EC Puzzle Hunt
| EC Puzzle Hunt | |
|---|---|
 The Exploring the Countryside logo, in full color | |
| Running Team | r/PictureGame |
| No. of Registered Teams | 384 |
| Winning Team | አ ETHIOPIC CAMPFIRE |
| No. of Rounds | 2 |
| No. of Puzzles (Feeders and Metas) | 26 |
| Timeframe and Location | |
| Location | Online |
| Start Time | 2022-10-08 12:00 EDT |
| Finishing Time (Winning Team) | 2022-10-08 22:52 EDT |
| Official End Time | 2022-10-17 00:00 EDT |
| Links | |
| Hunt Link | Link |
| Wrapup Link | Link |
EC Puzzle Hunt, titled Exploring the Countryside was a puzzle hunt organized by members of the r/PictureGame team, and run during the middle of October, 2022. The hunt was presented as a trip through the wilderness. However, as soon as the hunt started, something was off (there was no color!). Teams were sent off to explore the countryside, as well as solve puzzles from the Four Seasons in search of a solution.
Plot[edit | edit source]
The hunt was presented as a relaxing trip through nature. However, something was clearly wrong - as teams set out, they discovered that all puzzles are in grayscale, with all colors Faded Away. After solving the Exploring meta, they discovered the reasoning for that - the Seasons have disappeared. Hope was not lost however, as there was a way to restore fragments of the seasons - by solving puzzles associated with each season. Each puzzle solved in the Seasons round added a bit of color to its season on both the round banner and the background. After solving enough puzzles, teams discovered a way to restore the Seasons for good. Finally, teams Click to revealrevisited the feeder puzzles to apply the final amendments and brought the countryside back to life.
Structure[edit | edit source]
Exploring the Countryside was divided into two main rounds. The feeders in the Seasons round was further divided into 4 groups of 4 belonging to each season.
| Round Title | Number of Feeder Puzzles | Number of Metapuzzles |
|---|---|---|
| Exploring | 7 | 1 |
| The Seasons | 16 | 1 (+1) |
Unlock guide[edit | edit source]
The Exploring round started with Field Notes, Round Trip and Cobble unlocked. Each puzzle solve unlocked the next puzzle, in this order: Entering Competitions, En Route, A Very Large Integer, Rock Climbing. The meta, Faded Away was unlocked at 5 solves. Solving Faded Away opened the Seasons round.
The Seasons round started with 1 puzzle from each season unlocked: Journal Overtakeages, Stained Glass, Squared Away and Ice Fishing. The puzzles unlocked in a fixed order, following the seasons' cycle. Most puzzle solves in the Seasons round unlocked 1 puzzle, but two of them unlocked 2 puzzles. Solves in the Exploring round did not count towards these.
1 solve: Garden Cleanup
2 solves: Too Hot!
3 solves: Back to School
4 solves: On Thin Ice, Much Assembly Required
5 solves: Summer Camp
6 solves: Butterfly Catching
7 solves: Puzzle Boxes
8 solves: Cryptoornithology, Unreal Estate
9 solves: Artistic Interference
10 solves: Star Accommodations
The Four Season Theorem meta was unlocked at 12 solves. Solving it, in turn, unlocked the final puzzle of the hunt - Emending the Countryside.
List of puzzles[edit | edit source]
Exploring (Intro Round)[edit | edit source]
- Field Notes
- Round Trip
- Cobble
- Entering Competitions
- En Route
- A Very Large Integer
- Rock Climbing
- Faded Away (Meta)
The Seasons[edit | edit source]
Spring[edit | edit source]
Summer[edit | edit source]
Autumn[edit | edit source]
Winter[edit | edit source]
Seasons (endgame)[edit | edit source]
Reviews and Write Ups[edit | edit source]
- RockmanEX3 - Top 5 Puzzles I DID in Exploring the Countryside
Leaderboard[edit | edit source]
| Rank | Team | Solves | Finish Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | አ ETHIOPIC CAMPFIRE | 26 | 2023-10-08 10:52:00 PM |
| 2 | Eastcampus Cruft of r/puzzlers_galactic | 22 | 2023-10-09 1:56:00 AM |
| 3 | Eponymous Clues of r/PuzzlersGalactic | 22 | 2023-10-09 6:15:00 AM |
| 4 | Ephemeris Calculators of the Coraline Schism | 26 | 2023-10-09 10:52:00 AM |
| 5 | ൠ MALAYALAM LETTER LOOK AT THIS COOL BUG | 24 | 2023-10-09 4:21:00 PM |
| 6 | I Cook Eggs | 24 | 2023-10-09 4:48:00 PM |
| 7 | Being good at finding a certain coordinate in a picture game is valuable, but I think I’ll take the 200+ collective years of professional countryside exploration experience | 26 | 2023-10-09 6:03:00 PM |
| 8 | /u/embarrassedclupea 🎏 | 23 | 2023-10-09 11:14:00 PM |
| 9 | Ecliptic Catgirls of the Caroline Schism | 26 | 2023-10-10 12:36:00 PM |
| 10 | [URGENT] EMERGENCY CRITICAL ET CETERA | 26 | 2023-10-10 3:55:00 PM |
| 11 | Travelers Seeking Best Inn for the Entire Colony | 26 | 2023-10-10 3:57:00 PM |
| 12 | outdoorscamper | 23 | 2023-10-10 5:42:00 PM |
| 13 | Impossibly Organized Hiker | 21 | 2023-10-10 7:44:00 PM |
| 14 | MystikFact | 21 | 2023-10-10 8:55:00 PM |
| 15 | 17th Switchback | 26 | 2023-10-10 10:11:00 PM |
| 16 | Nature Enjoyment Season | 21 | 2023-10-10 11:04:00 PM |
| 17 | Yardinality | 26 | 2023-10-11 1:12:00 AM |
| 18 | Given the Outdoor Setting It Is Unlikely to Be Projectyl | 22 | 2023-10-11 2:49:00 AM |
| 19 | Mobius Strippers | 21 | 2023-10-11 8:28:00 AM |
| 20 | ghostbloods | 23 | 2023-10-11 12:41:00 PM |
| 21 | Eternity Challenges of r/antimatterdimensions | 23 | 2023-10-11 2:01:00 PM |
| 22 | MiaoMiaoMiao | 26 | 2023-10-11 3:18:00 PM |
| 23 | 🟥🟧🟨🟩🟦🟪🟫⬛⬜ | 22 | 2023-10-11 4:54:00 PM |
| 24 | cam[pi]ng | 23 | 2023-10-11 5:07:00 PM |
| 25 | ECosysTEM Adventure | 26 | 2023-10-11 6:33:00 PM |
| 26 | pluru | 22 | 2023-10-11 9:45:00 PM |
| 27 | Enormous Chamber 1 | 26 | 2023-10-12 4:33:00 AM |
| 28 | Teddy Set Go | 23 | 2023-10-12 5:57:00 AM |
| 29 | The Blob Wizards 🔮🧙 | 22 | 2023-10-12 7:59:00 AM |
| 30 | PonX | 26 | 2023-10-12 10:09:00 AM |
