EnigMarch is a daily puzzle creation challenge that has taken place every year in March since 2022. Everyday of the month, a one-word prompt is given, to inspire all sorts of puzzles to all sorts of creative people. See the list of prompts on the EnigMarch website. Join the Enigmarch Discord server or search for the hashtag #enigmarch in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Mastodon, to see all the puzzles that are being made, there are tons of amazing creations! There’s also the full list of links for published puzzles in this huge worksheet.
As in 2022 and in 2023 I participated again this year, but only for a few days, for lack of time. All my puzzles are below and on Solving Fun’s Facebook page.
I love getting feedback on my puzzles. Please let me know if you solve them, or if you need a hint.
Direct links:
Puzzles in English: Day 0, Day 1, Day 3, Day 4
Énigmes en français : Jour 1, Jour 6
Acertijos en español: Día 7
Day 0: Logo
Before the beginning of March, I was inspired by the very cool logo of Enigmarch (designed by Aiden Blackwood, aka The Ace Magpie) to make a new puzzle. My way of celebrating Enigmarch while warming up my puzzle design muscles! Hints and answer-checker below.
You can verify your answer by clicking here.
Hints
Click on a section to reveal a specific hint.
Structure of the puzzle
There are 4 mini-puzzles, one for each letter E, N, I, G. They are independent, and each will give you a one-word answer. The bottom part of the logo will then give you the final answer.
Mini-puzzle 1:
It’s a crossword, except every cells has to be filled (including the “black” ones). Extract the answer using the numbers.
Mini-puzzle 2:
This letter design is inspired by the logic-grid game Hashi (aka Bridges). What could be written in those circles?
Mini-puzzle 3:
This is a cryptex, usually the letters are written in alphabetical order on each ring. This one is special, but still quite regular.
Mini-puzzle 4:
Solve the maze (finding the shortest path) to get a message. Interpret the message to get the solution word.
Final step
Write each of your four answers on the vertical line. The first letters of each word are already there! Then follow the dotted lines to get the 10-letter final answer.
Day 1: Door
A puzzle with additional constraints: no words (except for the title), and no color. Graphically interesting, I hope. I made an English and French version.
English version
Hints
Click to reveal; read only what you need to get you unstuck!
What not to do
No outside knowledge, no research is necessary.
How to start
Identify what you are seeing. Apart from the door, there are two “objects” on the left, very similar in shape but representing different things.
More help
The top object contains the door. The bottom object indicates the door. The two identified words are 5 letters long, each could fit in the 5 boxes on the right.
How to extract the answer
The numbers above the row of boxes tells you to extract from the word depicted by the top object; the numbers below tells you to extract from the word depicted by the bottom object. The final answer is 6-letter long.
Version en français
Une énigme graphiquement épurée, sans mots et sans couleurs…
Post Facebook
Vérificateur de réponse
Indices
Cliquez pour dévoiler un indice ; ne lisez que ce dont vous avez besoin pour vous débloquer !
Pas besoin de…
… connaissance spécifique, ni de recherche sur internet.
Comment démarrer
Identifiez ce que vous voyez : à part la porte, ce sont deux “objets”, de forme très similaire mais qui représente de choses différentes.
Davantage d’aide ?
L’objet du haut contient la porte. L’objet du bas montre la porte. Les deux mots à identifier sont de longueur 6, et pourraient chacun rentrer dans les 6 cases à droite.
Comment extraire la réponse
Les nombres au-dessus des cases indiquent une lettre de l’objet d’en haut ; les nombres en dessous des cases indiquent une lettre de l’objet d’en bas. La réponse finale contient 8 lettres.
Day 3: Musical
For the occasion I decided to compose a little piano melody. With a secret message to decipher, of course!
Hints
What is not important
The rhythm is not important; the left hand is not important. You don’t need advanced musical knowledge, not even to know the names of the notes.
How to get started
There’s something important in the video, not only the melody. It will help you “decode” the melody. Pro tip: there’s an option to adjust the speed on youtube, if it’s too fast.
More explicitly
The word MUSICAL is important; and its position!
Detailed help
Each letter of the word MUSICAL corresponds to one of the white keys from the piano. You can decipher the melody by translating the notes into letters. You should obtain a 4-word thematic phrase.
Day 4: Shift
A simple idea, with a natural interpretation of the prompt, and an hopefully fun answer.
Facebook post
Answer-checker
Contact me for hints!
Day 6: Round
I noticed something interesting about the prompt, but in French…. So, une énigme en français pour aujourd’hui !
Facebook post
Vérificateur de réponse
Indices
Pour démarrer
Remplir les cases, une lettre par case. Il y a un mot important dans le texte.
Davantage d’aide
Le mot compte est un indice important.
Encore plus d’aide ?
Écrire les nombres de toutes lettres, en partant du zéro.
Comment extraire la réponse
Les cases en rouge permettent d’extraire le mot solution.
Day 7: Watch
For this idea I found the right solution word in Spanish, so here it is, ¡un acertijo en español!
Pistas
Haz clic en los títulos para revelar una pista. Intenta resolver viendo sólo las pistas que necesitas.
Como empezar
¿Notas algo raro en las posiciones de las manecillas? ¿Qué puede significar eso? Además, ¿notas algo ligero abajo de los relojes?
Más ayuda
Los relojes están al revés.
Qué hacer cuando sepas las horas
Escribe las horas en forma digital (con números), como indicado por la ligera forma abajo de los relojes (o arriba, si has volteado la imagen).
Como obtener la respuesta final
Una vez que hayas escrito las horas con numeros, voltea de nuevo la imagen para obtener una palabra de 6 letras.
Note: puzzle concept inspired by Puzzle 5A (Anachronism) by David Morgan-Mar, from the 2013 CiSRA Puzzle Hunt.
Extra: more puzzles from Enigmarch 2023, Enigmarch 2022, and by scrolling down on Solving Fun’s Facebook page.
[Advertisement!] If you like what you’re seeing, you can hire me to construct a custom puzzle for any of your needs! Since 2020 I’ve been designing custom puzzles and puzzle hunts for specific events and clients, in English, Spanish, and French (see list).