The Glasshouse Relay
Sort the trays.
Four seed trays need arranging for the morning volunteers. One of you has the inventory; the other has the dispatch rules. Talk freely, but keep your role sheet private.
Complete opening puzzle · Two hints · Worked answer · No purchase needed
Different papers.
One shared deduction.
Use one device each. Choose different roles, keep your clues private and talk freely. Each device checks its own answer. Playing alone? Choose the solo preview to read both sheets.
Choose a role above, or open the role sheets below.
For your partner: Open the other role on their device ↗
Keeper
Your partner has the dispatch rules. Ask which information they need. Tray codes are labels; no gardening knowledge is needed.
| Tray | Mass (units) |
|---|---|
| FERN | 1 |
| MOSS | 2 |
| REED | 3 |
| WREN | 4 |
Courier
Your partner has the inventory values. Read these rules and agree on one order.
- REED is immediately before FERN.
- MOSS is somewhere after WREN.
- The masses of the first two trays add up to 4 units.
Your shared answer.
Agree on an order from position 1 to position 4. Use FERN, MOSS, REED and WREN exactly once each.
One hint at a time.
Hint 1
Which two different tray masses can add up to 4?
Hint 2
Those masses belong to FERN and REED. Use their order rule, then place the other pair.
Worked answer · reveals the solution
Only masses 1 and 3 sum to 4, so the first pair is FERN and REED. REED immediately precedes FERN, so place REED, then FERN. The remaining pair is WREN, MOSS because MOSS is after WREN. Every tray is used once. Answer: REED / FERN / WREN / MOSS.
Keep the curiosity going.
The complete printable game contains this opening puzzle and two more linked rounds, with separate role sheets, hints and worked answers. A4 and US Letter files are included. The answers stay fixed on replay.
Full printable game · US$3.90 ↗Optional one-time purchase on itch.io. This opening case and its complete answer stay free. Full PDFs: English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and French.
Free PDFs & complete edition details → · Try a different free opening →
AI-assisted text and artwork. This is the same first puzzle as the free PDF and paid edition, with the same answer. Solutions were checked computationally; independent human playtesting is not claimed.