All Questions
27
questions
6
votes
1
answer
692
views
Help me unlock an old laptop
My nerdy roommate has some really important notes for an upcoming exam and he won't give them to me! So I stole his laptop and now I need to find the password, which is why I'm here. I think you'll ...
- 163
9
votes
1
answer
973
views
Escape from a Grand Canyon
This is part 44 of the puzzle series Around the World in Many Days. Each part is solvable on its own.
Dear Puzzling,
Can you help me out here? I am trapped inside a small room that’s locked from the ...
- 78.9k
10
votes
1
answer
831
views
A Letter and Puzzle From Grandma
[ EDIT: It's OK to skip the long, boring letter for now, and go straight to Stage 1 of the puzzle.]
Dear Grandson,
I could use a break, so I came to your grandpa's farm to unwind. However, woe to me! ...
- 19k
3
votes
0
answers
314
views
Will you regret solving this puzzle?
It's February and you walk into the Smithsonian American Art Museum. A piece of artwork was recently bought for $2,061,966 USD, but you are confused that the museum bought this ugly artwork that even ...
- 1,323
6
votes
1
answer
256
views
A musical response
This puzzle is my own creation.
The other day one of my coworkers asked me whether I was up for a challenge. I said sure, so he handed me a piece of paper.
"Find the response that's hidden in ...
8
votes
2
answers
564
views
Locked in an alien crypt: Jewels on the floor
Dazed, you slowly regain consciousness. You don’t know how you got here, but one thing is certain – your exploration of this otherworldly planet has reached an ugly end. Trapped in an alien crypt, ...
- 5,430
10
votes
1
answer
396
views
A puzzling stained glass window
On a recent trip to Europe, I visited a beautiful gothic abbey. Walking up the dark aisle between old wooden pews, the air heavy with the odour of incense, I could only marvel at the beautiful stained ...
- 5,430
7
votes
1
answer
512
views
Does this contain a cosmic riddle?
I have recently returned from travelling the globe, and while I saw many sights on my Ulyssian adventure, one in particular remains with me...
While walking through an ancient Middle Eastern cave ...
- 5,430
18
votes
2
answers
2k
views
NASA analyzing message from space
$\hskip3in$Newsflash
Since our space probes and radio beams first plumbed the cosmos, mankind has sent into the void numerous notices describing our location. Today NASA announced the recovery of a ...
- 5,430
20
votes
1
answer
397
views
Twenty Questions - a visual puzzle
"Okay, are you male?"
"Yes. 19 left."
"Are you alive?"
"Well, that's... complicated..."
"Okay, are you real?"
"No – 17."
"17? You're ...
- 146k
15
votes
1
answer
546
views
The Maze of Hermes
An entry into Fortnightly Topic Challenge #46: "Tales From the Cryptic"
THE QUEST
I have been running a role-playing game, in which my friend plays a halfling named Ptolic. Recently, Ptolic ...
- 2,483
8
votes
0
answers
346
views
We found text from the year 2040!
Recently, the first surviving examples of text from the ███████████████e discovered! The unearthed artifacts included a collection of rectangular tablets inscribed in the hitherto unknow███████████████...
- 181
23
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Bob's unnecessary trip to the shops
Alice and Bob live in London, UK. On a Friday, as per usual, Bob leaves for work before Alice. At lunchtime he receives a WhatsApp message from his friend Charles:
Sorry to cancel on you last week (...
- 146k
17
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Sightseeing on Crack
Recently I went on an around-the-world vacation.
Unfortunately, I dropped my phone just as I was getting out of the cab at the airport before my first flight out. Not so bad in and of itself, but ...
- 25.7k
54
votes
9
answers
8k
views
Shady business in the local paper
I work as a delivery man for our local newspaper and noticed something that has my alarm bells ringing. The embassy of Warfaretania has ordered exactly nine issues of our paper, from December 1 ...
- 78.9k
11
votes
1
answer
335
views
Show me... "Stack the Logs!"
I'm Daniel, a skinny teenager from New Jersey. My mom got a new job, so she and I had to move to Canyon City, California.
I decided that I needed a new hobby, so I started taking classes at the YMCA.
...
- 25.7k
3
votes
1
answer
155
views
A Place Where Fanatics Rule
I woke up. It was really hot, and the last thing I remembered was seeing the faces of my family in a white surrounding. Well, actually there was something before that. I remember seeing a weird symbol....
- 6,682
9
votes
3
answers
504
views
A Series of Fortunate Events
Once, when I was a boy, I went to the Carnival. The man at the said, "Come here, boy, I'll tell you a story. Shuffle these cards."
And I did. When I was done, he began telling me his story, flipping ...
- 25.7k
6
votes
1
answer
428
views
Little Pictures: Charlie's Lunch Edition
Charlie was at school- middle school, to be exact. He had begun to chat with others his age, and was starting to make some friends. In particular, he had found a female friend, which made him very ...
- 2,900
2
votes
2
answers
337
views
The Great Art Theft
The day was March 18, 1990. Just a few hours ago, multiple valuable artworks were stolen by men in fake uniforms. You, a famous code breaker, happened to stumble upon two pieces of evidences that the ...
- 3,296
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Girls are Mean!
Can you help poor little Benjamin fix his homework paper before he submits it?
He needs to know what words to put back into his paper.
Transcript:
...
- 25.7k
9
votes
4
answers
2k
views
A strange message in a library
A few days ago I entered a small and ancient library in China Town, and while I was looking for some interesting book to borrow, a torn slip of paper fell from a shelf.
On it, a strange message… ...
- 2,870
18
votes
3
answers
998
views
The Hyper-Modern Kidnapper: Crime Scene #5 (The last crime scene)
The Story:
It had taken longer than planned to sneak out after having solved the word search with the hidden message. Vimes was worried that he had alrady failed. Having taken the stairs to reduce the ...
- 17.5k
17
votes
1
answer
5k
views
A puzzle-loving lady's phone number
After a long day, you head to your local bar for a couple of drinks. Halfway through your second beer, a pretty girl walks up to you and points to the empty chair next to you. "Is this seat taken?...
- 8,068
3
votes
2
answers
673
views
Finding Uncle John!
It was a chilly winter night when I was hanging around with some friends. We were gossiping about the recent kidnapping cases where a few of the people from the town were missing. There was a news ...
- 18.9k
8
votes
2
answers
969
views
Don't clear your terminal history 2
Previously, on terminal use...
The door accepted your input and slid open! Unfortunately, so did a trap door under your feet. You slide down and end up in another room. The only apparent exit is a ...
- 6,649
20
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How would you like your face? Scrambled?
Great!
First day on the job here at the F.B.I., and I've got a mess on my hands.
Someone hacked into Langley's mainframe and scrambled twelve of the mugshots that we have on file, and it's my ...
- 25.7k