As promised, here is a wrap-up of the Holiday Hunt. You can find the puzzles for each part, and the solutions, at these links:

Part 1: Puzzle and Solution
Part 2: Puzzle and Solution
Part 3: Puzzle and Solution
Part 4: Puzzle and Solution

Results:19 solvers finished, the first before any hints were added and the last with just hours to spare, but ( Read more... )

I received several questions during my recent Holiday Hunt, many asking if I had an ulterior motive for doing it (most thought that reason was to make you buy more books!). Others asked what good a "custom puzzle design", one of the prizes, would be. Let me share with you another story about the Holiday Hunt that should answer these questions ( Read more... )

The contest goes on (and will run through the end of January 2nd, midnight EST) and I've identified over a dozen top fans. As now a lot of solvers are stuck at Part Four, and as I'm still in the giving mood, I've reformatted the text there to give a big hint towards what to do. If you are still stuck, I'm offering hints big and small at motris at ( Read more... )

As announced earlier this week, today's Friday Puzzle is a four-part holiday treasure hunt for my fans that travels through some of my past work including my books.

Each step will yield an answer or code that you should enter as a web address. Specifically, go to
grandmasterpuzzles.com/holiday2011/youranswer.html ( Read more... )

This week's Friday Puzzle will be a little different. I've put together a four-part treasure hunt that will start here but may wind its way into some of my books or elsewhere. Each puzzle part will give a message/pointer to the next place to go, only the travel will be virtual - between puzzles and not between places. I've tried to make it very ( Read more... )