The Current Armchair Treasure Hunt
The 2011 Armchair Treasure Hunt, set by Garry Smith, has now ended:
- the poster can be downloaded from here in PDF format;
- the puzzle can be downloaded from here in PDF format;
- instructions, errata and other on-going notes were posted here during the Hunt.
- the solution can be downloaded from here in PDF format;
- the Apopheniacs Anonymous team has kindly permitted me to publicise their film about unearthing the treasure, now available where the first message commenced with audio confirmation of the sight of jumbos in the background.
The solution tells you what I propose to award marks for, although I will reserve the right to change that if I’ve done something stupid - like award marks for the same thing more than once, or not at all for something important.
I will publish the full marking spreadsheet when I publish the results.
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Welcome to the Logica Armchair Treasure Hunt for 2011-12.
About 70 years ago, a man temporarily hid some treasure as a hedge against the collapse of the banks. But when he returned to recover it, he couldn’t make sense of his notes and he couldn’t find it. A few years ago, I discovered its location, but now I too find that I am unable to make sense of my cryptic notes. So I am publishing my notes and appealing to you for help, because once again treasure would be a good hedge against the collapse of the banks!
In my notes I followed the usual conventions: ignoring definite articles, indefinite articles and honorifics, and (mostly) using surnames unless necessary to distinguish from another with the same name. Knowledge of history ancient and modern – when, where and what - will be useful to you.
Any individuals or teams can take part, but to win a prize your team must have a Logica employee as captain. If none of your team has previously taken part in an ATH, please tell me that you are ATH virgins!
There are prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd to the treasure, 1st, 2nd and 3rd best overall entry, best ATH virgins, and a couple of special prizes at the discretion of the setter. No person or team may win more than one prize.
Provide as much information as you can in your solutions. As well as points for correct answers, in many cases I will also award points for explanation - for showing that you are thinking along the same lines as me. The exception is the grid puzzle on the last page – there are points for its correct solution and for its two themes, but you don’t need to explain every answer.
If there are any problems, please let me know by email at garry.smith@logica.com or by phone at 077 477 80299 or 01727 832947.
odhu ntinggo!