727652248. I’ll be waiting for the call, it’s very important that I talk with him. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI really think Mr. and Mrs. Brown need a vacation now that the third adventure of Robert Langdon is finished. They should get back to work on the fourth book featuring Langdon. Therefore, I suggest that they should take a trip to Egypt. The Pharaoh of Exodus calls them along with his other mummified brothers. I DON’T WANT TO WAIT ANOTHER FOUR YEARS LIKE THIS FOR MR. BROWN’S BOOK!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on winning the two cases Mr. Brown. I was wondering why you weren't publishing The Solomon Key. I've waited very long to read it. Now I think I'm gonna have a time of my life while reading it! I really can't wait. Not even a day! And there is another thing I wanted to say to you for a long time:
ReplyDelete“Bacio tua mano, Padrino.”
If I’m one of the thirty-three fortunate winners, then please send the book to ACID in New York. He lives in Franklin Ave and he is a rapper in STOIC BLISS band or you can email him at nkhan098@gmail.com or nkhan078@gmail.com. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI want to know another thing: who is with Langdon this time? Is it a new 'heroine?'
ReplyDeleteA THOUSAND atoms of Argon, Copper, Sulphur,
ReplyDeleteVanadium, Iodine, Tritium, Ruthenium,
Vanadium, Iodine Uranium and Sulphur,
Was bonded together first by the One
Whom callest thou 'The Heavenly Father'
That (the atoms) were then
Detained in the lifeless form by
Another mad seeker and slave of 'Dark' Art
You seek the seeker of the
Three-and-half hand long proportion that is divine,
Now I ask thee:
Can you guess what forms when the elements combine?
The Morbid Seeker seeks thee,
Mr. Brown, please answer me.
Dear Morbid Seeker,
ReplyDeleteYou are freaking creepy. Amanda can't possibly help you contact Dan Brown - I doubt she knows the man in person. So stop obsessing over Brown and his wife. Go read a book. A non-Brown book. Believe it or not, there are plenty of good ones. (:
- Alice
I can't find anything on the book jacket.. What about you?
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDeleteI was surfing after getting a perfect score, hearing the message, finding the clues on the book jacket, calling the number and emailing the people... I wanted to see if the contest is open to us Canadians... but I can't find any rules and regulations.
Anyone else have any luck?
I found the clues on the book jacket, but I can't turn it into a usable number from here in Australia. Has anybody else been able to call the number?
ReplyDeleteI was able to call the number last night.
ReplyDeleteYes, but are you in Australia?
ReplyDeleteNo, it's a local New York Number
ReplyDeleteYes ...I have found the phone number...and it is a local New York number.It says to send a message to Dan Brown.I did and I hope I did it fast.....
ReplyDeleteI am lost! I decoded the symbols on the bookcover and found who said the quote and deocoded the magic squre, but cannot find any clue to a phone number-- and yes I have found the numeber.
ReplyDeletewow if you're gonna tell people to google this and that you could've not written this page and eliminated it from the search results. useless!
ReplyDeleteat last, i already finished this game! i also wrote down the answers, just in case. hehe :)
ReplyDeleteHi PPl,
ReplyDelete213210585, Is this the one ???
EduardoC, Portugal
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI just finished the game! It is really difficult, but for us here in Greece, some symbols are easy to guess, because they are based on mythology and religion. Well, it took me actually 2 hours to restart the game, and restart again and again and again...
Dont forget to try google image search! This will help you very much, even if it seems not to do.
Thanks for your help Amanda! I wouldnt make it without your help!!
Greetings from beautiful Greece and enjoy Dan Browns new Novel, also available on I-Tunes Store Audiobooks!
Thanx for assisting with the quest.
ReplyDeletePity that the global jacket differs from the U.S. version... :-(
Hagriddler
The Symbol that is lost form our lives is God. You know, after reading the book, I kind of feel sorry for Zachary Solomon. But I can't stop thinking that he is one of those intelligent lunatics who thinks that his sacrifice would bring the Lord pleasure. Just a hint for the one who tells the one who calls himself the Morbid Seeker to read a non-Dan Brown book:
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the messages left by the Morbid Seeker, I felt something queer about the messages. But now that I have decrypted the messages I know why he's been interested in meeting Dan Brown. Those who have read the 55th chapter, and have read the ancient scriptures like I have, would know that the Muslims believe that Jesus is a mortal Prophet. I think he just wants to know how long Mr. Brown would remain sceptic after writing a book like the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.
Dear Morbid Seeker,
The answer of the puzzle you left is Marcus Vitruvius - the rediscoverer and the discoverer of Phi.
But what about the symbols that he placed there with no clues or answers?
ReplyDeleteTulipahan ratkaistua symboli-peli!
ReplyDeleteAn age in the hair of Broadway
ReplyDeleteThe musical is Hair on Braodway and they sign a number called aquarius what is also a sign.
Casanova, Mozart and Houdini had in common.
ReplyDeleteIts Freemasons