The most important rule of the puzzle hunt is this: the hunt is supposed to be FUN. If at any point you are not having fun, something is wrong, so please come talk to me and we'll see what we can do about it. Bear in mind, though, that some of these puzzles are probably very hard, so please don't be surprised if you spend some time being stuck.
The answer to each puzzle will be a word or phrase. If you think you have correctly solved a puzzle, I strongly encourage you to confirm your answer with me. This is for two reasons: first, so that you know you're right; and second, so that I can monitor the progress of each of the teams, and keep track of whether or not any individual puzzles might be too hard. I will mostly be based in Bemis lounge during the puzzle hunt, so you can find me there to confirm answers. You may also call me on my cell phone to confirm answers.
You will receive puzzles in four rounds of four puzzles each, representing each of the four Saturday class timeslots. The first round is being released now, and each subsequent round will be released at 90 minute intervals. Come to Bemis lounge to receive the new puzzles. You can also receive the new puzzles ahead of time, if you have correctly solved 3 out of 4 puzzles in each of the rounds you have already received. Once you have solved 3 out of 4 puzzles in each of the four rounds, you may advance to the final round of the hunt. (However, this will not necessarily be enough to complete the final round successfully.)
You may use any resource you wish to attempt to solve these puzzles, but please try to adhere to the following points: