Have you tried: Difference between revisions
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{{See also|Have you tried (team)}} |
{{See also|Have you tried (team)}} |
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'''Have you tried''' is a popular puzzlehunt document, written by [[ACME]] in |
'''Have you tried''' is a popular puzzlehunt document, written by [[ACME]] in 2001. The [https://puzzles.mit.edu/resources/haveyoutried.pdf PDF page] has been cited in a lot of puzzlehunt resources, with multiple variations and versions of the same. |
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The document has inspired [[Have you tried (team)]], the name of a puzzlehunt team. The document is also the inspiration/data source behind multiple hunt puzzles. |
The document has inspired [[Have you tried (team)]], the name of a puzzlehunt team. The document is also the inspiration/data source behind multiple hunt puzzles. |
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== History == |
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* [[Teammate Hunt 2021/All That's Left To Do Is Extract|All That's Left To Do Is Extract]] from [[Teammate Hunt 2021]] |
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* [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2010/Making Connections|Making Connections from MITMH10]] from [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2010]] |
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* [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2018/Yeah, But it Didn't Work!|Yeah, But it Didn't Work!]] from [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2018]] |
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The guide was originally written by ACME members in 2001, and worked well enough to help ACME win [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2002]]. |
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== Have you tried == |
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''This list is an incomplete mirror and expansion of the "Have you Tried" document. Please help Puzzle Wiki improve by expanding it.'' |
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They continued to use the guide when writing [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2003]], and released it publicly during the hunt when teams were getting stuck on specific encodings already in the guide, including [[Morse code]]. While that did not result in teams getting unstuck, it did get picked up by other teams and became popular on its own, spawning multiple versions and variations. It was later also listed on MIT Mystery Hunt's [https://puzzles.mit.edu/resources.html beginner resources]. |
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=== For starters - Have you tried... === |
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* ...reading the title and the blurb? |
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* ...googling things? |
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* ...writing down all observations and hints you can, even if not answer related? |
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* ...looking at the list of helpful websites? |
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* ...pursuing every train of thought that doesn’t seem to give an answer at first? |
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* ...reading through title and flavourtext again, maybe googling them? |
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* ...looking at the binder of useful stuff? |
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* ...starting to organise all info in one place in the sheet? |
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* ...writing down what you think the puzzle could be? |
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The guide was likely written by Lance Nathan, Dean Sturvesant and Francis Heaney. |
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=== Letters and words - Have you tried... === |
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* ...alphabetizing? |
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* ...using the leftover letters to spell something? |
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* ...putting it on nutrimatic? |
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* ...rearranging the letters (aka “anagramming” or “transposing”)? |
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* ...looking for unusual letter frequencies? |
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* ...determining if it is a Caesar shift in general? |
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* ...looking for a number you can index into? What words can you index from the number? |
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* ...shifting from letters to numbers? |
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* ...diagonalizing (taking the first letter of the first answer, the second letter of the second...)? |
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* ...taking first letter, or last letter, or average of two letters? |
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* ...looking for weirdness with the words, like repeated letters, or common phrases? |
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* ...sorting the words by length to see weirdness? |
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* ...seeing if they have interesting substrings (Like every word has "OR" in it) |
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* ...checking for similar words (homophones / one letter edit / homonyms) |
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* ...treating letters as call letters? |
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* ...treating letters as protein sequences? |
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* ...seeing if these words relate to song lyrics? |
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* ...seeing if there are any acronyms of phrases? |
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* ...turning it into a cryptic crossword clue? |
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* ...looking at a computer keyboard? |
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* ...a pun? |
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* ...googling the words to see if we're missing something? |
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== Other variations == |
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=== Numbers - Have you tried... === |
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* ...graphing it functionally? |
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* ...graphing it parametrically? |
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* ...googling numbers? |
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* ...putting them on OEIS to see if it's a known pattern? |
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* ...checking to see if your numbers are in the right base (including hex)? |
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* ...shifting from numbers to letters? |
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* ...loooking for patterns in the numbers? |
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* ...treating numbers as atomic weights, numbers, etc.? |
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* ...treating numbers as dates? |
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* ...using it as a phone number? |
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* ...using it as an IP address? |
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* ...matching numbers to MIT buildings/courses? |
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* ...treating numbers as latitude/longitude or GPS coordinates? |
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* ...treating numbers as radio stations? |
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* ...treating numbers as ASCII numbers? |
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* ...treating numbers as PLU numbers? |
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* ...treating numbers as ISBN numbers? |
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* ...seeing if there are any strange sequences? |
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* ...seeing if prime numbers are involved? |
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* ...seeing if fundamental constants are involved? |
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* ...asking what other numbers are close to the one you have? |
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* ...googling the flavourtext again to see if it has hints? |
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* ...Searching for a themed set of items that is numbered to use as a conversion |
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Other versions of the document include - |
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=== Ways of looking at a Puzzle - Have you tried... === |
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* [https://2021.teammatehunt.com/have-you-tried from Teammate Hunt 2021] |
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* ...looking at it in the mirror? |
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* [https://beta.vero.site/try From Betaveros] |
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* ...squinting at it from far away? |
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* ...tilting it? |
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* ...looking at it upside down? |
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* ...looking through it? |
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* ...rewriting it neatly? |
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* ...rewriting it on graph paper? |
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* ...saying it out loud to someone else? |
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* ...putting yourself in the constructor’s shoes? |
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* ...making it 3D? |
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* ...cutting it up? |
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* ...folding it? |
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* ...connecting the dots? |
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== Puzzles about "Have you Tried" == |
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* ...looking at a song/poem/book/movie/TV show? |
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* ...Braille? |
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* ...Morse code? |
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* ...overlaying it on a map of MIT? |
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* ...getting on the T? |
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* ...checking it for pop culture references with Tanis, Jenn, Denis or James? |
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* ...using the Library of Congress or Dewey decimal system? |
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* ...asking whether it has anything to do personally with the constructing team? |
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* ...Palm graffiti? |
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* ...running it by someone who goes to MIT? |
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* ...googling it again? |
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Some puzzles that reference "Have you tried" include - |
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* ...trusting your instincts? |
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* [[Teammate Hunt 2021/All That's Left To Do Is Extract|All That's Left To Do Is Extract]] from [[Teammate Hunt 2021]] |
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* ...trusting someone else’s instincts? |
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* [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2010/Making Connections|Making Connections from MITMH10]] from [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2010]] |
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* ...asking “what’s weird about this?” |
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* [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2018/Yeah, But it Didn't Work!|Yeah, But it Didn't Work!]] from [[MIT Mystery Hunt 2018]] |
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* ...taking a step back? |
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* ...asking for fresh brains? |
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* ...checking your work? |
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* ...asking someone else to check your work? |
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* ...explaining your work to someone else? |
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* ...doing what you’ve already done again to the output? |
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* ...consulting the list of expertise? |
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* ...leaving the room? |
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* ...asking people if it looks like anything they recognize? |
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* ...thinking about what’s missing? |
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* ...asking yourself whether you’ve used all the information? |
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* ...keeping even a strange-looking result? |
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* ...brute force? |
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* ...not thinking about it? |
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* ...splitting up tasks to solve in a group? |
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* ...talking to a hunt veteran? |
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* ...talking to a hunt newbie? |
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* ...asking “what’s the pattern”? |
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* ...rereading the instructions? |
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* ...rereading the title and flavour? |
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* ...googling everything again? |
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Latest revision as of 23:05, 18 February 2024
| Resources |
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Have you tried is a popular puzzlehunt document, written by ACME in 2001. The PDF page has been cited in a lot of puzzlehunt resources, with multiple variations and versions of the same.
The document has inspired Have you tried (team), the name of a puzzlehunt team. The document is also the inspiration/data source behind multiple hunt puzzles.
History[edit | edit source]
The guide was originally written by ACME members in 2001, and worked well enough to help ACME win MIT Mystery Hunt 2002.
They continued to use the guide when writing MIT Mystery Hunt 2003, and released it publicly during the hunt when teams were getting stuck on specific encodings already in the guide, including Morse code. While that did not result in teams getting unstuck, it did get picked up by other teams and became popular on its own, spawning multiple versions and variations. It was later also listed on MIT Mystery Hunt's beginner resources.
The guide was likely written by Lance Nathan, Dean Sturvesant and Francis Heaney.
Other variations[edit | edit source]
Other versions of the document include -
Puzzles about "Have you Tried"[edit | edit source]
Some puzzles that reference "Have you tried" include -
