What are the puzzles like?
The formats of the puzzles are extremely varied. Some may have explicit instructions, while for others, figuring out what to do with what you’re given is part of the puzzle. In all cases, the implicit instruction is “figure out the final answer,” which will always be a single word or short phrase. The content and topic is also extremely varied; many are essentially word puzzles and some may involve basic computer concepts such as cryptography or encoding, binary/hexadecimal numbers, and logic. To help prepare you for the event, we have provided several resources for you: View the 2004 puzzles and solutions in our 2004 Puzzle Archive. View the 2005 puzzles and solutions in our 2005 Puzzle Archive. View the 2006 puzzles and solutions in our 2006 Puzzle Archive. View the 2007 puzzles and solutions in our 2007 Puzzle Archive. A list of puzzle-solving tools.
The formats of the puzzles are extremely varied. Some may have explicit instructions, while for others, figuring out what to do with what you’re given is part of the puzzle. In all cases, the implicit instruction is “figure out the final answer,” which will always be a single word or short phrase. The content and topic is also extremely varied; many are essentially word puzzles and some may involve basic computer concepts such as cryptography or encoding, binary/hexadecimal numbers, and logic. To help prepare you for the event, we have provided the puzzle archive and a page with puzzle-solving tools.
