Sam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
l33tminion) wrote2013-01-21 11:38 pm
l33tminion) wrote2013-01-21 11:38 pm
Entry tags:
In Which the Entire Text of Atlas Shrugged Defeats EVIL
This year's Mystery Hunt (themed after financial shenanigans and heist movies) was amazing and crazy, lasting slightly over 73 hours despite hunt organizers' (Manic Sages') attempt to speed things along (increasing the rate of free puzzle solutions, adding hints, a late-game decision to require only that five of the six rounds be solved instead of all six, and a foreshortened runaround at the end). The longest MIT Mystery Hunt yet, and probably the hardest. Certainly one of the most complex. I wasn't of much help to my team this time except very early in the game. On one puzzle the solution was staring me in the face for hours and I didn't realize until shortly after hunt was completed.
Only two teams completed five rounds: The winner, the team whose team name was the entire text of Atlas Shrugged (evidently the sign-up website had no limit on the length of team names), and Palindrome. My team, Death from Above (going by the name "Death & Mayhem" after merging with the team named Mayhem) was among six more teams approximately tied for both places, and might have done even better if not for technical glitches (everywhere, including MIT's email system being flaky) and late-game slip-ups on the part of the organizers.
Solutions aren't up until hunt organizers have recovered from their ordeal, so I'll try to point to a few of the more interesting puzzles then.
Only two teams completed five rounds: The winner, the team whose team name was the entire text of Atlas Shrugged (evidently the sign-up website had no limit on the length of team names), and Palindrome. My team, Death from Above (going by the name "Death & Mayhem" after merging with the team named Mayhem) was among six more teams approximately tied for both places, and might have done even better if not for technical glitches (everywhere, including MIT's email system being flaky) and late-game slip-ups on the part of the organizers.
Solutions aren't up until hunt organizers have recovered from their ordeal, so I'll try to point to a few of the more interesting puzzles then.