Please review the Puzzle Safari rules before the event.
The basic rules are also printed in
the logbooks.
We'll do our best to enforce these rules so that everyone has an equal chance of winning.
However, we want to warn teams that this event isn't always fair. Any number of
things can go wrong: stamps might disappear, buildings might become inaccessible... the list goes on.
We want you to have fun, and we'll do our best to ensure that happens, but some things are out of our
control. We have enough puzzles to keep everyone entertained despite an occasional glitch, so ignore
the bumps, move on, and have fun!
We reserve the right to bump teams out of conference rooms for event reasons. We apologize in advance
and appreciate your flexibility.
Teams consist of four players. Teams cannot swap players during the event, nor can teams enlist non-team humans to solve puzzles. Non-human resources (internet, solving tools) are fine. Teams must solve all puzzles by themselves.
Each team must have at least two one full-time or intern employees.
Non-employees must be accompanied by
an employee at all times. Remember that you will need a badge to move around campus to pick up
stamps, so some of your blue badged employees will also need to be fit.
Need help finding a team? Contact the puzzmate alias.
At the beginning of each round, you'll get a puzzle packet puzzle PDFs will be available on the solution website. Each of the puzzles has a simple final
answer, typically a single word or a short phrase. In some puzzles you are explicitly told how to get
the final answer. In others, figuring out how to extract the final answer is part of the puzzle. If
you solve a puzzle and you get a long phrase it's probably a clue to a shorter answer.
You will confirm final answers via the web answer submission system. If you get it right, you'll score
a point, get the location for a stamp instructions for a picture, and possibly some extra information. Instructions on how to
access the web answer submission system are included in your packet will be on the registration site. Don't lose this information!
The system access information is unique for each team.
The solution system penalizes persistent guessing. After you make a number of incorrect guesses on a specific puzzle, there will be a short delay before you can make an additional guess, and the delay will gradually get longer. The goal here is to discourage entering long lists of guesses (such as every planet you can think of), there should be no impact if you are solving and entering potential answers.
If you enter an answer that's only halfway to the solution, for example "FIRST MAN ON THE MOON", you may get a clue back from the answer system, or a word of encouragement like "Keep going." These entries do not get penalized.
After solving a puzzle, you will get instructions on a picture that we want you to take. Submit your picture in the "runner" part of the website.
Pictures must follow these rules (no exceptions!)
Instead of taking a picture, one member of your team can instead run 1/2 mile.
Some puzzles also lead to a challenge. Multiple puzzles lead to the same challenge, and icons on each puzzle document show which challenge (if any) a puzzle leads to.
Visit the URL given to perform the challenge.
Once you complete the challenge, you will be given an "answer" to submit to the answer system for that challenge. You must submit the answer to get credit.
You must complete the challenge and submit the answer before the end of round 2 to get credit for the challenge.
Completing the same challenge more than once will not score additional points.
Players can walk, jog, skip, or run to stamp locations. They cannot use motorized (cars, Segways) or non-motorized transportation (bikes, scooters, skates) at any time during the event. (Wheelchairs and other accomodations are allowed for players who need them.)
Players can leave some members behind to solve puzzles while other team members look for stamps. Players can keep in touch by any means, including cell phones.
Teams must not disassemble, destroy, or otherwise damage property while looking for stamps. We reserve the right to disqualify any stamps that are located near property damage.
Teams must not enter private offices to locate stamps or other items during the event.
Teams must bring their logbook to each stamp. Teams cannot gather stamps and then meet to stamp their logbooks, nor can they disassemble their logbooks to parallelize stamp collection.
Teams must put each stamp in the appropriate location in their logbooks. Incorrectly stamping a logbook forfeits the points earned by that stamp.
Do not enter any areas fenced off or barricaded for construction! Don't enter any non-Microsoft buildings. Don't enter buildings 111 or 114, or Studios A, B, or C. Don't take any shortcuts through these areas, either. Unfortunately, we may not know very far in advance of the event if other areas are off limits, but we will not place any stamps in these areas. Any location clues that appear to send you there are either misunderstood (likely) or incorrect (unlikely, but possible). Email psafari if you are sure a location clue is incorrect.
The valid building numbers are given in your logbook. Any updates to the list will be announced in the opening ceremony. This means that you should not look for indoor stamps except in the valid buildings. Your team's headquarters must also be in one of these buildings. You should not run through other buildings in an effort to find a shortest path between two points. If you think a location clue leads to the inside of a building not on this list, you have interpreted it incorrectly. Stamps may be located on the outside of other East Campus buildings not on this list.
Any buildings not mentioned in your logbook are also out of bounds. They're not forbidden, we just didn't put any stamps there.
Team members must not enter private offices to collect a stamp. Any stamps associated with a private office will be velcroed to the relight or door.
Team members must not enter unauthorized areas looking for stamps. We won't put stamps behind cashiers in the cafeterias, for example, or in the drawers behind the receptionist desks.
Team members must walk quietly when traversing open work spaces where people may be working. Team members may not use emergency exits.
Puzzles solved during the event score 1 point each for a correct entry in the answer system. During
Round 1, puzzle stamps pictures are worth 10 points each. During Round 2, you can locate stamps pictures for Round 1
and Round 2 puzzles. Round 1 puzzle stamps pictures are worth 5 points, and Round 2 puzzle stamps pictures are worth
10 points. Metapuzzle stamps pictures are worth 20 points all day. Challenges are worth 25 20 points in Round 1,
and 20 points in Round 2. Challenges close at the end of Round 1 and fifteen minutes before the end
of Round 2; late arrivals can't participate. You are only credited points for puzzles or
metapuzzles that have both a solution entered into the answer system and the correct
stamp at the correct location in the logbook
picture. If you stamp submit a picture for the same puzzle in both Round 1 and Round 2, you will
only receive the Round 1 points.
The team with the most points wins!
Teams must return their logbooks to Puzzle Safari headquarters on or before the time specified on the logbook. Any team member can return the logbook. Teams lose two points for every minute they are late returning their logbooks. Any team later than 10 minutes is scored zero for that round.
Logbooks may not be disassembled for any reason. The logbook is to remain in one piece, and this is part of the challenge of finding stamps. Activities that do not require the presence of the logbook, such as Challenges, puzzle solving, scouting, etc, may be distributed across your teammates, but stamp collecting using the logbook may not. We reserve the right to disqualify all points for a particular puzzle if we find the stamp has been moved or lost.
In the event of a tie in score, the actual number of stamps collected will determine the winner. For
example, if Team A and Team B each score 200 points, and Team A did it by collecting 20 stamps whereas
Team B collected 22 stamps, then Team B is the winner. This can happen because of the point difference
of Round 1 stamps during Round 2. If this does not resolve the tie, the number of Round 1 stamps
collected in Round 1 will be used, followed by the number of stamps collected in Round 2 for both
rounds. After that, teams will remain tied. For purposes of awarding any prize for the top 3 teams,
we will award the tie to the team with the earliest untied stamp in their Round 1 logbook, followed
by earliest stamp in the Round 2 logbook, followed by the first submission to the answer system.
In the event of a tie in score, the unused time in the round is calculated for both round 1 and round 2. The unused time in the round is the amount of time from the last puzzle solve, picture submission, run completion, or challenge completion until the end of the round. For example, if you last thing you did in a round was submit a picture at 5:16:55, and the round ends at 5:30, you have 13 minutes and 5 seconds of unused time in that round. Whichever team has the most unused time, summed over both rounds, will win the tie.
We know that the folks who are willing to spend an entire day playing Puzzle Safari won't even think
of cheating. We've left room for creativity when playing the game, but players must not do any of the
following:
use unauthorized stamps to stamp the logbook; gather stamps and meet to stamp the logbook;
move stamps from their original location; disassemble the logbook and take it to various stamps;
use the help of a non-team member (even in your household), use
motorized or non-motorized transportation to gather stamps take pictures, gather materials, or complete a run,
use a picture from the internet, use a picture taken before the event day, edit a picture with Photoshop or
another photo editing tool.