Wiki:Page Structure/Puzzles

The introductory section of the article should include the Puzzle Name in bold, along with the following information:
 * General puzzle type (Word? Logic? Etc.)
 * Round Name
 * Hunt Name
 * A visual description of the puzzle, particularly any notable creative decisions (Is it presented as a series of images of Trebuchets? Is the page just blank?).

A brief, non-spoilery description of the puzzle may be included, if it is possible to discuss the puzzle without spoiling it. Think of this like a blurb for a novel; a successful one intrigues the reader without spoiling the plot.

Infobox
The infoboxes on puzzle pages should contain the following information:


 * Puzzle, Round, and Hunt Title
 * A relevant image to the puzzle (if applicable) and a descriptive caption
 * Note: Puzzle images will need to be uploaded to the wiki, so avoid spoiler-y images.
 * The author(s') name(s)
 * The answer to the puzzle in all-caps
 * The number of solves and guesses a puzzle had (if available)
 * A link to the puzzle page, solution page, answer checker page (if separate from puzzle page), and statistics page (if available)

If the template used on this page is copied from the source onto any new pages and the notes are followed, the information filled in should be automatically formatted correctly.

Solve Path
NOTE: This section is optional. While it's up to the author whether or not they write a solve path, solve paths are best written for puzzles that fit one of the following criteria:
 * The puzzle does not have a solution page available, or the provided solution page is lacking in sufficient detail.
 * The puzzle requires many step-by-step deductions, such as minimetas or certain instruction-following puzzles.
 * The puzzle contains red herrings or other information that would not otherwise be covered in the element list.

This section should be mostly spoiler-tagged, aside from surface observations about the puzzle itself that do not contribute to the solution. Things like "This puzzle is presented as series of circular grids", or "The clues are separated into two columns labelled BINGO and BONGO."

After that, use the following spoiler tag system... to hide the majority of your solve path (click on it to reveal the text!)

As the goal of the Solve Path on a puzzle page is to provide a solver's perspective of a puzzle, and how someone may approach and ultimately solve it, it is recommended to avoid directly copying the solution page of a puzzle. Use it as a reference, particularly if a puzzle is difficult to understand, but attempt to write from your own perspective.

While not everyone will share the same solve path, these pieces of writing should be constructive; if an alternate path is discovered, add it as an additional section of the solve path rather than replacing it entirely.

Track Differences
Note: This section is only for hunts with multiple difficulty tracks.

Some hunts have multiple difficulty tracks for solvers to work through. Often, the higher difficulty track will be the default version of a puzzle while the lower difficulty will have additions to it, whether it be certain words getting highlighted in the flavortext, extra givens being provided for logic puzzles, or enumerations being added for crossword-style clues.

Puzzle pages should be written as if someone is solving the higher-difficulty path, with this section added where necessary to explain the differences between the two tracks.

Puzzle Elements
Puzzle elements often contain just as many spoilers about a puzzle's solution as the solve path does, so this section should be mostly spoiler-hidden as well. Some elements will not need to be spoiler-tagged, particularly those that only cover the visual presentation of a puzzle.

Puzzle elements should be listed in order of first encounter when one is solving the puzzle. This means that most structural and flavor/theming elements will be listed first, as they will be the first thing most solvers encounter. Content and flavor/topic elements will be in the middle, with extraction-level elements and submission-based structural elements nearing the end. While exact order may be subjective, most of them should be able to be ordered consistently.

Sometimes elements will need to be created to fill in a key part of a puzzle's structure. If this is the case, we recommend using the talk page and/or to discuss what elements are needed and whether particular elements have been created and named yet.

Element Title - Description of how the element applies to this puzzle. Specific details are both allowed and recommended. This element isn't spoiled because it only talks about basic puzzle presentation

Element Title - Description of how the element applies to this puzzle. Specific details are both allowed and recommended.

Element Title - Description of how the element applies to this puzzle. Specific details are both allowed and recommended.

Element Title - Description of how the element applies to this puzzle. Specific details are both allowed and recommended.

Element Title - Description of how the element applies to this puzzle. Specific details are both allowed and recommended.

Categories
This section header should be deleted. This is only a note about adding categories to a puzzle page.

All puzzle pages should have the following categories applied to them:
 * "Puzzles from [Hunt Title]"
 * "[Element Title]"
 * "Puzzles by [Puzzle Author]"

Other categories or phrasings may be used, providing they are both relevant and make sense. If unsure, ask!