You can request hints by email, using the instructions below. Since this is a competitive event, taking a hint costs you a time penalty of 5 min, which will be added to the final completion time of your team. We recall that teams are not allowed to communicate with each other, even if they belong to the same House.
Please follow these exact instructions to request a hint, since the process is automated:
- Send an email to solvingfun@gmail.com
- The email subject should read exactly as Dartmouth Puzzle X Hint Y, where X is the puzzle number and Y is the hint number you are requesting (see the description below for deciding which hint to ask for). For example, if you want to receive the second hint for Puzzle 1, your email subject should be Dartmouth Puzzle 1 Hint 2 .
- In the body of the message, please write the name of your team.
- You should receive an answer in less than one minute. If it’s not the case, check your spam/junk folder (and please mark the email as non-spam).
There are 2 or 3 different hints available for each puzzle. You can take any one you want, in any order you want. Each hint concerns a different step of the puzzle, as described below. (if your mailto option is set up, clicking the links below should automatically start an email with the right subject)
Puzzle 1: Virtual Visit
Hint 1. About the two pages.
Hint 2. About the next step, how to obtain the cluephrase.
Hint 3. About the final step, how to interpret the cluephrase.
Puzzle 2: Missing Connection
Hint 1. Early hint: how to start.
Hint 2. Late hint: what to do at the end.
Puzzle 3: Shaped by the Past
Hint 1. About the first column.
Hint 2. About the second column.
Hint 3. Late hint: what to do at the end.
Puzzle 4 (Metapuzzle): Physical Distancing
Hint 1. Tips to fill the grid.
Hint 2. About the green shapes.
Hint 3. I know what the green shapes represent, and I have filled the grid with people. What now?
Solving Fun 