List of MIT Mystery Hunts
The MIT Mystery Hunt is an annual puzzle hunt centered on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has been occurring since 1981. Average team size varies, but has grown along with the size and complexity of the hunt's content over time. The reward for a team completing the hunt first was originally a choice of several prizes presented by the organizer, but has since become a commemorative version of the final Coin, along with the job of organizing and writing the hunt for the next year. As such, winning teams are usually identical to the writing teams for the following year, although sometimes name and roster changes occur between winning and writing.
Hunts
| Year | Theme | Plot Summary | Writing Team/Individual | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Brad Schaefer | Unknown | ||
| 1982 | Brad Schaefer | Unknown | ||
| 1983 | Brad Schaefer | Holman Reactionary Army | ||
| 1984 | Jean-Joseph Coté | Unknown | ||
| 1985 | JIM and DKS | Unknown | ||
| 1986 | Unknown | Unknown | ||
| 1987 | Unknown | Unknown | ||
| 1988 | Eric Albert | The Black Seven | ||
| 1989 | The Black Seven | Unknown | ||
| 1990 | Unknown | [Stephen Rinehart?] | ||
| 1991 | Jan Maessen and Stephen Rinehart | [Stephen Rinehart?] | ||
| 1992 | Treasure Hunt | Teams were tasked with the recovery of the treasure once belonging to Captain Red Herring, hidden somewhere on Mystery Island. | [Stephen Rinehart?] | Unknown |
| 1993 | A Quest for the Holy Grail | Unknown | Unknown Team Led By Eric Albert | |
| 1994 | Cyberpunk (Genre) | A mysterious secret society known as IHTFP (Internet Haven For Tender Preservation) exists in the futuristic setting of the 21st century, when cash is illegal. Due to a run-in with the cyber-cops, a member of the society known as H. Acker had to hide a piece of illegal currency on the MIT campus, leaving the teams to find it through a series of puzzles and encrypted messages. | Eric Albert (and others) | Unknown Team Led By Mark Gottlieb |
| 1995 | Clue/Cluedo | Mr. Boddy, having come into the possession of the "Unlucky Coin of Eye Aitch Tee-Ef Pea, learns of his impending death at the hands of one of his friends. Teams are invited to his mansion along with these friends, and upon Mr. Boddy's death during this visit, it is revealed that (as heirs to the coin), the teams will have to both solve the murder, and the numerous clues to the coin's whereabouts Boddy has hidden throughout the mansion. | Mark Gottlieb | The Spanish Inquisition |
| 1996 | Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid | After lightning strikes the Crab's Subjunc-TV unit, causing his extremely valuable "I Haven't Tolerance For Prices" coin to vanish, he calls for the teams to aid in the recovery effort. As Achilles and the Tortoise explore the now much more puzzling Subjunc-TV repair manual, teams use both it and the Subjunc-VCR tape to discover where the IHTFP coin has disappeared to. | Richard Garfield, Skaff Elias, et al | Chaos |
| 1997 | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Fakeout), Elvis Presley | Initially, teams were tasked with helping Beavis & Butthead (who had stolen Bill & Ted's phone booth time machine) locate some IHFTP (Industrial High-Fidelity Toilet Paper). However, it quickly became clear that almost all of the puzzles given to them were impossible. Separately, teams discovered the rest of the hunt was themed but had little in terms of actual plot relating to Elvis Presley. | Mark Gottlieb | PalindromeAinamania |
| 1998 | Coursework (Enigmatology Degree) | Unknown | PalindromeAinamania | ACME |
| 1999 | (Where In The World Is) Carmen Sandiego | After learning that Carmen Sandiego and the members of V.I.L.E. had stolen the MIT IAP Mystery Hunt coin had been stolen right out from under ACME's nose, teams are brought on to round up the criminals (and Carmen) before they can do any more damage with their international crimes. | ACME | Setec Astronomy |
| 2000 | The Wizard of Oz | Dorothy Gale, having once again been transported to a new locale (namely MIT), desperately needs help returning to Kansas. In order to do so, the Munchkin Information Processing Board (MIPB) creates the Tornado-Operated Object Levitator (T.O.O.L.) which should be capable of transporting Dorothy back home. However, the T.O.O.L. requires a special coin to operate, and with nobody in the MIPB remembering where they left it, it's up to the teams to use the MIPB's powerful computing system, the Wonderfully Intelligent Zenith of All Recovery Devices (W.I.Z.A.R.D.) to recover the coin. Complicating matters are the series of credentials required to access the system and put in place by Wendy the Insidiously Tyrannical Computer Hacker (W.I.T.C.H.), clues to which can be thankfully found in the form of puzzles. | Setec Astronomy | PalindromePAINTTTNIAP |
| 2001 | Horror (Genre) | On the 300th anniversary of the burning of a witch known as Agatha Winchester on the site where MIT's Lobby 7 was ultimately built, a supernatural disaster is prophesied to occur unless the bloodstone that contained Agatha's power was found. In order to do so, teams must figure out how to summon four beings, who explain how to locate the missing gemstone. | PalindromePAINTTTNIAP | Setec Astronomy |
| 2002 | Monopoly (Board Game) | The bad news is that Rich Uncle Pennybags has passed away. The good news is that the inheritance includes his famous lucky coin. However, with the will stating that the inheritance will only go to the person who owns the most hotels, and Pennybags' evil nephew Alvin already owning seven, teams have to sort out a series of cryptic title and beaurocratic red tape in order to surpass Alvin and win the inheritance back. | Setec Astronomy | ACME |
| 2003 | Murder Mystery (Fakeout), The Matrix | Example | ACME | Kappa Sig |
| 2004 | Time Bandits | Example | The French ArmadaFormerly Kappa Sig | Setec Astronomy |
| 2005 | Superheroes | Example | Setec Astronomy | Physical Plant |
| 2006 | Espionage (Genre) | Example | Physical Plant | The Evil Midnight Bombers What Bomb At Midnight |
| 2007 | Hell and The Seven Deadly Sins | Example | The Evil Midnight Bombers What Bomb At Midnight | PalindromeDr. Awkward |
| 2008 | Murder Mystery | Example | PalindromeDr. Awkward | The Evil Midnight Bombers What Bomb At Midnight |
| 2009 | Escape From Zyzzlvaria (Board Game) | Example | The Evil Midnight Bombers What Bomb At Midnight | Beginner's Luck |
| 2010 | MITMH History and Alternative History | Example | Beginner's Luck | Metaphysical Plant |
| 2011 | Video Games | Example | Metaphysical Plant | Codex |
| 2012 | The Producers | Example | Codex | Manic Sages |
| 2013 | Bank Heist | Example | Manic Sages | The entire text of Atlas Shrugged |
| 2014 | Alice in Wonderland | Example | Alice ShruggedFormerly the entire text of Atlas Shrugged | One Fish Two Fish Random Fish Blue Fish |
| 2015 | Deep Sea Exploration | Example | One Fish Two Fish Random Fish Blue Fish | Luck, I Am Your Father |
| 2016 | Inception | Example | Luck, I Am Your Father | Setec Astronomy |
| 2017 | Health & Safety (Story, External), Inside Out | Example | Setec Astronomy | Death & Mayhem |
| 2018 | Holidays | Example | Life & OrderFormerly Death & Mayhem | Setec Astronomy |
| 2019 | Example | Example | Setec Astronomy | Left Out |
| 2020 | Theme Park | After it's announced that Penny Park is going to be shut down due to low turnout and sales, teams are brought on to help generate Buzz by way of solving puzzles. Over the course of the hunt, teams discovered how the park was founded, and how Penny Miller came to be the owner. Eventually, after generating enough buzz, teams discover a secret area underneath the park, where a device could be found to ??? | Left Out | ✈✈✈ Galactic Trendsetters ✈✈✈ |
| 2021 | Parallel Universe | Example | ✈✈✈ Galactic Trendsetters ✈✈✈ | PalindromeNot So Boston |
