List of Puzzle Hunts by Theme

This is a list of puzzle hunts by theming. Hunts may be listed multiple times if they touch on multiple themes. Fakeout themes are included.

Existing fiction themes

Literature

• Literature, general - MIT Mystery Hunt 2022, Microsoft Puzzlehunt 16, CMU Hunt Spring 2012, Hunt20 2.1 Puzzle Hunt, Puzzle Boat 6, College Puzzle Challenge 2013
• Fairy tales - DASH 3
• Jules Verne - MIT Mystery Hunt 2010 (round)
• 20000 Leagues Under the Sea - MIT Mystery Hunt 2015
• Alice in Wonderland - MIT Mystery Hunt 2014, Microsoft Puzzlehunt 7, CMU Hunt Spring 2007, SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2010, Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2015
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - USC Puzzle Hunt 2016
• Cthulhu mythos - SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2013, Miskatonic University Game
• Discworld - mezzacotta Puzzle Hunt 2016
• Harry Potter - DASH 7, CMU Hunt Fall 2016, Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2016, Harvard Puzzle Hunt 2004, Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2014
• His Dark Materials - Harvard Puzzle Hunt 2008
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - College Puzzle Challenge 2012
• The Hunger Games - The Famine Game
• Library of Babel - Shardhunt
• The Phantom Tollbooth - Caltech Puzzle Hunt 2018
• Where's Waldo? - Puzzle Rojak
• Winnie the Pooh - Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2018
• The Wizard of Oz - MIT Mystery Hunt 2000

Comic books and comics

• Comic books - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 9
• Asterix - MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2013

Movies

• Movies, general - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 15, College Puzzle Challenge 2009 (Movie production)
• Marvel Cinematic Universe - Puzzle Potluck 3, Puzzle Boat 8, Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2020, MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2018
• Pixar - DaroCaro Puzzle Hunt, SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2018
• Back to the Future - USC Puzzle Hunt 2015, MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2013
• Batman - QoDE Puzzle Hunt
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - MIT Mystery Hunt 1997
• Get Smart - MIT Mystery Hunt 2013 (round)
• Ghostbusters - Ghost Patrol franchise, BANG 37, BANG 29
• Inception - MIT Mystery Hunt 2016, BAPHL 4, MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2015
• Indiana Jones - MIT Mystery Hunt 2013 (round), DASH 4
• Inside Out - MIT Mystery Hunt 2018
• James Bond - DASH 8
• The Matrix - MIT Mystery Hunt 2003
• Metropolis - MIT Mystery Hunt 2010 (round)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas - MIT Mystery Hunt 2019
• Ready Player One - Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2018
• The Shawshank Redemption - Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2019
• Sneakers - MIT Mystery Hunt 2013 (round)
• Star Wars - MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2015, Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2015
• Time Bandits - MIT Mystery Hunt 2004
• Tron - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 11, WarTron
• WarGames - WarTron

Television

• General television - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 19, DASH 2
• Game shows - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 3, UMD Puzzle Hunt 2020
• 24 - BANG 24
• The Amazing Race - BANG 16, Puzzle Boat 4, Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2021
• Avatar: The Last Airbender - Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2021
• Beavis and Butthead - MIT Mystery Hunt 1997
• Doctor Who - Doctor When
• Game of Thrones - BAPHL 12
• Gravity Falls - P.I.HUNT 4
• Jeopardy! - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 123, UMD Puzzle Hunt 2020, MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2017
• The Masked Singer - Carvana Puzzle Hunt 2021
• MasterChef - MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2010
• Mission: Impossible - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 5
• My Little Pony - Puzzles Are Magic
• Scooby-Doo - P.I.HUNT 7
• Spongebob - MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2022
• Stranger Things - Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2022
• The Twilight Zone - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 18

Musical Theatre

• General theatre - MIT Mystery Hunt 2012, Microsoft Puzzlehunt 20, CMU Hunt Spring 2016
• The Producers - MIT Mystery Hunt 2012

Video games

• Video games, general - MIT Mystery Hunt 2011, Microsoft Puzzlehunt 21
• Text adventures - Harvard Puzzle Hunt 2007
• Age of Empires - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 2
• Among Us - Puzzle Potluck 4
• Animal Crossing - Puzzle Potluck 4
• Civilization - MIT Mystery Hunt 2011 (round)
• Incremental games - Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2018 (Cookie Clicker), Huntinality 2021 (round)
• Mario - MIT Mystery Hunt 2011 (round), Huntinality 2021 (Waluigi)
• Mega Man - MIT Mystery Hunt 2011 (round)
• Portal - CMU Hunt Fall 2017, MIT Mystery Hunt 2011
• Professor Layton - BAPHL 11, Puzzle Potluck 2
• Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? - MIT Mystery Hunt 1999, CMU Hunt Fall 2007
• Zelda - MIT Mystery Hunt 2011 (round), Harvard Puzzle Hunt 2010

Pokémon

• Pokémon - MIT Mystery Hunt 2018 (round), SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2016, Smogon Puzzle Hunt
• Pokémon contests - Smogon Puzzle Hunt 2
• Pokémon Go - Silph Puzzle Hunt
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Smogon Puzzle Hunt 3

Genre themes

• Animated TV show - BAPHL 1
• Heist - MIT Mystery Hunt 2013, UMD Puzzle Hunt 2021, College Puzzle Challenge 2008
• Bomb Defusal - Quantum Online Puzzle Hunt
• Cyberpunk - MIT Mystery Hunt 1994
• Espionage / global search - MIT Mystery Hunt 2006, SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2011, Burn After Solving
• Fictional sleepers - MIT Mystery Hunt 2016
• Horror - MIT Mystery Hunt 2001, Microsoft Puzzlehunt 123
• Fictional magic - CMU Hunt Spring 2010
• Investigative - Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2020
• Medieval - CMU Hunt Fall 2015
• MMO - MIT Mystery Hunt 2021
• Mystery - MIT Mystery Hunt 2008, CMU Hunt Spring 2011, REDDOThunt 2018, SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2014, SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2009, Singapore Puzzle Hunt 2017, Intercoastal Altercations 4
• Parallel universes - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 22, MIT Mystery Hunt 2021, MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2010
• Quests - MIT Mystery Hunt 1993, CMU Hunt Spring 2019, Puzzle Potluck 1
• Sci-fi - MIT Mystery Hunt 2018 (round)
• Sports - BAPHL 18, Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2017, P.I.HUNT 1, Intercoastal Altercations 5
• Superheroes / Supervillains - MIT Mystery Hunt 2005, BANG 23, MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2011
• Time loop / travel - Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2022, Microsoft Puzzlehunt 6, MIT Mystery Hunt 2010, BAPHL 14, CMU Hunt Fall 2018, CMU Hunt Spring 2009, MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2016, College Puzzle Challenge 2016
• Treasure hunting - BAPHL 9, MIT Mystery Hunt 1992, CMU Hunt Spring 2013, Carvana Puzzle Hunt 2019, Harvard Puzzle Hunt 2005
• Zombies - BAPHL 8, BANG 19, CMU Hunt Spring 2014, Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2012

Puzzle metafiction / references

• DASH - BAPHL 19
• Escape from Zyzzlvaria - MIT Mystery Hunt 2009
• Hunt locations - BAPHL 10
• Past hunts - MIT Mystery Hunt 2010 (with references to 1983, 2000, 2009), BAPHL 15
• Puzzle Factory - MIT Mystery Hunt 2023

Hunt Mechanic Themes

• Puzzle construction - See Category:Puzzle construction challenges
• All work and no play - P.I.HUNT 5
• Conlang - Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2019
• Darkness - BANG 28
• Hexominoes - BANG 35
• Jigsaw Puzzles - P.I.HUNT 8
• Lists - Lists of Lists
• Morse Code - BANG 34
• Riddle sequences - P.I.HUNT 9

Non-fiction themes

Animals

• Dogs - MIT Mystery Hunt 2016
• Fish - MIT Mystery Hunt 2015
• Rats - MIT Mystery Hunt 2022

Business

• Corporate culture - MIT Mystery Hunt 2003, CMU Hunt Fall 2011?, REDDOThunt 2020
• Lemonade stand - DASH 6
• Stock Market - Intercoastal Altercations 3

Education

• Back to School - BANG 25
• Camp counseling - Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2011
• Computer Science courses - CMU CS Hunt
• Enigmatology - MIT Mystery Hunt 1998, UMD Puzzle Hunt 2017
• Ivy League - MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2021
• MIT (fictional) - MIT Mystery Hunt 2021
• MIT (hacking culture) - MIT Mystery Hunt 2018 (round)
• Museum - MIT Mystery Hunt 2023, UMD Puzzle Hunt 2021
• Scholarship applications - MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2019
• Standardized testing - Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2022
• University - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 2023, Miskatonic University Game

Entertainment

• Birthday Party - Teammate Hunt 2020
• Camping - EC Puzzle Hunt
• Gambling / casinos - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 8 (Las Vegas), College Puzzle Challenge 2014, College Puzzle Challenge 2004
• Magic (real-life) - College Puzzle Challenge 2018
• Rubik's cube - MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2019, MIT Mystery Hunt 2013 (round)
• Theme Park - MIT Mystery Hunt 2020, Teammate Hunt 2021, CMU Hunt Spring 2017
• Toys - Teammate Hunt 2020
• Vacation - CMU Hunt Spring 2020, REDDOThunt 2022, College Puzzle Challenge 2015
• Zoo - Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2019

Art

• Rene Magritte - CMU Hunt Spring 2022

Board games

• Board games, general - Puzzle Boat 7
• 20 Questions - MIT Aquarium Puzzle Hunt 2016
• Clue - MIT Mystery Hunt 1995, Microsoft Puzzlehunt 4, Puzzle Potluck 2, P.I.HUNT 3
• Dungeons & Dragons / tabletop RPG - MIT Mystery Hunt 2017, BAPHL 20
• Monopoly - MIT Mystery Hunt 2002, CMU Hunt Fall 2022
• Settlers of Catan - MIT Mystery Hunt 2018 (round), Harvard Puzzle Hunt 2009
• Trivial Pursuit - BANG 7, Puzzle Potluck 3

Music

• Pop music, general - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 17
• Rock band tour - BAPHL 6
• Elvis Presley - MIT Mystery Hunt 1997

Sports

(Also see Genre Themes/Sports heading for hunts with a fictional sports theme (usually puzzleball or similar)

• Baseball - BAPHL 21
• Motorsport - BAPHL 5
• Olympics - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 1, Carvana Puzzle Hunt 2020

Food

• Food, general - BANG 15
• Candy - Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2022
• Cookies - Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2018, Harvard Puzzle Hunt 2006, Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2016
• Food Pyramid - Purple People Eaters Puzzle Hunt

History

• Alchemy - MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2014
• American history (fictional) - BAPHL 7
• Archaeology - BAPHL 3, DASH 9
• Colonial America - USC Puzzle Hunt 2013
• Humboldt expedition - MIT Mystery Hunt 2010 (round)
• Oregon Trail - CMU Hunt Fall 2020
• Prehistory - CMU Hunt Spring 2023
• Pirates - BAPHL 13, CMU Hunt Spring 2021, CMU Hunt Spring 2008
• Presidents - BANG 14
• Vikings - BANG 26
• Wild West - DASH 10, DASH 1
• Witch hunts - MIT Mystery Hunt 2010 (round)
• Wonders of the World - College Puzzle Challenge 2005

Non-fiction literature

• Godel, Escher, Bach - MIT Mystery Hunt 1996

Paranormal

• Anomaly - CMU Hunt Fall 2019
• Conspiracy theories - Berkeley Mystery Hunt 2015
• Psychics - CMU Hunt Fall 2008

Religion and Tradition

• Apocalypse - CMU Hunt Spring 2018, MUMS Puzzle Hunt 2012, SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2012, College Puzzle Challenge 2010
• Halloween - BANG 13, Inexact Puzzlehunt, P.I.HUNT 6
• Hell, Seven deadly sins - MIT Mystery Hunt 2007
• Holidays - MIT Mystery Hunt 2019, BAPHL 12
• Luck - BANG 20
• Zodiac - BANG 12

Mythology

• Mythology, various - Labor Day Extravaganza franchise
• Atlantis - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 10
• Greek Mythology - MIT Mystery Hunt 2010 (round)
• Knights of the Round Table - BANG 17
• Phoenix - DP Puzzle Hunt

STEM topics

Mathematics

• The number 21 - BANG 21
• Squares - BAPHL 16
• Triangles - BAPHL 19

Science

• Research institute - BANG 22, Berkeley Mystery Hunt 2013
• Feynman - MIT Mystery Hunt 2013 (round)
• Ornithology - CMU Hunt Fall 2014
• Physics - BAPHL 2
• Weather - CMU Hunt Fall 2012

Technology

• Artificial intelligence - MIT Mystery Hunt 2023
• Cloning - CMU Hunt Fall 2009
• Deep sea exploration - MIT Mystery Hunt 2015, College Puzzle Challenge 2017
• Email Spam - CMU Hunt Fall 2021
• Medicine - DASH 11, DASH 5
• Optical devices, vision - Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2020
• Phonograph - MIT Mystery Hunt 2010 (round)
• Space - CMU Hunt Spring 2015, SUMS Puzzle Hunt 2015, Berkeley Mystery Hunt 2016, Mathcamp Puzzle Hunt 2017
• Trains - Microsoft Puzzlehunt 14
• Web 2.0 - Huntinality 2022