Puzzles

Museum Mischief The FBI’s image comes through: four postcards with seemingly innocuous scribbles about travel. It’s hard to believe that these may hold the key to getting the jump on a prolific international museum thief. They were apparently in the possession of an accomplice though, so it’s worth taking a look. You know the thief has hit London, Rome, and Paris… Does one of these postcards hold the secret to the next target? Think you have the answer? Submit × About this puzzle mechanic: Indexing is a puzzle technique where letters are extracted from words or phrases using numbered positions—such...

Conquest The messenger bursts through the flaps of the command tent, a wax tablet in his hand. The very fate of the Roman Empire will be determined by what is being sent. Caesar, your commander, must make an impossible choice: disband his army and risk treachery at home, or throw the dice of fortune and begin a civil war, vying for power. You begin to decipher the message… Think you have the answer? Submit × About the puzzle story and puzzle mechanic: This puzzle is inspired by real events from 49 BCE, at the end of the Roman Republic. After...

Defector Only one door stands between you and the Dr.’s biolab. It’s been three years since the arrogant scientist went rogue and fled to Russia to continue his bioweapon research. Now, thousands of man-hours from the CIA have led to this moment: finding the lab and creating the opportunity to infiltrate it. From a listening device previously planted on the Dr., you know it’s six letters long. You carefully dust the keyboard to the access computer and shine your blacklight… Think you have the answer? Submit × About this puzzle mechanic: Scrambling letters to conceal a solution is a classic...

Rendezvous A pigeon taps softly at your window… this is it: a new life, a new world, freedom. You quickly move to open the window and retrieve the note secured to its leg. Your meeting place is set, but when? The timing of your escape needs to be perfectly synchronized. You sit down to read… Think you have the answer? Submit × About this puzzle mechanic: Using the first letter of each word or line is a classic encoding method called an acrostic. However, acrostics aren’t limited to beginnings—hidden messages can also be formed from letters taken from the middle,...

Jungle Pet The vibrations of the transport helicopter fade into the distance. Your special operations team stays low, weapons drawn, surveying the island’s jungle surroundings and securing the area. You move quickly and quietly to the main laboratory. The interior is in shambles, as if an intense struggle ensued. In the center of the room is a shattered case with a massive, cracked egg. These billionaires and their insane pet projects… what in the world were they studying?? Think you have the answer? Submit × About this puzzle mechanic: The code you just used is known as A1Z26, one of...

This puzzle appears printed on the Holiday Puzzle Cards (available for purchase while supplies last). What is the hidden message within the card?   FRONT:   INSIDE:   BACK:     Think you have the answer? Submit Need a hint? Hint #1 The poem inside the card provides clues for what to do. To start, figure out what the ten images could be. List out what you see within the card. Also, notice that the crossword doesn't have any hints: you'll need to figure out what word goes where another way. Hint #2 It will be helpful to count how...