Overview

The 2023 Key Clues Challenge will run over four days, from Wednesday 27 September 2023 to Saturday 30 September 2023. In teams of 3-6 players, math students, alumni, postdoctoral fellows, alumni, staff, and faculty will work together to solve a series of daily puzzles over Day 1 and Day 2 in order to uncover pieces of a meta puzzle that they will solve on Day 3. Solving the meta puzzle will provide teams with the physical location of the secret location on campus, where teams can submit their key. The first team to submit their key at the secret location will be crowned the 2023 Enigma Cup Champions at the Enigma Cup Ceremony.

Teams

All teams must be comprised of 3-6 players, who are either undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, postdoctoral fellows, staff, or faculty members from the University of Waterloo. All teams must have an assigned team captain, who is responsible for organizing their team during the 3-day challenge. Interested community members who do not have a team are encouraged to register as an 'Individual player'.

Schedule

Your Team's Key

Each team will be assigned a key, which will have a unique set of number tags attached to it. Team captains are responsible for their team's key and should work to keep both their key and number tags safe, secure, and away from the eyes of other teams. Your team's key is needed when you find the secret location on campus. Team Captains are responsible for picking up and returning their key to the Gamemaster (instructions will be provided following team registration).

2023 Key Clues Challenge: Rules

• Only students, alumni, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and faculty from the University of Waterloo can participate in the Key Clues Challenge.
• All teams must have 3-6 players.
• No team may receive outside assistance from anyone who is not a registered participant in the Key Clues Challenge.
• No team shall share their team’s key with anyone outside of their own team.
• No member of the Development Team, or any member of the community who assisted in the development or testing of the puzzles, may participate in the challenge in any form.
• The format will be a four-day puzzle-solving challenge, in which daily puzzles are released on day 1, day 2, and day 3 and a meta puzzle is released on day 4.
• All puzzle answers can be checked using our answer checker, and there are no penalties for incorrect answers.
• Hints will be provided on a set schedule by the Development Team throughout the three-day challenge.
• The winning team shall be the one who first submits their team’s key at the secret location on campus.

Meet this year's dedicated team!

What does the Principal Enigmatologist do?

The Principal Enigmatologist is responsible for leading the team of enigmatologists through the design, development, and implementation of the puzzles that will be used in the annual Key Clues Challenge and ensuring that the team of volunteers has what they need to design and develop the puzzles. They organize and facilitate the process by which the team of enigmatologists will design, develop, and test puzzles. They are also the first point of contact for Team Captains and participants.

What does an Enigmatologist do?

The Enigmatologists are responsible for designing and developing each of the puzzles that will be used in the annual Key Clues Challenge. Their primary role on the team is to be the brains behind the puzzles, and they work tirelessly to create puzzles that will stump even the brightest students, staff, postdocs, and faculty members who enter the Key Clues Challenge.

The winning team's name will be added to the Enigma Cup.  Further details about prizes coming soon!