[Balin] A room in miniature

[Balin]

Welcome to an escape room that I came up with in about 10-20 minutes while trying to think of more puzzles.

I've woken up on the floor of a small room, maybe 15 to 20 feet square.

Frames hang on the two side walls. A calendar hangs on what I'll call the "back" wall, and in one corner of the back wall is a locked wardrobe.

In front of me is a door and a refrigerator/freezer.

Hanging from the ceiling is a traffic light.

Drawn on the floor is a hopscotch court.

Time to get to work, I suppose...

[Acridian9]

Is the hopscotch court a normal one (with 1, 2-3, 4, 5-6, 7, 8-9, 10)?
Any lights of the trafic light on?
Try to open th door and the refrigerator. If they are locked, what kind of lock they have? What kind of lock the wardrobe has?
Examine the frames on the walls (both the frames and what they contain).
Which month is the calendar showing? Any marks on it? can it be removed from the wall?

[RedWine]

Can you hear any sounds? Can you smell anything outstanding? Is there another source of light besides traffic light? Is the traffic light the one for cars (three lights)? The one for pedestrians? Another type of a traffic light?

[Balin]

Is the hopscotch court a normal one (with 1, 2-3, 4, 5-6, 7, 8-9, 10)? Yes.
Any lights of the trafic light on? Yes, the green one.
Try to open th door and the refrigerator. The door is locked. The refrigerator opens, though, and inside is a plastic bag that looks like it came from a takeout restaurant. It appears to be full of food containers. On the inside of the refrigerator door is a dial of some sort. Right now the dial displays the word "Film."
If they are locked, what kind of lock they have? The door is locked with a numeric keypad, and it looks like the keypad's display has room for three digits. The keypad is also wired to a second lock high above the door. That lock is not locked, but I'm guessing it will if I get the code wrong... so I'd better not get it wrong.
What kind of lock the wardrobe has? An ordinary pin-and-tumbler keyhole.
Examine the frames on the walls (both the frames and what they contain). The frames are ordinary brown picture frames. Inside the frame on the left wall is the map of a city - the smallest text is hard to read but I can see "French Quarter," "Uptown," and "Garden District," among some of the other text, and the number 71 has been written in one corner. Inside the frame on the right wall is the well-known picture of Michael Dukakis in a tank, except a $2 bill has been pasted over his face and the corners torn off the bill. Beside each picture frame is a dial identical to that in the fridge. Both dials also say "Film."
Which month is the calendar showing? It's not showing a month; each page actually shows all 12 months for a given year. The first page is 1901, the second is 1902, and so on all the way to 2000. Oh, and there's another dial next to the calendar, also showing the word "Film." Any marks on it? Flipping through, the only mark I see is a circle around the year 1978. can it be removed from the wall? No, but I can flip the back page up. There's a key taped to the back of the calendar.

Can you hear any sounds? No. Can you smell anything outstanding? Other than the bag in the fridge, which smells like Chinese food, nothing. Is there another source of light besides traffic light? Yes, there are fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
Is the traffic light the one for cars (three lights)? The one for pedestrians? Another type of a traffic light? It's the one for cars. I will add that looking at the traffic light, I can see a small hook on the bottom of it, but I can't quite reach it.

[Westing1992]

The map seems to be of New Orleans...
Hop the hopscotch, just in case.
The $2 bill shows Jefferson's face, correct?
Look inside the food containers.
Turn the dials to see the other options.

[RedWine]

Hop the 1-9-7-8 on the hopscotch. Try also: 3456 (f-i-l-m) and 6912 (2x f-i-l-m).

[Acridian9]

Try the key with the wardobe.
Arthur Lubin relevant?

[Balin]

The map seems to be of New Orleans... I've never been to New Orleans, but the "French Quarter" does sound familiar, so I'd guess this is correct.
Hop the hopscotch, just in case. Okay... that was fun, but nothing happens.
The $2 bill shows Jefferson's face, correct? Right.
Look inside the food containers. I take the containers out of the bag - the bag has a logo of a panda on it - and open them. Both are empty, but I'd guess one had orange chicken and one had fried rice. The top half of the receipt is also in the bag - it says "Order Number 34" (and the 34 is circled) and the rest is torn away.
Turn the dials to see the other options. Aside from "Film," I can set the dials to say "Literature," "Music," "Television," and "Theatre."

Hop the 1-9-7-8 on the hopscotch. Try also: 3456 (f-i-l-m) and 6912 (2x f-i-l-m). Still fun, but nothing happens.

Try the key with the wardobe. The key fits and I open the wardrobe. Inside is a winter coat.
Arthur Lubin relevant? I can't think of how he would be involved in this.

[Westing1992]

Check the coat pockets. Also, is there a fifth dial anywhere?
Anything in the freezer?

So, we've got some numbers:
Hopscotch (1-10)
Map (71)
Dukakis Dollar (2s; 1776 is on the reverse)
Calendar (1901-2000; 1978)
Takeout (34)

Perhaps each number corresponds to a certain piece of media? (If the dials are any indication)

[Balin]

Check the coat pockets. There is a large rolled-up sheet of paper in one of the coat pockets. On one side is a charcoal sketch of a baseball diamond, dated 12/6. On the other side is the typed text of a poem, along with a handwritten second verse:

To make a name for learning
when other roads are barred,
take something very simple
and make it very hard.
-Piet Hein

Avoid exhausting concepts
And intellectual tedium,
But don't be too lethargic;
Just find a happy medium.

The handwritten second verse has no name given.

I realize now that I only opened the left door of the wardrobe. Opening the right door, the train of a bridal gown hanging there spills out towards me.

Also, is there a fifth dial anywhere? Anything in the freezer? Opening the freezer, I'm met with a small figuring of a snowman - or is it a snow-woman? Either way, this snow-human is decorated with raisins for eyes, a mouth, and buttons; a baby carrot for a nose; and small earrings, both depicting the number 13. Inside the freezer door is a fifth dial of the same nature as the other four.

So, we've got some numbers:
Hopscotch (1-10)
Map (71)
Dukakis Dollar (2s; 1776 is on the reverse) I'm not sure if these are the numbers you want from the $2 bill. After all, the 2s are torn off, and I can't see the reverse. There is, however, the number 84 written on the bill.
Calendar (1901-2000; 1978)
Takeout (34)

Perhaps each number corresponds to a certain piece of media? (If the dials are any indication) That's a good idea. I don't know if the hopscotch corresponds to media, though, as there's no dial near it.

[Balin]

By the way, outside resources and the Internet are allowed as aids for this puzzle.

[Acridian9]

Any dials or numbers in the wardrobe? what about the train? Take a look at those. And see if there is something more with the coat.
Are all dials set to "Film"?
About the 12/6 on the paper: does it seams more a date or more a hint to a 12-6 pitch? Anything else with the baseball diamond drawing?

[Balin]

Any dials or numbers in the wardrobe? Not that I can see. what about the train? Other than being a particularly long train, nothing stands out about it. However, there is a large red switch on the floor of the wardrobe underneath the train. Take a look at those. And see if there is something more with the coat. There doesn't appear to be anything else in the coat. I try putting it on - it's nice and warm, but that's all.
Are all dials set to "Film"? Right now, yes.
About the 12/6 on the paper: does it seams more a date or more a hint to a 12-6 pitch? A date, I'd think, especially as the month and day are marked with a slash instead of a dash. Anything else with the baseball diamond drawing? Nothing springs to mind.

[Acridian9]

Let's try the switch. If the trafic light changes color, look around to see if something became visible in the new light. Then press the switch again.
Any other switches around the room?
Where is the 12/6 precisely located on the paper? Take a look to the calendar to see if there is a 12/6 in some way different from the others.

[Balin]

Let's try the switch. I hear a spinning noise, but nothing seems to have changed. If the traffic light changes color, look around to see if something became visible in the new light. It didn't. Then press the switch again. Same thing - spinning, no change.
Any other switches around the room? I don't see any.
Where is the 12/6 precisely located on the paper? Bottom-right corner. Take a look to the calendar to see if there is a 12/6 in some way different from the others. I flip through the calendar, but none of the dates seem to be specially marked in any way.

[Acridian9]

Can you track the spinning sound? Also, take a closer look at the hopscotch....anything strange (like some numbers different form the others, or something to press)? Ay other hooks around like the one on the bottom of the trafic light? Btw, how big is the hook? Can you, for example, make a rope out of the train and insert it in the hook?

[Balin]

Can you track the spinning sound? I pull the switch again, and quickly look around the room as I hear the spinning. It seems that sound came from the dials. Also, take a closer look at the hopscotch....anything strange (like some numbers different form the others, or something to press)? No, it's a normal hopscotch with numbered squares drawn in white chalk. Any other hooks around like the one on the bottom of the traffic light? None right now. Btw, how big is the hook? Not even an inch. Can you, for example, make a rope out of the train and insert it in the hook? No, the hook is too small for that.

[Acridian9]

The snowman in the freezer makes me think about Frozen, which is a 2013 film (the 13 on the earrings).

The other thing I thought is that the calendar is a 20th century calendar, whih may be a hint to 20th Century Fox.

[Balin]

The snowman in the freezer makes me think about Frozen, which is a 2013 film (the 13 on the earrings). Hmm... maybe.

The other thing I thought is that the calendar is a 20th century calendar Yes, that's a good way to think of it... which may be a hint to 20th Century Fox. ...but I don't know of any specific piece of entertainment called 20th Century Fox.

[Acridian9]

Then I found the 1978 musical "On the Twentieth Century"....maybe the dial next to the calendar should be set to theatre?

[Balin]

Then I found the 1978 musical "On the Twentieth Century"....maybe the dial next to the calendar should be set to theatre? That's a very good idea. I never saw that show - something about odd happenings on a train, as I recall - but I do remember it was revived recently. I'll put that dial to "Theatre."

[Acridian9]

Any cloth hangers in the wardrobe?
Did you try to move the frames? anything behind?

(I found a lot of songs/books/video with snowmen which enter a freezer, in particular a children book from 1978, but nothing which the number 13 is relevant to)

[Balin]

Any cloth hangers in the wardrobe? No. The winter coat and the bridal dress with the long train are both on wooden hangers.
Did you try to move the frames? Not yet. anything behind? I try to move the frames but they're all screwed to the wall.

(I found a lot of songs/books/video with snowmen which enter a freezer, in particular a children book from 1978, but nothing which the number 13 is relevant to) I still like the idea that the numbers refer to years - it seemed to work with On the Twentieth Century.

[Acridian9]

What about the 1971 song City of New Orleans?
1984 TV show Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends?
1934 book Murder on the Orient Express?

[Balin]

What about the 1971 song City of New Orleans?
1984 TV show Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends?
1934 book Murder on the Orient Express?
Those make a lot of sense! I hadn't even thought of the bridal train as hinting toward trains in entertainment. I'll turn the dial by the map to "Music," the dial by the Dukakis picture to "Television," and the dial in the fridge to "Literature."

[Acridian9]

Let's try the red button then! (I stil don't get the film in the freezer, but it should be a film, right?)

[Balin]

Let's try the red button then! The red switch is a large handle, I don't know if I made that clear, but either way I give it a pull. Instead of a whirring, I hear a loud click, and the switch handle itself opens. Inside it is a wire hook.

(I still don't get the film in the freezer, but it should be a film, right?) As I think about it, I realize the clue in the freezer must have been hinting towards the film Snowpiercer.

[biograd]

Does the wire hook seem to be of the right size to grab the hook on the bottom of the traffic light? Is the piece of wire long and stiff enough that you could reach the traffic light with it?

[Balin]

Does the wire hook seem to be of the right size to grab the hook on the bottom of the traffic light? I'd guess so. Is the piece of wire long and stiff enough that you could reach the traffic light with it? Only one way to find out...

I reach up with the wire hook and am able to attach it to the small hook on the bottom of the traffic light, and I pull. The bottom panel of the light swings open and a ball of some blue liquid falls out, landing directly on the "4" square of the hopscotch court. The blue liquid spreads out until it fills the square, but spreads no further - the chalk lines must be slightly raised.

[Balin]

Perhaps I had better RECAP what is in this room.

The first puzzle was the dials puzzle, and that has been solved. The clue to all the pictures, as well as the fridge and freezer, was the bridal dress with a long train - everything near a dial hinted towards a train in entertainment.

From the big red switch I got a wire hook, which I used to open the traffic light, which is still lit green. I have not yet examined the opened light.

The traffic light dropped a ball of blue paint (or some other liquid) onto the "4" square of the hopscotch court. That square is now completely blue. The rest of the court is drawn and numbered in white chalk.

I also have the winter coat. The only think I found inside the ski jacket was a rolled-up charcoal drawing of a baseball diamond, dated 12/6, with the Piet Hein poem and handwritten second verse on the other side.

The door's lock asks for a three-digit code, but it's wired so that if I get the code wrong, the door locks permanently. I'd better make sure of the code before I try it.

[Grip]

Can you take a look at the opened light?

[Balin]

Can you take a look at the opened light? Absolutely. Inside the light, there is only a small opening from which I presume the paint ball fell; the rest is blocked by a metal panel, which I presume protects the wiring. On the underside of the bottom panel that hinged open is the digit 7.

[kalira]

Okay, so just thinking aloud. The Piet Hein poem is apparently called "Wide Road." 'Piet,' 'Hein,' 'wide,' 'road' -- all four letters long, combined with a diamond shape that's also a four. Not sure if that's coincidence or not.

Trying to figure out if anything perhaps relevant happened in baseball on December 6 or June 12 (beginning with December date, simply because the drawing was found in a winter jacket) in a relevant year -- perhaps the year "Wide Road" was published, though I'm having trouble finding that information. So far have found that Hein's poems started being published in 1940, but have not found specific timeframe for the poem in question.

Not sure what to make of the handwritten stanza at this time.

It may be possible that lighting up the other lights on the traffic light will give us the other two numbers for the code. Can we manipulate the metal panel at all to get into the wiring of the light?

[Balin]

Okay, so just thinking aloud. The Piet Hein poem is apparently called "Wide Road." 'Piet,' 'Hein,' 'wide,' 'road' -- all four letters long, combined with a diamond shape that's also a four. Not sure if that's coincidence or not. I'll keep that in mind - I didn't know the title of the poem. But if I must be technical, I'd consider the hopscotch shape a square, since there is also the drawing of a baseball diamond.

Trying to figure out if anything perhaps relevant happened in baseball on December 6 or June 12 (beginning with December date, simply because the drawing was found in a winter jacket) in a relevant year -- perhaps the year "Wide Road" was published, though I'm having trouble finding that information. So far have found that Hein's poems started being published in 1940, but have not found specific timeframe for the poem in question. Unfortunately I don't have enough esoteric 1940 baseball knowledge to help there.

Not sure what to make of the handwritten stanza at this time. "Well, I could make a hat, a brooch, a pterodactyl..."

It may be possible that lighting up the other lights on the traffic light will give us the other two numbers for the code. Can we manipulate the metal panel at all to get into the wiring of the light? No - it's attached by four cross-head screws, and while I know these escape rooms often have a screwdriver, I haven't seen any sign of one here.

[kalira]

(Just to clarify, I meant the baseball diamond, since it was on the same sheet of paper as the poem, rather than the hopscotch square. I should have clarified I meant diamond = 4 sides or even the 4 bases.)

[Balin]

(Just to clarify, I meant the baseball diamond, since it was on the same sheet of paper as the poem, rather than the hopscotch square. I should have clarified I meant diamond = 4 sides or even the 4 bases.) No worries. I was confused because the 4 is on the blued hopscotch square and the only numbers on the charcoal diamond are 12/6.

[biograd]

I'm tempted to try and step on the "4" hopscotch square and then on other squares to see if it makes blue footprints on some squares but doesn't stick to others (maybe revealing a set of digits). However, I am concerned that maybe that will just cover everything with blue and make it hard to read, which might be irreversible...

[Balin]

I'm tempted to try and step on the "4" hopscotch square and then on other squares to see if it makes blue footprints on some squares but doesn't stick to others (maybe revealing a set of digits). However, I am concerned that maybe that will just cover everything with blue and make it hard to read, which might be irreversible...

...What's that? Sorry, I'd fallen asleep and just woke up. I'll give that a shot... wait. It seems that the paint (or whatever the blue stuff is) has dried, so this won't work at all.

HINT: You have all the information and items necessary to figure out the code to the door lock.

[biograd]

Hmm... so the numbered things we have (and haven't used in some way) are:
--The "12/6" on the baseball diamond
--The number 4 on the hopscotch, which is now blue

Putting these together to make 4126 or 1264 would be 4 digits, which is too many. Adding 4+12+6 gives 22, which is only two digits. Multiplying them, however, gives 288, which is the right number of digits. The good thing about this is that it doesn't require a specific order for the numbers, in other words it doesn't matter if the 4 is "before" or "after" the 12 and the 6.

On the other hand, this makes the poem and the fact that it's on a baseball diamond seem entirely superfluous. Those are the other two things that I don't believe we have made any use of. Does anyone have a better idea?

[biograd]

Oh, I just realized that maybe the 12/6 is meant to signify division, which would give 2. But then we would need a third digit (in addition to 2 and 4), and also a way of ordering the three, which seems quite difficult. We could maybe conclude that the 4 should be last, since we found that out last, and this should have been true for any path of solving the puzzles (since we needed to line up all the dials to get the hook to open the traffic light). However, everything else depended on which places we looked into in what order.

[Acridian9]

We do have a third digit: the 7 on the bottom panel of the trafic light.
The three digits should be 2, 4 and 7.....but I don't know how to order them.

[biograd]

I somehow missed that about the 7! Anyway, that pretty much eliminates the idea that they need to be ordered by when they appeared. By the "underside of the panel that hinged open" I assume that actually meant the original top side, the one that was facing into the compartment, otherwise you would have noticed it when first examining the light. So the 4 and the 7 were revealed by the same exact occurrence, the opening of the compartment.

I'm thinking maybe they should be in the order 247, though. There have been quite a few references to years, dates, and other measurements of time in this puzzle, and that could refer to "24/7", which also involves time.

[Balin]

Hmm... so the numbered things we have (and haven't used in some way) are:
--The "12/6" on the baseball diamond
--The number 4 on the hopscotch, which is now blue

Putting these together to make 4126 or 1264 would be 4 digits, which is too many. Adding 4+12+6 gives 22, which is only two digits. Multiplying them, however, gives 288, which is the right number of digits. The good thing about this is that it doesn't require a specific order for the numbers, in other words it doesn't matter if the 4 is "before" or "after" the 12 and the 6.

On the other hand, this makes the poem and the fact that it's on a baseball diamond seem entirely superfluous. Those are the other two things that I don't believe we have made any use of. Does anyone have a better idea?

Oh, I just realized that maybe the 12/6 is meant to signify division, which would give 2. But then we would need a third digit (in addition to 2 and 4), and also a way of ordering the three, which seems quite difficult. We could maybe conclude that the 4 should be last, since we found that out last, and this should have been true for any path of solving the puzzles (since we needed to line up all the dials to get the hook to open the traffic light). However, everything else depended on which places we looked into in what order.

We do have a third digit: the 7 on the bottom panel of the trafic light.
The three digits should be 2, 4 and 7.....but I don't know how to order them.

I somehow missed that about the 7! Anyway, that pretty much eliminates the idea that they need to be ordered by when they appeared. By the "underside of the panel that hinged open" I assume that actually meant the original top side, the one that was facing into the compartment, otherwise you would have noticed it when first examining the light. So the 4 and the 7 were revealed by the same exact occurrence, the opening of the compartment.

I'm thinking maybe they should be in the order 247, though. There have been quite a few references to years, dates, and other measurements of time in this puzzle, and that could refer to "24/7", which also involves time.

I hadn't even thought of the 12/6 as signifying division - impressive logic! And yes, you're correct about the location of the 7.

Now that we have the three digits (2, 4, 7), the obvious next step is to figure out their order. And the only things we haven't used are that ski jacket from the closet and the poem on the back of the charcoal drawing, so I'd guess the clue is somewhere in there?

[Acridian9]

The only thing it comes to me is that we have 2 poems, each of 4 lines, each made up of 7 syllables.

[kalira]

But only some of the lines are 7 syllables. 7/6/7/6 and 7/~8/7/8 for the stanzas, respectively.

Have we examined the rest of the coat aside from what's in the pockets? If not, let's do that.

[Balin]

The only thing it comes to me is that we have 2 poems, each of 4 lines, each made up of 7 syllables.
But only some of the lines are 7 syllables. 7/6/7/6 and 7/~8/7/8 for the stanzas, respectively.
Interesting idea. I'll keep exploring.

Have we examined the rest of the coat aside from what's in the pockets? If not, let's do that. Taking a second look, I can confirm there's nothing else out of the ordinary about the winter coat; it's just a normal warm ski jacket. And yet... the other item of clothing, the bridal dress with the long train, was the clue for the dials puzzle. I can't help but think that this jacket has to be a clue to this puzzle as well...

[biograd]

Well, the word "SKI" has three letters (but "COAT" or "JACKET" don't, which rules them out), but getting from those to 2, 4, and 7 doesn't seem obvious at all. Going by position in the alphabet, S is the 19th letter, K is the 11th, and I is the 9th, and nowhere do any of the digits 2, 4, and 7 appear.

That also wouldn't involve the poem. I tried counting the occurrences of S, K, and I in the poems--they appear 5, 3, and 8 times. I notice that these are each one greater than one of our digits. That seems somehow too much of a coincidence to be by chance, but I can't get why they would be off by one...

I may have miscounted (though I did it several times to be as sure as possible), but even if I made an error, it would have been to overlook an occurrence, not to count one too many--I'm sure all the ones I found are real, because it's not possible to see a letter where there isn't one, but it's quite possible to skip one.

[biograd]

Sorry, I think I was right with S and K, but after walking away and then coming back to look again, there now seem to be 13 occurrences of "I", so that makes the whole connection wrong...

(and that's counting the I's in "Piet Hein", but even without counting those--and I doubt the name would be included if it were irrelevant, especially considering that the second is anonymous--we have 11, which isn't one more than 7)

[Balin]

Well, the word "SKI" has three letters (but "COAT" or "JACKET" don't, which rules them out), but getting from those to 2, 4, and 7 doesn't seem obvious at all. Going by position in the alphabet, S is the 19th letter, K is the 11th, and I is the 9th, and nowhere do any of the digits 2, 4, and 7 appear.

That also wouldn't involve the poem. I tried counting the occurrences of S, K, and I in the poems--they appear 5, 3, and 8 times. I notice that these are each one greater than one of our digits. That seems somehow too much of a coincidence to be by chance, but I can't get why they would be off by one...

I may have miscounted (though I did it several times to be as sure as possible), but even if I made an error, it would have been to overlook an occurrence, not to count one too many--I'm sure all the ones I found are real, because it's not possible to see a letter where there isn't one, but it's quite possible to skip one.

Sorry, I think I was right with S and K, but after walking away and then coming back to look again, there now seem to be 13 occurrences of "I", so that makes the whole connection wrong...

(and that's counting the I's in "Piet Hein", but even without counting those--and I doubt the name would be included if it were irrelevant, especially considering that the second is anonymous--we have 11, which isn't one more than 7)

Interesting line of thought, but this is entirely the wrong track.

[biograd]

Well then...

the train was meant to be interpreted literally, but in a different sense of the word. I don't know of another sense of the word "ski", but "coat" and "jacket" can each mean at least one other thing. A coat can be a layer of paint, and a jacket can be the covering of something (like of a book or a music recording). Is it possible that the relevant poems appeared on the jacket of some book?

[Balin]

Well then...

the train was meant to be interpreted literally, but in a different sense of the word. I don't know of another sense of the word "ski", The only meaning of "ski" that I know of either is the normal one. Unless I'm supposed to figure something out about skis, ski slopes, or skiers, this would be a tangential track.

but "coat" and "jacket" can each mean at least one other thing. A coat can be a layer of paint, and a jacket can be the covering of something (like of a book or a music recording). Is it possible that the relevant poems appeared on the jacket of some book? It's possible, but there are no books in this room, and the only reference to a book was in the dials puzzle. For that matter, the walls are covered with wallpaper, not painted.

[biograd]

I just had another idea. Is it a "North Face" jacket? If so, do we know which way in the room faces north?

[Balin]

I just had another idea. Is it a "North Face" jacket? I'm not sure; the label has been cut off the ski jacket. If so, do we know which way in the room faces north?

[kalira]

Can you describe the wallpaper?

(Side note: Thank you, biograd. I was trying to think of how to inject that thought process here but failing miserably. So I'm glad you did it )

Green traffic light, blue hopscotch square... I'm wondering if the colors have any meaning. If there were something red about the paper with the sketch and the poem, I might be tempted to think the order had to do with RGB/rainbow order -- which would make the code 274.

What color is the jacket?

There are the Cincinnati (I hate trying to spell that word) Reds in baseball. I wonder if they have any connection to the poem or Piet Hein, laterally speaking.

[Balin]

Can you describe the wallpaper? Some shade of off-white.

(Side note: Thank you, biograd. I was trying to think of how to inject that thought process here but failing miserably. So I'm glad you did it )

Green traffic light, blue hopscotch square... I'm wondering if the colors have any meaning. Maybe. We've also got the charcoal (black) drawing. If there were something red about the paper with the sketch and the poem, I might be tempted to think the order had to do with RGB/rainbow order -- which would make the code 274. I don't see anything red, only black.

What color is the jacket? Dark green.

There are the Cincinnati (I hate trying to spell that word) Reds in baseball. I'm a good speller and I also hate trying to spell that word. I wonder if they have any connection to the poem or Piet Hein, laterally speaking. I can't think of anything right now.

[Acridian9]

Let's go with 742!
Signs on ski routes are: green circle (easy); blue square (intermediate); black diamond (difficult).

[Balin]

Let's go with 742!
Signs on ski routes are: green circle (easy); blue square (intermediate); black diamond (difficult). Can't believe I didn't think of that earlier.

I'm about to type in 742 when I realize I haven't used the poem yet, and I haven't determined if "level of difficulty" is the order for the numbers. So I don't input that code.

[Acridian9]

You're right, I should've known it wasn't so simple!
Then we go with 724:
simple
hard.
medium.

[kalira]

Well, I've never skied (that spelling looks intensely wrong), but damn if that double leap by Acridian doesn't make me feel like a dummy for missing it. Good logicking, Acridian!

[Balin]

You're right, I should've known it wasn't so simple!
Then we go with 724:
simple
hard.
medium.
Putting the numbers in the order of words in the poem, I type in 724 and hope like mad there's no other trick. The lock clicks free. I open the door and get out of there.

****SPOILER****

Well done!