Plinko (MIT Mystery Hunt 2020)

Plinko
MIT Mystery Hunt 2020
Big Top Carnival
Author(s)Martin Reinfried, Justin Graham (initial concept and design)
AnswerClick to revealSTONE WEIGHT
Statistics
No. solves17
No. total guesses110
Links
PuzzleLink
SolutionLink

Follow the cryptic paths to determine the nature of the Plinko chip.

Plinko is a puzzle from the Big Top Carnival round of the 2020 MIT Mystery Hunt.

Puzzle Elements[edit | edit source]

Text-Heavy Presentation - The puzzle features four long strings of words, interspersed with arrows.

 

Cryptic Clues - Every string is actually a number of cryptic clues strung together (as indicated by the flavortext). Every line after the first has the division between cryptic clues marked by certain arrows that cross the line, or indicated by a bracket below the line (e.g. "small ___ (6) giving access to [the answer to _____ (4): note ______(9)]); the first has to be divided manually.

The Waterfall Effect - Each arrow points from the center of a cryptic clue to a blank below it spatially. Filling in the answer to that cryptic clue in the blank complete other cryptic clues, which can be similarly solved. Resolving this string downwards creates the answer.

Asked and Answered - The answer could theoretically describe the nature of a Plinko chip.