Rules
Format
The UCLA Cryptid Hunt is a an extracurricular activity designed to introduce students to the exciting world of Puzzle Dynamics. And that's all. There is no larger agenda here!
Each Thursday, teams will assemble on Zoom for orientation, training, and deployment fun puzzle-solving activities. Your Thursday sessions will consist of 4 parts.
- Practice puzzle(s). These are provided in a group setting to orient teams as to the week’s particular challenge—Crosswords, Logic Puzzles, etc. These puzzles do not count towards your overall Score.
- Beverages. Through a partnership with the UCLA School of Mixology, Professor Luap Onadnarb will present and demonstrate one (1) signature themed mocktail recipe. The addition of alcohol to each recipe is neither encouraged nor required, but Professor Onadnarb reserves the right to recommend what spirits in what amounts could be added to the beverage if desired.
- The Cryptid Puzzle. This is the "main event," the weekly themed conundrum that must be solved before the end of the session at all costs. Teams will be sent to "break-out rooms" to solve. Your team's score will be calculated at the end of the session and added to your cumulative Hunt totals. At the end of the final session a Champion will be announced and order will be restored to one or more universes.
- The Pub. This is an optional phase. After the Cryptid Puzzle has been completed, participants are encouraged to "hang out," socialize, and enjoy the week's signature beverage or any other social snack/libation. Bonus puzzles may be provided for those who desire additional challenges.
Solving and Scoring
Each puzzle will lead to an answer word or phrase, consisting only of alphabetic characters. You should enter that word or phrase into the answer checker for that puzzle. Non-alphabetic characters, including spaces, are ignored by the answer checker.
You may use any external sources for help, including other people, as long as they aren't helping other teams and aren’t actively participating in the Hunt
The website will keep track of your answers, just for fun. It's not as if they'll be needed for the Final Puzzle on the Last Day of the Hunt. This Final Puzzle is intended solely to be super duper extra fun, and in no way is thought to be necessary to avert some kind of interdimensional cataclysm. That would be ridiculous! Humorously so! We're surprised you even brought it up.
Hints
If your team requires a hint during the Solving Phase, you are encouraged to ask Professor Reblef or his TA, Greg, to provide guidance. Although we cannot provide solutions in this timeline, we are happy to help.
In general, the moment you ask for a hint should be the moment when, as a team, you are stuck and are no longer having fun.
Be aware, however, that for each hint you request, 3 points will be deducted from your eventual score.
Scoring
The first team to solve the puzzle and enter the correct solution on this site will receive a first-place score of 100 points. Each subsequent solve will earn 5 fewer points, with second place receiving 95 points, third place 90 points, and so on. Your team's score will then be calculated by deducting 3 points for each hint you requested.
We reserve the right to disqualify any team for unsportsmanlike conduct or mucking about with the space-time continuum.
We reserve the right to change any of these rules. If there's a big change, we'll announce it to all teams.
If you have any questions about these rules, or if you want to contact us for any reason before or after sessions, email puzzledynamics@exaltation-of-larks.com. We will get back to you as soon as we can.