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Each year (sometimes twice a year!) I post a mega-puzzle. These puzzles have been very challenging but can also be fun to work on. Good Luck to any of you trying to solve it.Mega Puzzle #14 - started on 2-20-17Below are some previous puzzles - I intend to update this archive sometime... sometime...Mega Puzzle #11 was solved by Gabreila Peters and Kevin Zhang!Look for Mega-Puzzle 12 during the 2014-2015 school year!Mega-Puzzle #10 has been SOLVED!!!
(Friday, Feb. 8th 10am)Tuesday, January 22nd- THE PUZZLE (PDF)
Clues1. The number of Weasley kids refers to children of Molly and Arthur.2. Hopefully you are thinking of classic board games as you look at the puzzle.3. The logarithm of each of the integers is between 2 and 5.4. Each room has a theme that can be used to find the three integers. Each theme is different.5. Did you know that dollar bills are only printed in twelve cities in the United States?6. Close your eyes to read the words.7. Think about the distance around a circle.8. Do you have a Clue yet? Maybe a Cluedo?9. One room uses a library code, but it’s not the Library
10. This is a most Excellent Adventure.11. The weapon used in this murder does not appear in the game.12. There are chemicals in the Dining Room.13. You need to line them up right to feel the ones.14. Zero is the lowest; nine is the highest.15. You need to encode with the key rather than decode.1. 16. Use the word that a room yields along with the key.
2. 17. A Quidditch goal is worth 10 points.
New clues will be added to this list every day or so. Some may be useful, others not so much.Mega Puzzle (#9) has started!!! (October 29th, 2012) - solved on Nov. 13th!!!Welcome to the ninth edition of the mega-puzzle. The entire puzzle is given in the 255 letters listed below. Even you can solve it, or perhaps it is more accurate to say, even you can start the puzzle, but only the most persistent will solve it because there are many steps to the end. You may work alone or with teams. You are welcome to ask anyone for help, and encouraged to use resources that will help you to the solution. To the first person to solve it will go a small cash reward ($10), extra credit (if you’re in my class this semester), and the glory of joining the short list of mega‐puzzle solvers. If the puzzle was worked on in a group then the extra credit will be divided among the group. Throughout the duration of the puzzle, extra clues to guide you will be posted in room 2309 and/or online. These clues will not occur on a regular schedule.
The deadline for solving this mega-puzzle is 3:15p.m. Thursday, December 20th, 2012.
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Clue #1 - Friday, Nov 2nd
Some clarifications: You’ve already got lots of clues, you just haven’t found them. There is no
need to look elsewhere for clues with this puzzle. More detailed clues will begin next week. Even
you can get started on the puzzle.G
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Clue #2 - Monday, Nov 5th
The way to start the puzzle is to find encased clues within the puzzle. Many of you have been looking for them, and you’ll know for sure when you have found them. Even I can see them!
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Clue #3 , Thursday Nov. 8thThe puzzle is not an anagram, nor is it a word search (although you will find some words.) If you find encased clues, you’re likely to find more. Half will describe the solution, while the other half lead to other clues. Did you know there are two V’s among the letters? They are the 162nd and 235th letters out of 255. That’s just a fact, not as much of a hint. You may be losing confidence, but I think it would be odd if you didn’t find encased clues. Warp speed ahead!
Clue #4 , Monday Nov. 12thThere are six clues hidden within the letters. Even you can find one. (Hmmm, I’ve said that before.) Three of the clues describe the solution. Most of the clues have some parts you will use and others that you will not. Four can be found with a similar pattern.
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Tuesday, November 13thThe ninth mega puzzle was solved after just two weeks (a record) by John Johnson and Sloane Kirsch! Their names have been added to the glorious, short list of mega puzzle solvers! The solution to the puzzle is given below.
Twice in the original clue and also in each of the other clues hints were given that EVEN (or NOT ODD) would help solve the puzzle. This ‘first’ clue (although many groups found other clues before this one) was found by only looking at the even numbered letters:G
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Encased clues ease wishing account. Warp nine thy who hunt star. Prime num are what’s needed to observe partial clue set. Patience. Good Luck. Prime numbers. Go!
From that clue you should look at the letters that occur on prime numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17…) Those give you this message:
EMBEL CERTAIN LETTERS DESCRY CLUES. USE MULTIPLES OF PRIMES. …
What that meant was that multiples of prime numbers would reveal more clues. For example, if you looked at every fifth letter (multiples of 5, which is a prime) you would find:
B SEUSS THE CAT IN THE HAT … (with some extra garbage after that.)
Every eleventh letter gave you this:
LEONARDO PISANO BIGOLLO
And every seventeenth letter gave you this: (also could be found on a diagonal in the 16x16 grid.)
E W SPEAKS PAGE ONE
Two of those described the solution, but the name (Mr. Bigollo) leads you to another clue. That name happens to be the actual name of the man nicknamed Fibonacci. So the final clue was found by only looking at numbers that occur in the Fibonacci sequence. (1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21…)
G E M BACKWARDS
I have highlighted the useful parts of the clues and not highlighted the extra letters that were not needed. Combining the three clues that describe the solution you get:
SEUSS The Cat in the Hat – Speaks Page One – Backwards.
And thus the solution was to read aloud the first page of that book backwards:
Day wet, cold, cold that all. House the in sat we so. Play to wet too was it. Shine not did sun the.
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