Puzzle Safari Changes for COVID-19

Introduction

This year, Puzzle Safari has been significantly changed in order to ensure that everyone has a safe, fun time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please carefully read the following to understand how Puzzle Safari has changed this year. Some older documentation may not have been fully updated. In case of conflicts between other documentation and this page, this page takes precedence.

Team Membership and Team Headquarters

A Puzzle Safari team should consist of no more than 4 people (3 is allowed, but 4 is strongly recommended). At least one member must be a full-time Microsoft employee or intern.

Team members should socially distance by being in their own homes. Teams will be most successful if team members are in separate home locations. Attempting to solve puzzles in a conference room or office at Microsoft, or together in a coffee shop or someone’s home, will make being successful at Puzzle Safari 2020 much more difficult.

For fairness, non-team members that are at your home may not assist you in any way, whether in solving puzzles, participating in challenges, running, finding or constructing items for pictures, or taking pictures.

Team members should not break social distancing at any time. As usual with Puzzle Safari, you may only travel on foot (or wheelchair if required for you). Using a car, bicycle, or scooter during the event is strictly forbidden. Exception: if you don't own a printer, you may travel by car to a copy shop in order to print out puzzles.

Equipment

Required for all team members

Required for at least one team member, highly recommended for all

Required for at least one team member

May be useful

Not required this year

Rounds

As usual, Puzzle Safari will be in two rounds, with a lunch break.

Unlike previous years, there will be no “late penalty”. Each round will end precisely at the given end time, and puzzles, pictures, or challenges not completed at that time will not count, period. The time left in each round is shown on the answer submission website.

Website

All solving and submission will be on the Puzzle Safari answer submission site, http://safarilabs.solutions. This is separate from the site where you registered. You will receive a team number and 6-letter code on the registration site that allows your team to log in to the answer submission site.

The website has a solver mode and a runner mode. Use the solver mode to view puzzles and submit the answers to puzzles. Use the runner mode to submit pictures. You can switch modes at any time by clicking the mode indicator at the top of the page. Any number of team members can be in runner mode at a time.

Opening Ceremonies

The opening ceremony will be on Microsoft Teams. Check http://safarilabs.solutions on event day for the link.

Attending the opening ceremony is required for all team members.

Solving Puzzles

Physical packets of printed puzzles will not be available this year. All puzzles will be available on-line as PDFs from the website. Some puzzles will be best solved by printing, so having a printer available will be very useful. We will attempt to indicate which puzzles absolutely require a printer, but if you do not have a printer, you should be prepared to use other applications such as a paint program and snipping tool to solve puzzles on your computer.

At the beginning of Round 2, more puzzles will become available online. Round 1 puzzles continue to be available in round 2.

As usual, the answer to each puzzle is a word or phrase, which you should enter into the solution system.

Running/Stamping Becomes Picture Submission

Unlike previous Puzzle Safaris, there are no logbooks or hidden stamps this year. Instead you score points by submitting pictures of specific items or tasks. When you solve a puzzle, you will be given an one or two sentence description of an item to find, an item to construct, or a task to perform. You must take a picture of this and submit it through the runner mode on the website.

Unlike previous Puzzle Safaris that had a single logbook, multiple members of your team can be working on picture submission at once.

Types of Pictures

There are six categories of pictures for submission:

SEARCHING

Your original picture of an uncommon item. Might involve searching at home.

This trait substitutes for the searching for stamps that players had to do.

LOGISTICS

A picture of something unusual you must assemble out of household items.

This trait substitutes for the handling of a logbook and team coordination.

PHYSICALITY

A picture of you performing a pose or other unusual feat.

This trait substitutes for the physical act of looking under.

OUTDOORS

These pictures will require you to go outside, to your yard or beyond.

This trait substitutes for the time spent seeing the sun and nature while running. Remember that only travel by foot is allowed. Please maintain social distancing from anyone you may encounter.

SOLVING

Abstract concepts or riddles. Come up with creative ways to picture them.

This trait substitutes for the in-the-field solving a runner has to do.

PLACES

We have a online, first person virtual world, called The Grid. You will need to perform a task in this world. Once complete, take a photo of the end location on your computer screen with your phone/camera and submit it. Please be sure to install the client program well before the day of the event.

This trait substitutes for the interesting places that players would visit.

Rules for Picture Submission

The following rules govern pictures that are submitted.

Pictures will be judged by Puzzle Safari staff as to whether they actually picture what you were asked to find or do. You will not receive feedback during the event on whether your picture was accepted.

To submit a photo, click on the puzzle in runner mode, then click the submit photo button and select the photo from your phone or computer. You can view the last picture you submitted, and replace it at any time. Only the last picture submitted in each round will be judged.

By submitting a picture, you give Puzzle Safari consent to use the picture during the event, including potentially displaying to other teams during the closing. We won’t use the pictures after the event without asking for permission. Don’t include anything in the photo that you wouldn’t want others to see.

Running can Substitute for a Picture

RUNNING

Since a few of the pictures may be very difficult for your team, depending on what you have around the house, you can always do a 1/2 mile run or walk instead of submitting a photo of the necessary type.

This trait substitutes for the running in the event and mitigates the higher than normal degree of unfairness that was always present in the event.

To do a run, you must have a smartphone with geo-location abilities. To do a run, click the “Run For It” button in the runner mode (underneath the Submit Photo button). Be sure to allow location monitoring from your web browser. Once you are outside click the “Start Run” button to take your location. Then run to a location at least 1/2 mile from your starting point (as-the-crow-flies distance). Your run will be recorded automatically once you get far enough: watch your phone. If you change your mind, you can cancel your run before finishing.

Do not use incognito or private mode when doing a run. The site requires a cookie.

Once you have completed a run for a specific picture, you cannot transfer the run to another picture.

Unlike submitting pictures, at most one member of your team can be running at any time. Runs must be completed before the round ends.

Challenges

Unlike previous years, there are no challenge tickets or stickers. When you solve a puzzle that leads to a challenge, a new "puzzle" will appear in solver mode for that challenge. Click on that puzzle for information on how to complete the challenge. Challenges will be completed virtually. You may be required to connect to a particular Teams link, or the challenge staff may join your team's Teams meeting.

When you complete the challenge, you will be given a word to enter into the solution system. Enter that word as the answer for the challenge, and you will receive credit for the challenge.

Unlike last year, there is no scoring bonus for challenges in Round 1.

Scoring

Scoring is the same as last year, except that challenges in round 1 do not score more.

Solving a puzzle 1 point
Completing a picture (or run) in the same round as the puzzle appeared. 10 points
Completing a picture (or run) for a round 1 puzzle in round 2 5 points
Completing a picture (or run) for a metapuzzle (any round) 20 points
Completing a challenge 20 points

Ties are broken by the total unused time left in both rounds.

The unused time in a round is the amount of time from when a team last scored points in a round (by solving a puzzle, submitting a picture, completing a run, or completing a challenge) to the end of the round.

Closing

After the event ends, there will be a Microsoft Teams link for the closing. Check the answer submission site for the link. You can chat with others and the organizers about the event. Once we have totalled the final scores, we will announce the winners.

At the same time, the solutions to the puzzles and voting will be available on the answer submission site. You may enter a single “Like” or “Dislike” vote for each puzzle if you want. Voting will be open for at least 48 hours.

Questions?

E-mail us at psafari@microsoft.com.