The Course

There are six main lockpicking"challenges" in the Gringo Warrior course, plus two built-in opportunities for extra bonus points.

Additional points are also awarded for speed as well as general badassery.

If you would like to know the details of what, exactly, the six stages of the game are and how to maximize your score, including your bonus points, feel free to observe the specific details of the course's construction on the hardware page and read on here for additional summaries of each challenge you will face...

Handcuffs Escape from the handcuffs that your captors have slapped on you. - Easy... Smith & Wesson police cuffs in front - Medium... S&W police cuffs in back -or- ASP tactical handcuffs in front - Hard... ASP tactical cuffs in back - Lameness... Only half-points will be awarded if you use a proper handcuff key to escape NOTE - if for some reason a contestant gets badly stuck in their handcuffs, we allow another individual to assist them if half the time has expired and they are still on stage one. Hypothetically, the player can bribe or coerce another prisoner in this fictional jail to reach through the bars and help them with the cuffs. Players who use this option are popped half-way out of the cuffs and do not earn points for the handcuff stage, but they may proceed on to the rest of the course with the two and a half minutes that remain.

 

Room Door Open up the locked door to the room in which you are being confined. - Easy... Cheap doorknob, 2-pin lock - Medium... Typical doorknob, 5-pin lock - Hard... Commercial doorknob, 5-pin lock with some spool pins

 

Guard Take out the man who was left to guard you. - Easy... Disable him where he stands - Medium... Take basic steps to restrain or hide him - Hard... Totally secure the guard and leave no trace of him - Super... It is always possible that you could do something that so surprises and impresses the staff or the crowd watching you that even more points are awarded. Be creative and unique, but try not to damage the dummy... who knows what it may do for your score!

 

Filing Cabinet Recover your confiscated passport from a filing cabinet. - Easy... Cheap two-wafer lock - Medium... Typical four-wafer lock - Hard... Well-engineered five-wafer lock

 

Lockers Pop open a padlock in order to access a locker where you can find a uniform to disguise yourself - Easy... 2-pin padlock - Medium... 4-pin padlock - Hard... 5-pin padlock with security pins

 

Outside Door Escape to the outside and get one step closer to freedom. - Easy... Common deadbolt with a 2-pin lock - Medium... Average deadbolt with a 5-pin lock - Hard... Commercial-grade 5-pin deadbolt with some special security pins

 

Ninja Bonus points are awarded for inconspicuousness. - Easy... Leave behind no tools or belongings that could identify you - Medium... Take steps to not look suspicious when heading to freedom - Hard... Fully clothe yourself as one of your captors and leave no trace - Super... As with the guard, it is always possible that you could do something that so surprises and impresses the staff or the crowd watching you that even more points are awarded.

 

Transportation Take one of your captors’ vehicles in order to hasten your escape. - Easy... Old automobile door lock, only two wafers - Medium... Average automobile door lock, four wafers - Hard... Modern automobile door lock, five wafers

It is possible to advance through the course in a methodical way, attacking every stage, or it is possible to take a faster alternative route.

To reach "freedom" one really only has the obligation to unlock your "room door" and open the deadbolt of the "outside door" to escape. Now, you will naturally be sacrificing the points that could be achieved on the filing cabinet and the car, not to mention the fact that you will likely not be at all "inconspicuous" (especially if you're not fully out of your handcuffs) but that does count as a completion.

Similarly, people who are past the "outside door" and thus have left their captors' facility may spend any remaining time trying to open the automobile lock. They are already "free" and therefore cannot be disqualified (persons who fail to escape from the facility itself are thanked for their efforts but their scores are unofficial) but are allowed to spend time (remember, time points are valuable) attempting an automobile lock. Similarly, one can go backwards through the course and attempt a stage that was skipped... people do this with the "filing cabinet" lock once they have successfully achieved their freedom and this is not a problem. However, if you are still "within" the fictional jail and time expires then you lose. Being "outside" in under five minutes is the key.

As you might be able to see, there is a certain strategy that comes with balancing one's picking and one's time. Spending more than 40 seconds on any difficult lock is ill-advised, since if a player were to have chosen an easier lock and opened it right away, that would have actually resulted in an equal score. If a lock doesn't open for you in about 30 seconds, move to an easier one and hope that you can get it in 10 seconds or less... you'll come out ahead as far as the final score is concerned.

If you have additional questions or comments, you can email us anytime at... gringo@deviating.net