The 2023 DUAL Puzzle Hunt
| The 2023 DUAL Puzzle Hunt | |
|---|---|
| Running Team | Edric Haleen |
| Winning Team | Vehemence |
| No. of Rounds | 7 |
| No. of Puzzles (Feeders and Metas) | 26 easy/26 hard |
| Timeframe and Location | |
| Location | Online |
| Start Time | 2023-07-16 17:00 EDT |
| Finishing Time (Winning Team) | 2023-07-23 18:30:47 EDT |
| Official End Time | 2023-07-26 12:00 EDT |
| Links | |
| Hunt Link | Link |
| Edric's Treasure Hunt Chronology | |
The 2023 DUAL Puzzle Hunt (the fifth non-treasure hunt in the series, and the third "Puzzle Hunt") went live at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 16, 2023. The hunt was structured in the style of an Australian hunt, with six rounds of puzzles released over the course of a week, and then a final metapuzzle at the end.
The twist on this structure, however, was that there were actually two hunts running simultaneously -- an "easy-half" hunt that was formally presented on the main web page and a "hard-half" hunt which ran "in the background." Solving an easy-half puzzle allowed the solver to access the corresponding hard-half puzzle, so the puzzles for the hard-half followed the same release schedule as the puzzles for the easy-half.
The easy-half puzzles were specifically tailored for young kids to be able to solve, so families were encouraged to participate. (The guiding philosophy for writing the easy-half puzzles was that a 4th grader should be able to solve them solo and a 2nd grader should be able to solve them with maybe a little reading assistance from someone older.) Veteran solvers, for their part, were able to dispatch those easy-half puzzles very quickly and could merely regard them as cute little "palate cleansers" on their way to the more substantial hard-half puzzles.
Click to revealBut still, every one of the answers were important in the overall hunt.
List of Rounds[edit | edit source]
| Round | Number of Puzzles | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 4 easy/4 hard | (Puzzles released at 17:00 EDT, July 16, 2023) |
| Day 2 | 4 easy/4 hard | (Puzzles released at 17:00 EDT, July 17, 2023) |
| Day 3 | 4 easy/4 hard | (Puzzles released at 17:00 EDT, July 18, 2023) |
| Day 4 | 4 easy/4 hard | (Puzzles released at 17:00 EDT, July 19, 2023) |
| Day 5 | 4 easy/4 hard | (Puzzles released at 17:00 EDT, July 20, 2023) |
| Day 6 | 4 easy/4 hard | (Puzzles released at 17:00 EDT, July 21, 2023) |
| Token Meta | 1 easy/1 hard | (Tokens were collected as puzzles got solved) |
| Meta | 1 easy/1 hard | (Puzzles released at 17:00 EDT, July 22, 2023) |
List of Puzzles[edit | edit source]
Note: The easy-half puzzle solutions are intentionally unpublished, as commemorative coins can still be earned by solvers aged 11-and-under who solve the easy-half hunt!
| Day of Hunt | Easy-Half
Puzzle |
Solution
Write-Up Link |
Day of Hunt | Hard-Half
Puzzle |
Solution
Write-Up Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introductory
Information |
The hunt's main page | (not applicable) | Introductory
Information |
"Shortcut" page(Major spoilers) | (not applicable) |
| Day 1 | Puzzle 1 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Day 1 | Puzzle 1 | Puzzle 1 |
| Puzzle 2 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 2 | Puzzle 2 | ||
| Puzzle 3 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 3 | Puzzle 3 | ||
| Puzzle 4 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 4 | Puzzle 4 | ||
| Day 2 | Puzzle 5 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Day 2 | Puzzle 5 | Puzzle 5 |
| Puzzle 6 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 6 | Puzzle 6 | ||
| Puzzle 7 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 7 | Puzzle 7 | ||
| Puzzle 8 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 8 | Puzzle 8 | ||
| Day 3 | Puzzle 9 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Day 3 | Puzzle 9 | Puzzle 9 |
| Puzzle 10 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 10 | Puzzle 10 | ||
| Puzzle 11 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 11 | Puzzle 11 | ||
| Puzzle 12 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 12
26 Letters (Part 1 of 5...) |
Puzzle 12 | ||
| Day 4 | Puzzle 13 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Day 4 | Puzzle 13 | Puzzle 13 |
| Puzzle 14 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 14 | Puzzle 14 | ||
| Puzzle 15 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 15 | Puzzle 15 | ||
| Puzzle 16 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 16 | Puzzle 16 | ||
| Day 5 | Puzzle 17 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Day 5 | Puzzle 17 | Puzzle 17 |
| Puzzle 18 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 18 | Puzzle 18 | ||
| Puzzle 19 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 19 | Puzzle 19 | ||
| Puzzle 20 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 20 | Puzzle 20 | ||
| Day 6 | Puzzle 21 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Day 6 | Puzzle 21 | Puzzle 21 |
| Puzzle 22 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 22 | Puzzle 22 | ||
| Puzzle 23 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 23 | Puzzle 23 | ||
| Puzzle 24 | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Puzzle 24 | Puzzle 24 | ||
| Day 7 | Metapuzzle | (intentionally
unpublished) |
Day 7 | Metapuzzle | Metapuzzle |
