A sequence of six images shows a watch face each displaying a different time: 12:00, 12:15, 12:45, 01:15, 01:45, 02:00. Beneath each image is a single letter: P, R, O, T, E, C.
Task: Infer the missing seventh image/time and letter to complete the message.
Clues:
Hint 1: Look at minutes: 00,15,45,15,45,00 — pattern 00→15→45 then repeats offset. Hint 2: The letters form a word.
Solution:
Subject: Operation Blank Canvas – The Agent 17 Anomaly Classification: Eyes Only agent 17 puzzle
Briefing: Agent 17 is a ghost. By all accounts, they ceased to exist three years ago following the Vienna incident. Yet, as of 0400 hours this morning, a dead-drop containing a 4x4 sliding tile puzzle was recovered from a known 17 contact in Prague.
The puzzle itself is anodized black titanium. Standard number tiles, 1 through 15. However, the tile numbered '17' is physically present, overlapping the grid and rendering the puzzle mathematically impossible to solve in a traditional sense.
When our tech team attempted to force the tiles into order, the '17' tile triggered a micro-acoustic transmitter. It broadcast a single phrase on a scrambled frequency: "The lock isn't on the box. It’s on the pieces."
Your Objective: Do not try to solve the puzzle, Operator. Find out where the material for the '17' tile was mined. That is the location of Agent 17.
If you want, I can:
Which would you like next?
Before you declare the Agent 17 puzzle unsolvable, run through this checklist:
If you answered “yes” to all six and still have no solution, you may have encountered a bugged version. In that case, search for “Agent 17 puzzle [game name] solution” – but only as a last resort.
A known example from online puzzle forums is:
Clues:
You’re meant to deduce the city, accessory, and partner for each agent.
In many Agent 17 puzzles, the final answer is a 6-digit code. Look for pairs of numbers that sum to 17 (e.g., 8+9, 12+5, 16+1). These often form the coordinates to a grid. If a note says “First number minus second equals third”, apply it to all triplets.
Let’s label the 4-digit code as A B C D, where A is the thousands digit and D is the units digit.
Also, because it’s a 4-digit number, A cannot be 0. Digits range from 0 to 9.