Semi-Real Time Mystery Hunt Update v. 2008

Semi-Real Time Mystery Hunt Update v. 2008 Okay, so Bryan just started a Mystery Hunt LiveBlog, but Im being immature and want to do it too, so you guys will just have 2 entries to read to keep yourself up to date. No big deal, right? Friday, 16:19 Anyway, I just got out of class and ran home to get my laptop. So nothing interesting has happened yet on my end, but stay tuned! Friday, 16:22 Im sitting at my kitchen table, eating leftover baked ziti I just heated up. I got sidetracked, okay? Im chatting with Adelaide 09, who is currently studying in France. Weve been trying to chat all week, but the 6 hour time difference makes it a little complicated sometimes. We finally caught each other, and Adelaide is more important than Mystery Hunt. The puzzles arent solving themselves, but they can wait an hour. Friday, 16:39 Jordan 11 just ran into her room. Then she ran back out, pausing just long enough to explain that they needed some maps for a puzzle. This sort of frantic searching for resources will be pretty common this weekend. Friday, 16:45 Adelaide and I are now talking about Sam 07. This is relevant (to you, dear reader), because Sam was basically the coolest blogger of all time. Go read his archives. Seriously. Friday, 16:55 In response to Isshaks question: this years theme is a mystery. Someone named Otto Awkward has been murdered, and weve been charged with the task of figuring out who had the means, motive, and opportunity to do it. Were given a little black book with lots of contacts in it. Weve got to solve the puzzles, figure out how the contacts should be grouped together, and contact some of them for more information about the case. But the contacts wont give up information easily, so the only way to convince them is to solve the puzzles and figure out what well need to give them in exchange for our next clue. Mystery Hunt is all about the meta. Friday, 17:19 I arrive at Hunt Headquarters. Somebody give me something to do. Friday, 18:14 James 11 loves comics, so he gravitated towards the puzzle World of Comics. Right now Id love to tell you the current research topic Im bashing my head on, but that might give something away to other teams. Sorry! Friday, 18:45 Aaaand all of that research was completely useless to solving the puzzle. Well, we got it anyway, on to the next one. (Im still really bitter though. Grr.) Friday, 19:15 In the last 30 minutes, Ive discovered 2 things: I cannot recognize actors and actresses to save my life, and creating tables in wiki markup is the worst thing ever. Friday, 22:31 Choice quotes Ive been keeping track of since my last update: What do these people have in common? WHAT?! Hey, thats the font the Asgard uses on its menu! Me: Oh my God Ive SEEN that movie! I would have KNOWN that! (This is a huge accomplishment for me. I never get movie clues. Like, ever.) I last slept like33 hours ago. Where are there neon room numbers? It doesnt make sense, there are two images with no difference except that the one of the images is a higher resolution. *Someone else runs in* Thats not the only difference! Theres a different difference? Saturday, 0:19 Oh my God Ive been working on the same puzzle for foooouuuur hoooouuuurssss and Im getting delirious. Saturday, 0:45 I just got off a Skype call with our remote solvers in Boulder. Were both working on a horrendous crossword, and were going to take some digital pictures, upload them to the Internet, and compare. I love technology. Saturday, 2:13 Somebody: Do you recognize this as a font? Snively: No, but this looks like a really doable puzzle. Me: Ha! Dont talk to me about doable puzzles. Other guy: Ill keep working. Snively: Well, do you know who that cat is? Saturday, 3:51 And we are closing in on 9 hours working on this puzzle. Wes: Lauranow I know why youre so bitter about the world. Saturday, 5:27 This puzzle has 132 movie titles. 132. We are now re-checking all 132 of those answers. In order to finish the rest of the puzzle, each of them has to be exactly correct. Saturday, 5:32 3 of them were wrong. Saturday, 5:52 Okay, maybe that one was actually right the first time. Saturday, 7:32 Chris: Hes calling something in. (This means calling Hunt HQ and checking if an answer is right.) Dan: Oh, did you figure it out? Chris: No, hes just calling in an answer so they know were not dead. Wes: While youre there, call in aardvark for our puzzle! Me and James: Its NOT aardvark! Saturday, 9:53 Screw this [emailprotected]#*$ puzzle, Im going to sleep. Saturday, 20:00 Back to Hunt HQ. Im officially 12 hours sleep shifted!!! Saturday, 22:06 So far Ive looked at ANOTHER horrendous crossword, some pictures of Muppets, and not much else. Just for the sake of completeness, I updated the wiki our team uses with my detailed commentary on Guilty Pleasures, left instructions to find our work with the operator (person who answers the phones and keeps everyone organized), gathered up our work and put it all in a safe place with the operator. I took a picture for your enjoyment. (And yes, if I spent 15 hours working on the puzzle, I was willing to spend 5 minutes blurring out the answers we have so far. Not that I really expect any other teams to be reading my blog for tipsbut hey, Im being paranoid.) Saturday, 22:21 Evan: Hey guys, they just released hints for Frontal Lobotomy, Talk to Me, In Other Words, Character Witness, Global Coolness, Manual Transmission, and Facebook. General chaos ensues as people shout at each other and scramble for laptops, papers, and highlighters. Sunday, 3:33 I just walked in to HQ and immediately heard, Laura! Youre responsible! Be operator for a few hours! So, now I get to feel all special and important and sit here, answering phones and coordinating remote solvers and such. There are, of course, lulls in the action, which I intend to fill by working on the only puzzle Ive worked on all weekend, since I think Im the only person left who actually give a [emailprotected]# if it ever gets solved. But I did just call in my first answer as operator (meaning someone else solved a puzzle and I answer the phone call from HQ to verify that its correct), so thats exciting! Sunday, 4:13 I just called in another correct answer for someone else, and everyone cheered for them. Sigh. If only I could solve the ONLY puzzle Ive worked on for more than 15 minutes all weekendCurrently reviewing all of the clues Sunday, 8:02 This just plain sucks. Sunday 16:10 Operator says: btw, talk to li-meilim they were working on guilty pleasures also, theyll kill you if you get the answer before they do :) i told them you shared the sentiment Email from Ben: Did you win yet? Reply: aaaaaaaaahahahahahaha Ive been working on the same ?*[emailprotected]#$?(*[emailprotected] puzzle for 2 straight days and I cant DO IT. *curls up into fetal position and cries* But wait, has it been 2 straight days? I cant tell. What time is it? What day is it? Am I tired or not? I DONT KNOW. Sunday, 20:33 Email sent to all hunters: We are pleased to report that the Evil Midnight Bombers What Bomb at Midnight found the coin at 8:28 pm on Sunday January 20, 2008. Evan: You realize we dont have a chance at second, right? Nathan: Why do you say that? Everyone else went home! Now its time to clean up, and go home, and CRY because I never solved the puzzle I dedicated all weekend to. Yay for Mystery Hunt. =) Post Tagged #Mystery Hunt