Domino Maze (MIT Mystery Hunt 2020)

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Domino Maze
MIT Mystery Hunt 2020
Big Top Carnival
Author(s)Wei-Hwa Huang
AnswerClick to revealMAJESTIC PLURAL
Statistics
No. solves17
No. total guesses94
Links
PuzzleLink
SolutionLink

Domino Maze is a Physical Puzzle from the Big Top Carnival round of the 2020 MIT Mystery Hunt, involving a special version of its namesake game.

Solve Path[edit | edit source]

Puzzle Elements[edit | edit source]

Physical Puzzle - The puzzle asks solvers to visit HQ with a code to obtain a special copy of Domino Maze, which now features a deck of 44 "Mystery Cards".

 

Hint in Flavortext - The instruction card that comes with the special set contains clarifications on what precisely counts as repositioning. But repositioning isn't that helpful when solving a typical Domino Maze...

Missing Information - Each card has a solution printed on the back. The hidden information in this case is that each card also has an unprinted solution, with several differences from the printed solution.

Alphanumeric Substitution Cipher - Counting the pieces defined as "repositioned" between the two solutions and converting the numbers to letters reveals...

Intermediate Clue Phrase - ...the phrase SEARCH FOR UNIQUELY SOLVABLE WITH REVERSED TARGETS. As it turns out, there are some cards in the deck that have a unique solution that hits the targets in the reverse order (i.e. 3 to 1).

Final Clue Phrase - Taking only the letters extracted from those cards results in the phrase ROYAL WE. As the instruction card says, this is a seven-letter synonym for the 14-letter answer.