• Solutions Posted

Welcome to PuzzleCrunch 2008, the second UIUC Spring puzzlehunt competition, home to a series of puzzles designed to challenge and entertain anyone. PuzzleCrunch will consist of a series of twelve puzzles to be completed throughout the day (April 26); some of these puzzles can be done in parallel, while others must be done sequentially, building up to a large, final meta-puzzle.

On Saturday, April 26, at 10:00am (Central Time), the puzzles will be available from this site. The first three teams (or individuals) to finish will receive an assortment of wonderful prizes. Unlike past events, PuzzleCrunch 2008 will be an entirely online event. That is, people from around the world will be competing, and no advantage will go to those on campus at UIUC.

The goal is to have fun and find the best puzzle solvers out there. Everybody is eligible and encouraged to partcipate. Grab the most clever people you know, form a team, and dive into the puzzles.

Prizes are provided by Amazon.com and Microsoft.

Solutions

1. 5:47pm, Team Geekspotting (Vicki Bitters, Dave Carlisle, Bert Johnson, Toni Johnson, Peter Schlichting)
2. 6:54pm, The Extreme Dream Ice Cream Team (featuring the illustrious talents of Shane Cochran, Ryan Freeberg, Andrew Haala, Marty Hanlon, Lauren Haynes, Caryn Lichtenberg, and Tim O'Gorman)
3. 6:59pm, Team Turtle (Bob Bregant, Jessica Bregant)
4. 7:05pm, Unsafe Crackers (Josh Conroy, John Harden, Ashton Nadig, John Washington, Ben Ziegler)
5. 7:26pm, Team Milli Vanilli (Daniel Hill, Kyle Underwood, Katrina Willitz, Charlie Mooney)
6. 7:32pm, The Fellowship of the Bombe (Ben Dukes, Andrew Fister, JT Longino, Allison Tegge)
7. 7:38pm, Team plugh (Joseph DeVincentis, Nathan Fung, Paul Melamud, Corey Plover)
8. 8:15pm, Team Unfiction (enaxor, Ationsong, Cortana, natas, Fencer, RandomJazz, Rogi_Ocnorb, APB, Phil, Omega, randomeis, rowan, varin)
9. 9:31pm, Team AvonPaintball (Geoff Carlson, Jack Tubbs, David Nilosek)
10. 9:38pm, Team "No team name" (Fred Fettinger, Patrick Auchter, Jared Suttles, Jennifer Suttles, Joe Swantek, Becky O'Donohue, Erin Janulis, Nate Gingrich, Alex Garfield)
11. 11:47pm, Patrick "My team has forsaken me" Goh
12. TwelevePack (sslug, Molnar, knocka, pianoman, corgipower, shecrab, anna_black, andersonwang, j15bell)
13. Team Spiryx (Roel Messiant, Joey Kinsella)

• 6:10pm - Right 4 : You show more character by attaining new heights
• 6:00pm - Right 3 : Up the river with just one oar (an exclusive oar)
• 6:00pm - Left 4 : It 'tens' to be the case that the number of objects matters
• 6:00pm - Meta : Curie, Galileo, Newton, Nobel, Oppenheimer, Turing
• 6:00pm - Meta : Bombe, Dynamite, Gravity, Nuclear Bomb, Radium, Telescope
• 6:00pm - Meta : Bar, Basement, Bathroom, Car Hold, Laboratory, The Matrix
• 5:00pm - Right 3 : Try converting from one to the other before you asc
• 4:00pm - Left 3 : Try not to 'skip' simpler ciphers for more complex ones.
• 4:00pm - Center 3 : This puzzle is really quite elementary.
• 4:00pm - Right 3 : If you can't figure it out, feel free to aks or something.
• 3:10pm - Center 2 : Consider drawing a map of our hero's path
• 3:10pm - Right 2 : If you've found the numbers, you're in good position, and the image is the key.
• 2:00pm - Center 2 : Does the yellow man seem to have any favorite points of interest?
• 12:00pm - Center 1 : Uncle Palasky was such a star gazer
• 12:00pm - Left 2 : Consider breaking it down into a few primary components
• 12:00pm - Center 2 : Ah, when video games only let you move in four directions...
• 12:00pm - Right 2 : A military man would understand the long and short of it
• 11:00am - Left 1 : What do they have in common?
• 11:00am - Center 1 : I was born in July.
• 11:00am - Right 1 : What do they have in common?
• Check back often! Hints have been fixed with the correct time. (Jared lives in Seattle, so it's early over there).

Hello, Puzzlers...

With great regret, we've again had to cancel the scheduled puzzles. It seems disaster always knows exactly when to strike and disrupt our puzzling plans. First there was Calvin's kidnapping, then his murder, and most recently his android brother's arrival. This time, our poor uncle Joseph Palasky was taken from us.

In retrospect, we probably shouldn't have joked with him so much. After all, it was clear he was going senile. (But, honestly, would you really expect him to try eating all his money?) Even if we did did convince him that leprachauns were trying to steal it all... Not even Kobayashi could eat all $42 million. Poor Uncle Blue...

Luckily, our uncle was a generous and caring man. Even in the heights of his senility, old Blue always remembered that we loved puzzles. As a final parting gift, he left us an "E-will" in the form of twelve puzzles. We've been racking our brains over this for a few days now to no avail. Puzzlers, will you help us?

Please remember, contacting us before, during, and after the competition is highly encouraged. Keep us updated on your progress, and keep checking this space for hints throughout the day!