$10,000 Puzzler Hunt

[BarbaraK]

This looks like a mega meta puzzle series. And the first person to solve will win $10,000. Hope it's a muggle!

https://thepuzzlerbook.com/

[Cindy]

Well thank you Barbara, I guess. I have already entered six tries on the passphrase to no avail. I don't think I have enough time to enter every word/phrase in the 6 page introduction.

Oh and did I buy the book - of course!

[higgysue]

I got to the first puzzle and I looked ahead to the others and this seems impossible to me! Is anybody making any progress?

[BarbaraK]

I got to the first puzzle and I looked ahead to the others and this seems impossible to me! Is anybody making any progress?

Not me. I found the code to get in, and that’s all so far. On a couple, I’ve solved the puzzle but no clue about the meta. On several, I don’t even see what I’m supposed to do with the puzzle.

[benchen71]

I haven't cracked the pass phrase yet, but since the competition is limited to US citizens, it was only out of curiosity at seeing the puzzles. I won't be wasting any more time on it, I don't think.

[BrennerTJ]

We have a small muggle group working on this excellent hunt with good progress. Puzzle types vary considerably and puzzle hunt puzzles typically don't include rules - figuring out what to do is part of the puzzle! The 'flavor text' of each puzzle in conjunction with the puzzle itself helps in the figuring. There is definitely a learning curve and solving with a group is helpful. Feel free to PM if you're interested (for this or other puzzle hunts - there are lots of them!).

[higgysue]

@BarbaraK, it makes me feel better that you are struggling too!
@benchen71, let me know if you want any help with the pass phrase so you can see the puzzles.
@BrennerTJ, it sounds like fun but I’m not sure I would be useful to this group. Do you work together via zoom?

[benchen71]

I've managed to complete the grid for "Into the Words". But I can't get the revealed clue to lead to a final answer.
I've also made progress with "Hwpdzm" (I know what the word is in both plaintext and code), but again, I can't get to a final answer.

I would love a helpful PM!

[woozy]

Hmmm, not sure what to do with the very first puzzle. The second one (Where in the World) was a hoot! Hard to set up but I can't imagine anyone here having any difficulty with it. Well, a small victory. (It has the second most solves)

[higgysue]

Thanks, woozy. You inspired me to give Where in the World a try and I solved it! It took me a really long time. Still clueless on all the others.

[woozy]

The Mystery of the Extra characters is fairly easy. "Hwpdzm" takes a *long* time but you just need to keep going after you think you've done it.

I'm having trouble with "Complimentary colors" in that it seems if you get stuck on one piece.... that's it, there is no side angle to look at or chew on it that I can see. The art one looks fun but utterly incomprehensible. The very first one "One for Fun" ... I have no idea what to do after you complete the grid.

These might just turn out to be too hard for me.

[benchen71]

One for Fun requires you to compare the grid with the original puzzle.

[woozy]

One for Fun requires you to compare the grid with the original puzzle.

I got it. I had thought of [doing what your spoiler says] but for a while couldn't figure out "... and then do what?" until I had insight in reading the intro that was almost completely different. Then I thought of something but between writing and transferring I made typos, errors and oversights the first three or four times. But this morning I figured that I had to be making an omission and did it one by one deliberately and then finally found my error.

[AaronR]

I didn't find the passcode and sort of forgot about this, but I'm looking forward to browsing the puzzles at my leisure if they open up after 6/4. I assumed I was looking for a twelve-letter word/phrase with a book cipher--will be amused to see just how far off I was.

[woozy]

I didn't find the passcode and sort of forgot about this, but I'm looking forward to browsing the puzzles at my leisure if they open up after 6/4. I assumed I was looking for a twelve-letter word/phrase with a book cipher--will be amused to see just how far off I was.

Not far. It was a standard code of the kind you read about in the "Kid's fun books of codes and ciphers" (actually I'm not sure what a "book cipher" is... *googles*... yes you are spot on).

I've given up on these. Theres a deadline and I've completed 7 of 19. They are hard and quite fussy. But very creative and fun. But hard. And fiddly. I discovered, It's just not going to happen. .... unless I give up eating.... and accept the possibility of a divorce in the near future..... But they are damned creative. (No idea on the art one... but what a blast it is to look at.)

[BarbaraK]

So after a burst of false confidence from solving the pass phrase to get into the contest, I've managed to solve a grand total of 4 of the puzzles. And I needed help with three of them (a lot of help from a very kind and patient muggle for one of those) and only got one all by myself.

I plan to keep working on them. Interesting that Where in the World Is... is supposed to be one of the easier ones as I haven't a clue what that's all about. Probably need to do some googling.

Good luck to those who made it through all the puzzles and will be competing in the finals tomorrow. I will be quite delighted if a muggle, or a team of muggles, wins the big prize!

[woozy]

I got seven of them. In general much too fiddly for me.

Where in the World Is... is supposed to be one of the easier ones as I haven't a clue what that's all about. Probably need to do some googling."

Well, I took needing googling to be a given. And my inability to recognize faces kind of makes it a necessity. Figuring out what the images are was very very hard but figuring out what to do with them was in my opinion pretty straightforward.

The mixed doubles was fairly easy and fun too. But other than that, no, they were not easier. I still have no idea what to do with art one or the intstitutions one. You'd think identifying the images would be a be step but apparently not.

Which four did you solve?

[JordanianTomlinson]

I've finished all 22 of them. I'm happy to join forces with some other muggles at noon tomorrow (though we have a ballet recital at 1500) for the finale!

[BarbaraK]

Which four did you solve?

ONE for FUN (the crossword)
Pentagon Construction
Digital Gaming (this is the one I needed many nudges for)
Into the Words (the cryptic - this is the one I actually did all by myself)

[woozy]

Which four did you solve?

ONE for FUN (the crossword)
Pentagon Construction
Digital Gaming (this is the one I needed many nudges for)
Into the Words (the cryptic - this is the one I actually did all by myself)

Hmm. I think I know what to do with Pentagon Construction but... it's too much fiddling. I haven't really tried into the words or Digital gaming.

I've done: ONE for FUN (easier once it's done); Where in the world is. Hwpdzm (speak of fiddling). Complementary Colors (would *love* to know what the last two rebi are). The mystery of the extra characters (*very* easy ***IF*** you don't consider googling to be cheating, or if you are very familiar with a subject I imagine a third of us were as children but have since forgotten). Missing pieces (not too fiddly but fussy and kinda hard). Mixed Doubles (a lot of fun and not too very hard... not easy, but not that hard).

Love to talk about any or all of them.

But I'm *definitely out of the contest.