Control Punch Card Puzzle Guide: How to Activate the HRA Machine

The Control punch card puzzle, which activates the HRA machine, is one of the more confusing puzzles in the game; it’s on par with the clock puzzle in the Oceanview Motel. During Chapter 4, Old Boys’ Club, Marshall will ask you to turn on the huge HRA machine found in The Oldest House by putting the right punch cards in the right terminals. 

It’s easy to get there as it’s marked on your map, but solving it is another matter entirely. If you’re stumped, we’ve got you covered in the quick walkthrough guide below, screenshots and video solution included. 

Puzzle Solution

There are five total terminals in the area: four are in the room with the HRA machine. One is upstairs, in the room above. Each machine has a number written on the side, 1-5, which correspond to the cards you’ll need to insert. 

After you pick up the punchcards scattered about the room (which are marked with little white dots), the goal is to put the correct punchcard in the correct terminal. The order in which you pick up the punch cards doesn’t matter. 

There are whiteboards scattered about the area as well. These hold the answer to the puzzle, although they’re certainly cryptic. Instead of talking about how to interpret each board, here’s the answer to the puzzle: 

Terminal Answers
Terminal 1
Terminal 2
Terminal 3
Terminal 4
Terminal 5

Once you insert the correct punchcard into the correct terminal, the terminal will lock. You will no longer be able to interact with them, letting you know you’ve inserted the correct punchcard. 

After inserting all five cards, go to the HRA machine in the back-middle of the room, and activate it to proceed with the main story. 

That’s all you need to know about solving the Control punch card puzzle to activate the HRA machine during the game’s fourth chapter, “Old Boys’ Club.” For more tips, consider heading over to our Control guides hub, where you’ll find other puzzle solutions, as well as helpful content on abilities and mods. To see why we said Control is one of the best games of 2019, be sure to check out our official review.