Puzzle Hunt Simulcast FAQ
What is Puzzle Hunt?
The Microsoft Puzzle Hunt is a quasi-annual Microsoft tradition dating back to
just before the turn of the century. The hunt is a team puzzle competition
that challenges each team to solve a large number of original puzzles of all
different kinds. The answers lead to a hidden treasure concealed somewhere on
campus. Teams spend the weekend solving original and unique puzzles created
by a group of past puzzle solvers. Participants will generally enjoying being
puzzled by anything from traditional puzzles like crosswords, cryptograms,
jigsaws, wordplay and logic problems to wandering around campus to find
landmarks or puzzles that have to be solved on location.
What is a Puzzle Hunt Simulcast?
This year for the first time, we are we are making the event available to people and teams
that A) are not or don't know any Microsoft employees and B) don't live in or aren't able
to travel to Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA. In addition to the Puzzle Hunt happening at Microsoft,
the simulcast will take place at and around Stanford University.
So the event is at Stanford, how close to Stanford do we need to be?
We are attempting to make this event accessible to teams that set up their headquarters somewhere
near Stanford. The event will start and end at Stanford, and there will be at most 2 trips during
the middle of the hunt back to Stanford. More will be revealed about the nature and timing of these
trips, but anywhere within a 15-20 minute radius of Stanford should be fine.
Is it ok to set up our home base at Google?
If your team is all Googlers, then it should be fine. If not, we were not able to get permission from Google
to have non-Googlers on campus that weekend, so we are strongly discouraging teams with non-Googlers to
set up their home base at Google.
Can we have remote solvers?
Sure, as long as you have say 4 people that are close enough to Stanford to be able to make the
requisite appearances during the hunt, your team can be distributed as broadly as you'd like.
What's this about competitive and recreational teams?
See competitive and recreational teams.
Will we be competing against the teams playing at Microsoft?
Unfortunately not, for a number of reasons. We intend to make the experience as consistent as possible
in both sites, but simulcast teams will be only competing against other simulcast teams.
When is Puzzle Hunt?
Puzzle Hunt begins at 10:00 am on Saturday. It runs
continuously throughout the weekend. It will conclude Sunday at 5:00 pm with an awards and
puzzle-demystification ceremony.
I've never done this, what should I expect?
Puzzlehunt is probably unlike any event you have done before. You may be used to
Sudoku or crosswords or games magazine, but this is more than that. You will
collectively see more than 50 puzzles of all sorts of varieties some of which you
may have seen before and some you won't. Some puzzles will be straightforward
and you will just need to execute. Others will require a leap to figure out what
to do. Oftentimes, you will want more than one person looking at a puzzle.
Don't be afraid to call over for help. Sometimes your whole room will be working
on one puzzle. That means if something isn't working for you, don't hesitate to
try working on a different puzzle and letting someone else try yours.
As for structure, some of that will be revealed during the actual game, but
historically, you are given a subset of puzzles to work on, and as those are
answered new ones are revealed. Oftentimes, there is a meta puzzle that takes
things from other puzzles and puts them together in a new puzzle. (hint, hint,
we have some of these). Also, feel free to look at http://puzzlehunt if you are
at Microsoft to see what puzzles and hunts have looked like in the past.
What equipment do I need?
The more prepared you are for Puzzle Hunt weekend, the better time you'll have
participating in it. The rules page
contains a list of supplies you should bring.
Will we have to go swimming in Lake Lagunita?
No. Rule #1 is to have fun, so we're not going to ask you to do something
that's obviously not fun.
Why do I need to contact you to ask permission to go somewhere or
call a phone number?
There are several reasons:
- The puzzle may require set-up that we won't know to do until we hear you're on your way.
- Last-minute unforeseen circumstances might require us to move a puzzle site or transfer to another phone number. Contacting us gives us an opportunity to redirect you.
- It gives us a chance to prevent you from going anywhere forbidden by the rules.
- It gives us a chance to prevent you from calling some random person in the middle of the night.
How do you feel about unclued anagrams?
We don't like them. No step of a puzzle is ever an unclued anagram. If you
have an unordered set of letters, and there is no clue suggesting you should
anagram them, then don't anagram them. Look for a way to determine their
order.
Anagramming might be clued in various ways. For instance, cryptic crossword clues use certain words to indicate you should anagram a set of letters. The puzzle Siegfried & Roy from Puzzle Hunt 8 contained a pattern in which a set of words could all be anagrammed to make cities.
Are there any standard puzzle types I should be familiar
with?
Several puzzle types frequently appear in Puzzle Hunts, so you would be well
advised to be familiar with them. Those types include cross sum, crostic,
cryptic crossword, cryptogram, drop quote, jigsaw puzzle, paint-by-numbers,
rebus, and sudoku.
What rules do I have to follow?
See the rules page. If you find a rule ambiguous,
even after reading the rest of this FAQ, please ask.
How many people need to be on a team?
Teams can have a maximum of 12 players and a minimum of 8
players. This means at most 12 unique people can be helping your
team over the course of the hunt (i.e., no substitutions). The size of
your team is up to you, and here are some factors to consider:
- Solving puzzles in a group is fun and easier with more people, so you might not have as much fun if your team has just a few people.
- It's a good idea to make sure that the members of your team understand and agree to the levels of commitment that everyone is making. It can cause problems if some people are committed to work through the night and others are not, especially if not everyone understands and agrees to this in advance. Team dynamics generally work better if all team members have similar levels of commitment.
- Keeping your team organized is important both to having fun and doing well.
Can I get help from outside sources?
You can use any source on the Internet, of course. You can use friends or
strangers as reference sources but not to help you solve puzzles. For example,
you could call someone to ask them a trivia question but you could not send them a
whole list of trivia questions for them to research. You may not send
entire puzzles to friends for help.
Do I need to go to the wrap-up session?
If your team is the first to finish, please show up at least for
the awards ceremony. Otherwise, attendance is optional, but it's nice to learn
the answers to the puzzles you didn't solve and it's fun to share interesting
stories of how teams solved some of the puzzles.
Where did this idea come from?
The Microsoft Puzzle Hunt takes inspiration from the
MIT IAP Mystery Hunt which is very similar in concept. A lesser inspiration is
The Game, which is a race with puzzles as obstacles. Unlike The Game,
you are not limited to the number of people that can fit in a minivan.
How do I contact the organizing committee?
Send email to ph12simulcast@bloodandbones.com.
Who wins?
The first team to solve a sufficient number of puzzles to finish the
hunt (whatever that means) and then actually do it wins, regardless of how many
puzzles they've solved. Finishing the hunt usually means solving a final
puzzle (or series of puzzles) which identifies a location on campus where you
need to go to find a hidden treasure or complete a final challenge. If you
believe you have figured out how to finish the hunt and you are going to go do
that, you must notify us before you go. You must send us email and try to
reach us on the phone. In your email, specifically identify the location where
you are going and also list any cell phone numbers that you are taking with
you.
What if no one finishes the hunt?
Teams will receive points for each puzzle they solve. Some puzzles may be
worth more than others. If no one finishes the hunt, the top prize will
be awarded to the team with the most points. You should
try to win by finishing the hunt, not by scoring points. It is possible to
finish without solving all the puzzles and it is possible to lose even though
your team solves more puzzles than any other team. If a tiebreaker is needed,
ties will be broken using the following criteria, in this order: (1) team that
solved the most puzzles; (2) team that had the most "first solves"; (3) team
that had the most "second solves"; (4) team that had the most "third solves";
(5) random drawing. The decision of puzzle control is final.
What happens if two teams finish the hunt at exactly the same time?
This is extremely unlikely to happen. If it does, puzzle control will
determine the winner by using the following criteria, in this order: (1) first
team that correctly identified to puzzle control how to finish the hunt; (2)
team with the highest number of points; (3) team that solved the most puzzles;
(4) team that had the most "first solves"; (5) team that had the most "second
solves"; (6) team that had the most "third solves"; (7) random drawing. In
other words, when you're ready to win, make sure someone sends email or calls
puzzle control to tell us. The decision of puzzle control is final.
What happens when we solve a puzzle?
Each of the puzzles has a simple final answer, typically a single word or a
short phrase. In some puzzles you are explicitly told how to get the final
answer. In others, figuring out how to extract the final answer is part of the
puzzle. If you solve a puzzle and you get a long phrase it's probably a clue
to a shorter answer. You will confirm final answers via the web
submission system. You must confirm an answer to receive
points for it.
But some of the puzzles don't have instructions!
The implicit instruction for all puzzles is "Figure out the final
answer." Puzzles without instructions are either classic puzzle
forms, perhaps with a twist, or puzzles where the challenge is figuring out
how to solve the puzzle. In the latter case, the key is usually to look for
patterns or common bonds between the parts of the puzzle.
Sometimes there may be a hint hidden in the puzzle.
How do we extract the final answer to a puzzle?
Extracting the final answer is part of the puzzle. In some puzzles, getting to the final
answer is trivial or may be explicitly explained. In others, you will get an intermediate
answer and the final answer may be hinted at by highlighting parts of the intermediate
answer or signaled by an extra or a missing word in the intermediate answer. Sometimes
there are no hints, in which case you should look for some way to combine or connect the
intermediate answers. Common techniques are to use acrostics (where the first letter
of each word spells something) or for the intermediate answer to be another puzzle of the
same kind.
In all puzzles, once you have the correct final answer you should know it.
What's the best way to win?
The best way to win is to solve the most puzzles before any other team and
then finish the hunt. The best way to do that is teamwork. Work individually
on the easier puzzles so everyone is effective. Work together on the harder
puzzles so you can solve them more quickly. If you get stuck, ask your teammates for help or
switch to another puzzle. Make sure you keep track of which puzzles you've
already solved and confirmed.
What's the best way to lose?
Not having fun. If you're not having fun working on a particular puzzle,
switch to another one. Don't worry: you're unlikely to run out of puzzles.
What if we're really stuck?
See competitive and recreational teams.
When do we get hints?
See competitive and recreational teams.
What is a metapuzzle?
A metapuzzle is a special puzzle that takes the final answers of other puzzles
and combines them in some way. Sometimes the metapuzzle looks like it's a
regular puzzle except you can't solve it until you plug in the final
answers. Other times, the metapuzzle is something you have to figure out and
becomes more apparent as you have more answers. Sometimes there is just one
metapuzzle, and sometimes there are several.
How do we finish the hunt?
You finish the hunt by successfully completing the final puzzle.
Typically, solving the final puzzle involves using answers from puzzles
and/or rewards from metapuzzles.
No, really, how do we finish the hunt?
That is a closely guarded secret at this time, and varies from hunt to
hunt. Trust us, you'll know when you've done it.
Do we have to solve all the puzzles to finish the hunt?
No, just enough to solve the final puzzle. But you'll probably need to solve
most of the puzzles.
What are the prizes?
Each member of the winning team will receive a commemorative
award appropriate to the theme of the hunt.
Typically the winner of the Microsoft Puzzle Hunt is also accorded the honor of putting
on the next one, so we hope that the winner of the simulcast will take this into consideration.
At the very least, we hope to establish a precedent in which future puzzle hunts are shared
with the broader puzzling community when possible. This could take the form of volunteering
to run a simulcast of the next MSPH, or even running a local hunt that could be simulcasted to other areas.
What if I finish the hunt by accident, without solving the puzzles?
Please don't do this! To really win, you have to explain to the organizing committee all of
your work.
What about food?
The hunt runs continuously without any breaks. We recommend you take breaks to
eat. The best thing to do is plan ahead, bring snacks and don't forget to eat.
Who is responsible for this hunt?
Puzzlehunt! is brought to you by Cracking Good Toast (winners of PH2, PH5, PH8, and PH9,
hosts of PH3 and PH6) and The Usual Suspects (winners of PH11, hosts of PH4).