Dog (MIT Mystery Hunt 2020)
Dog | |
---|---|
MIT Mystery Hunt 2020 | |
Safari Adventure | |
Author(s) | Yar Woo, Alison Howard |
Answer | Click to revealCAPLETS, FIRE, ULINE |
Statistics | |
No. solves | 1313 full solves, 45 correct submissions |
No. total guesses | 74 |
Links | |
Puzzle | Link |
Solution | Link |
Dog is an image-heavy puzzle from the Safari Adventure round of the 2020 MIT Mystery Hunt.
Puzzle Elements[edit | edit source]
Image-Heavy Presentation - The puzzle has no text besides the numbers—just 16 dog pictures (with enumerations and two indices each) and some abstract shapes at the bottom.
Identification (Animals) - Each of the dog breeds can be identified; the enumeration is provided as confirmation.
Lost in Translation - Each of the dog breeds has a demonym in its name. As clued by the speech bubble, this should be taken to refer to the language. The breed name's enumeration also isolates another word; translate this word into that language. Note that the translation, as usual, is not an exact science; the Irish and Welsh words in particular have multiple valid translations, with no clear way of determining which is right.
Knowledge Required (Sporting) - This path only leads to one answer, however. To obtain further answers in this puzzle, solvers must connect the dog theme with the ribbons and such to the Westminster Kennel Competition—and specifically the most recent iteration as of the puzzle's release (2019). One answer can simply be found by finding the name of the dog who won Best in Breed for each given breed; the other requires identifying the image below the dog breeds as depicting obstacles on an agility course.
Indexing - Two different indices are provided with each dog; the one in the ribbon indexes into the name of the Best in Breed dog, while the one in the speech bubble indexes into the Romanization of the translated word.
Final Clue Phrase - This creates two different final cluephrases: UIHLEIN COMPANY and SAINT ELMO'S WHAT. Each provides one answer.
Alphanumeric Substitution Cipher - The obstacles on 2019's agility course are numbered (some with two); take the number that would land in the green box and convert it to a letter via A1Z26. This provides the final answer.
Multiple Answers (Full Split) - Like most puzzles in Safari Adventure, this puzzle has multiple answers, though its structure is closer to being three separate puzzles; the only interaction between the puzzles is the reuse of the dog breeds.