The Puzzle:
One day you find yourself receiving another  FW:-type of e-mail being titled “Puzzle”.
Since you’re already bored of dealing with the puzzles your boss is paying you to solve each day you decide to give it a shot.

Next thing you’re reading is:
“Only skilled people can open this file. Once you succeed to open this file, you will find names of the people who have managed to open this … Now it is your turn!”

Darn. This must be something! Sounds like there is an actual Hall of Fame cropped up inside that file. I must have at least finished my PHD to get myself listed there as well. So if that puzzle is so difficult, will I find just any names in there? And who do they think I am to be able to open this file at all?
Well,  it was my wife who sent me this, so I dropped that whole fear about my PHD.  😉

Okay, so to spice things up, the creator of this puzzle thought he’d be creative by giving us a small background story:
“A man wanted to get into his work building, but he had forgotten his code. However, he did remember five clues.”

Get on with it already!
“These are what those clues were:

• The fifth number plus the third number equals fourteen.
• The fourth number is one more than the second number.
• The first number is one less than twice the second number.
• The second number plus the third number equals ten.  
• The sum of all five numbers is 30.”
  

If I’d ever think of some code to get into a building, I’d sooner forget these lousy clues rather then to forget the whole FUCKING CODE!
Anyways, I happen to be the most patient person you’d ever met. So let us answer this question:
“What were the five numbers and in what order? The answer unlocks the attachment above! :-)”

Of course there could only be one combination hidden inside that password line. But let me tell you this: up until now I found at least THREE ways of getting to the solution among my contacts. In the end I decided to reward ourselves by ‘Gold’, ‘Silver’ and ‘Bronze’.

My wife Jenny got the Golden solution:
Replacing all numbers by letters per position, you could come to A B C D and E.
Definitely the code ‘ABCDE’ will not be accepted. So with the given clues we’re going to figure out which letter represents each number.

From the given clues we have the following relations :
1) C+ E = 14
2) D = B + 1
3) A = 2B -1
4) B+ C = 10
(1) – (4) gives us : E – B = 4

With the help of what we now know about B, we’re able to figure out more about the other letters:
A = 2B – 1
C = 10 – B
D = B + 1
E = B + 4

Still we need to get ourselves to  A+B+C+D+E = 30.
Let’s rewrite this to: (2B-1) +B + (10-B) +(B +1) + (B + 4) = 30.
And condense the rest to:
4B + 14 = 30
B = 4

Jenny just cracked the code!!!
A = 7 / B = 4 / C = 6 / D = 5 / E = 8

Meanwhile I tried my LUCK and the Silver solution:
I’ll just afford myself making two assumptions:
1. Could the 5 numbers be unique numbers?
2. Could it be that those numbers follow up like it is with 12345?

After knowing the result I happened to, indeed, be so lucky and started with the last clue: The sum must be 30.
Definitely 1+2+3+4+5 won’t bring me there. So let me start with 5+6+7+8+9.
Nope, that makes a total of 35. I need to make it less five.
Ah, 4+5+6+7+8 makes 30 alright!

With that problem solved all I need to worry about is the order. Just like in Mastermind.

Now, only 6+8 will result to 14 (first clue). So it’s XX6X8 for now. X representing the numbers I haven’t figured out yet.
From here on it’s all very simple. The third number happens to be in the fourth clue as well, so I can only give the second position to number 4 (4+6 = 10). Third clue is peanuts now. (4+4 )-1 = 7.
Leaving 5 to be on the fourth place.

Just to make sure let us read the second clue once again:
“The fourth number is one more than the second number.”
Ah well, I figured that out. Didn’t need that clue anyways!  But it was my LUCK which gave me a good headstart!

Then Jenny’s colleague Anthony found yet a third way to solve this Puzzle. Leaving him with the Bronze solution:

HE USED GOOGLE!

( Now if one day you happen to receive this same e-mail, can you find it within your heart to add the text:
‘solved with the help of Tycoon Newspaper’!!!!
I might even reward you with a Platinum solution. Har har…  )