This weekend I had the pleasure to experience a short new puzzle hunt called the “Hive Book Hunt.” It was a delight, and it instantly jumps to the front of the list for a puzzle hunt to introduce someone new to the hobby.
As a quick recap for anyone unfamiliar, the concept of a puzzle hunt involves solving a series of puzzles in order, sometimes using the answers from other puzzles in subsequent “metapuzzles.” The puzzles vary in complexity and difficulty, with the unifying thread that each puzzle challenges players to think a different way.
The Hive Book Hunt was launched as a promotion for the new sci fi book Madders of Time Book 1: Hive. The hunt is free to play, but for only 99 cents you can get a copy of the book and an entry into a sweepstakes for each of the three main sections of the puzzle you solve. It’s a remarkable deal and a really fun way to get the word out about a new book.
The Hive Book Hunt is more achievable for a weekend activity than the large puzzle hunts. The MIT Mystery Hunt, for example, is a popular and notorious hunt that often has 150+ puzzles and requires a team of 30+ to work a full three day weekend to solve. I solved the first 2/3 of the Hive hunt over my Saturday morning coffee. I spent all day Saturday at my niece’s birthday party and I spent most of the day Sunday on one of the largest corporate mergers in history, and the Hive Book Hunt was the perfect relaxing activity to lower my stress level for the weekend.
One thing I really appreciated about the Hive hunt was the inclusion of some great quality-of-life features that simplified the need to print or take notes. Typically puzzle hunts require extensive documentation such as setting up a spreadsheet for each puzzle in a separate app of your choice. The Hive hunt included interactivity in every puzzle to minimize the amount of administrative work for players. As someone on a tight timetable this weekend, I really appreciated it.
Though seasoned puzzlers might find the hunt easy, we found the puzzles to be clever and fun. Christina joined me for the final 1/3 and enjoyed them extensively, and I had a wonderful “aha!” moment when I realized one of the key elements of the solution.
Something else I really appreciated about this hunt was the lack of esoteric material. In the world of puzzle hunts, there are a few elements that tend to show up a lot – Playfair ciphers, cryptic crosswords, metapuzzle extractions that pull letters from words in specific patterns – the Hive hunt didn’t rely on any of those, so anyone with an interest in puzzles doesn’t have to learn a specific tool to play along. I’m familiar enough with puzzle hunts where those wouldn’t pose an obstacle, but I appreciate how their omission has made a game that’ll be accessible to a broader audience.
I hope we see more content like the Hive Book Hunt. I’m passionate about exposing more people to mind-based challenges and I love having a new option I can present as a way to get people thinking outside the box. It’s even tempting as something I can share in the office to give coworkers something fun to think about. We’ve been getting a lot of good puzzle content lately, and the Hive Book Hunt is a great addition.
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