Key Clues Challenge

A key cutout of a puzzle piece over the event title "Key Clues"

The University-wide puzzle-solving competition IS BACK for Winter 2025! The challenge is designed to be a team-based community engagement and development activity that encourages undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, alumni, staff, and faculty members to work together in groups of 3-6 to solve a series of puzzles over from January 27 to February 3. The first team to solve the meta puzzle at the final location will be crowned the 2025 Enigma Cup Champions!

About the Enigma Cup

The Enigma Cup gets its name from the Greek word ainigma, which means: "to speak in riddles", and is awarded annually to the first-place team in the Key Clues Challenge.

This Enigma Cup stands 31.5" tall and is comprised of two parts, a silver cup and a rosewood piano finish base. The cup is recognizable by its lid, which has a topper that resembles the Goddess Nike as the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The Enigma Cup is engraved each year with the winning team's name, the team captain's name from the winning team, and the year that they won. A full listing of the members of each winning team can be found on our website.

The Enigma Cup was commissioned for the first annual Key Clues Challenge in 2022 and is proudly on display for all to see in the Mathematics and Computer (MC) building.

Prizes

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

Past Winners

Congratulations to our 2023 Enigma Cup Champions!

kclues
Year Participants
2023 Champions Hugh Coleman
Samantha Peter
Avish Kathpal
Noah Nazareth
Awab Qureshi
Tian Chen

Congratulations to our 2022 Enigma Cup Champions!

2022 Enigma Cup Champions - Not So Great Ideas
Year Participants
2022 Champions Gautam K. (Captain)
Dave T.
Kam Chuen T.
Sara K.
Vijay R.
Sabrina M.
Abhiroop S.
Abhibhav G.

FAQ

What kind of puzzles are these?: Unlike established puzzles like sudoku or crosswords, the puzzles in this competition may not come with instructions. Figuring out what to do is a major part of the solving process! The puzzles in this competition are more like those found in online puzzle hunts like the MUMS, Galactic, and Mezzacotta puzzle hunts (to name a few, although these are far more involved and lengthy than our competition!).