Puzzles

[robb]

@Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni #98539 That had my brain working overtime, for a bit, but I was eventually on to a winner once I understood your cryptographic clue! Worded so you know, but without giving the answer away.

[robb]

@RickOShea #98514 *** I am leaving this a little vague on purpose, but if you know, you know! ***

I’m enjoying them this year, but haven’t always had time to look at them in the past. I’m sure Harry, and maybe @_Madness_ too (?), will know the answer to your question.

[_madness_]

@RickOShea and @robb, is the answer you are looking for 83m3p8362c?

[ByteInBits]

@Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni

(12,4) It does if one does not solve it! But I did and I won 😉 if you get my drift.

I’m sure the above indicates my solve while not giving much away.

[robb]

@_madness_ #98560 I thought you might k63w, I guess then that means 6346b93k16cyp8197f93mp91v2347y1097

[upsidedown]

Re: #98514

md5(“upsidedown” || lowercase plaintext with punctuation) = f63366367429c1e2ff76ec01bf704f09

(I replaced the apostrophe with the ASCII version)

I’m pretty sure there are some, possibly in the archive.

Re: #98539

md5(“upsidedown” || lowercase plaintext) = b07b3373834aa788fe43013e10ba044e

Ah, steganography!

[Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni]

@robb, #98559

Technicality: I think your solution to #98539 (Puzzle 4.5 of my Puzzle Hunt) is just MD5([lowercase answer]) rather than MD5(“upsidedown” + [lowercase answer]). (But it still means I can recreate it!)

And, in any case, your comments about the final answer are enough to assure me that it is correct! *Applause*

[Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni]

A new Puzzle Hunt – the solution will be published on Dec 28th at around 11.30. Have fun, Harry

So here it is, the culmination of the many (well, four) puzzles that I have posted over the last couple of months. Good luck!

Puzzle Hunt, META (3,6,6)
MD5: 8872480580666b5d75b3c352c6e1c7af
[N.B. Please use the answer to Puzzle 4.5, not Puzzle 4!]

[INTRODUCTION]
Here is a rough guide to the difficulty of this Meta, given the number of feeder answers you have obtained:

• 4 feeders: Should be trivial.
• 3 feeders: Should still be easy, but you will have to figure out a bit of the final message by yourself.
• 2 feeders: Hard, but very much doable (especially since this is being posted on a cryptography forum!).
• 1 feeder: Really difficult, but potentially doable. Good luck.
• 0 feeders: What are you doing here??

[And besides, you should already have two answers anyway! See another post in this forum.]

This introduction is not a puzzle.

[PUZZLE]

Instructions:

1. ERNQ GURFR VAFGEHPGVBAF PNERSHYYL!
2. RNPU BS GUR SBHE SRRQRE NAFJREF FUBHYQ UNIR RKNPGYL 16 PUNENPGREF (HFVAT YNGVA YRGGREF BAYL).
3. QREVIR N 64-YRGGRE XRLFGERNZ, X, SEBZ GURFR NAFJREF NF SBYYBJF.
4. UNIR LBH TBG NAFJRE N? VS FB, GUR 16 YRGGREF SEBZ GUVF NAFJRE FUBHYQ ZNXR HC GUR 1FG,5GU,…,61FG YRGGREF BS X (VA GUNG BEQRE!).
5. RNFL. ABJ HFR NAFJRE O GB PERNGR GUR 2AQ,6GU,…,62AQ YRGGREF BS X.
6. ERCRNG SBE NAFJRE P (3EQ,…,63EQ YRGGREF BS X).
7. ERCRNG SBE NAFJRE Q (4GU,…,64GU YRGGREF BS X).
8. VS LBH NER PBASHFRQ JVGU JUVPU NAFJRE VF JUVPU, N YBBX NG GUR GVGYRF ZNL URYC!
9. ABJ QRPELCG GUR SBYYBJVAT ZRFFNTR, HFVAT X NF N BAR-GVZR CNQ.
10. TBBQ YHPX!

Message:
YNEUYCJXCQEMESPEKDGGHBSHOVFYFPLNEROAXJYPSGDJFVVBDYEKMBNPGUMWQIMJ

[Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni]

Puzzle Hunt, META (#98624) – Addendum

Oh yeah, and there is an Easter egg somewhere in this Meta puzzle. Unfortunately, it is all a bit of a RED HERRING.

First person to find it wins bragging rights!

[robb]

@Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni #98624
If I md5 hash this string “ROBB/answer” with no spaces just the slash I get af558359d6389262820e04091cf376e8

Nice twist!

[Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni]

(Sorry it’s taken so long for me to respond, but…)

#98657

@robb – Congratulations! I checked your MD5 and it looks like it matches. (You certainly have bragging rights now!)

[RickOShea]

Considering the Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph, the five needle telegraph system allows the transmission of twenty characters. The six needle telegraph system allows the transmission of thirty characters.

The sequence (needles, characters) is:

0, 0
1, 0
2, 2
3, 6
4, 12
5, 20
6, 30

1. How many characters could a similar seven needle system be able to convey and display?
2. Can you derive the general formula for the number of characters a system with n needles would be able to convey and display?

 

[Kingswinford-Warriors-Alumni]

 

This contains the solution to my Meta puzzle.

[SOLUTION]

The instructions were encrypted with a ROT13 cipher (i.e. Caesar shift of 13). The decrypted instructions are:

1. Read these instructions carefully!
2. Each of the four feeder answers should have exactly 16 characters (using Latin letters only).
3. Derive a 64-letter keystream, K, from these answers as follows.
4. Have you got Answer A? If so, the 16 letters from this answer should make up the 1st,5th,…,61st letters of K (in that order!).
5. Easy. Now use Answer B to create the 2nd,6th,…,62nd letters of K.
6. Repeat for Answer C (3rd,…,63rd letters of K).
7. Repeat for Answer D (4th,…,64th letters of K).
8. If you are confused with which answer is which, a look at the titles may help!
9. Now decrypt the following message, using K as a one-time pad.
10. Good luck!

Here are the feeder answers that the instructions refer to. Note that, for instance, Answer A is the solution to Annoying Answers (because both letters of the title begin with A).
A. CRYPTOGRAPHYWINS
B. GOODLUCKEVERYONE
C. WILLYOUSOLVETHEM
D. SOMETOUGHPUZZLES

Which yields a key K as listed in the instructions. Taking Z-K, where Z is the ciphertext, yields a plaintext P:
Z: YNEUYCJXCQEMESPEKDGGHBSHOVFYFPLNEROAXJYPSGDJFVVBDYEKMBNPGUMWQIMJ
K: CGWSROIOYOLMPDLETLYTOUOOGCUURKSGAEOHPVLPHEVUYREZWYTZIOHLNNEESEMS
P: WHICHOBJECTAPPEARSINTHETITLEOFTHENATIONALCIPHERCHALLENGETHISYEAR

Or:
Which object appears in the title of the National Cipher Challenge this year?

The answer is: THE SILVER BULLET

[HarryPotterFan77]

Dear Harry, Sorry! Solution:

Read once finished

1. Bob : Simpsons, Australia, Straight hair, Farm , 81.
2. Rachael : Coronation Street, Italy, Long Hair, Youth Hostel, 21.
3. Keeley: Desperate Housewives, Africa, Afro, Village, 52.
4. Eilish : Neighbors, England, Bald, City, 46
5. Amy : Eastenders, France, Curly hair, Town, 14.

[V6446]

A solution I can think of is to cut the cake in half and put one half on top of the other. Then you cut this in half. Stack the four pieces into a tower then cut through the middle to get 8 slices.
I haven’t used these forums before so I am not sure what the tags are.

[Author]

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