Hybrid Puzzle Hunt Comes to Campus

By: Anvi Bhate, David Chen, Ashley Jiang, Athena Wang

he past weekend, members of the Exeter community, including students, alums, faculty and staff participated in the sixth annual Phillips Exeter Academy Puzzle Hunt that provided Exonians an opportunity to engage in a variety of fun and exciting logic exercises. On-campus and remote Exonians alike joined together in teams of up to ten to solve a series of puzzles with up to $600 worth of prizes available.

The Puzzle Hunt was designed by the Puzzle Hunt Headquarters (HQ), which consists of Hunt Director and upper Eleanor Bolker, Head Puzzle Writer and upper Mana Vale, along with student organizers senior Nick Pham, upper Jocelyn Sides and lowers Liam Brown and Clara Gulick. The Puzzle Hunt this year differed from normal with both online and remote paths of participation to accommodate the scattered Academy community.

Bolker detailed how student organizers prepared for Puzzle Hunt. “We pick a theme early in the school year and work on puzzles and logistics throughout the year,” Bolker said. “Typically, people write puzzles, then others test-solve them, then the writers revise them to make them cleaner, smoother, and more logical. I know the end of spring seems like a long way from September, but the hunt typically contains 25-30 puzzles of varying length and difficulty (both to make and to solve), so it's a pretty involved process.”

Test-solving refers to the process by which Puzzle Hunt HQ and alumni team members attempt to solve every written puzzle in Puzzle Hunt. Test-solving is key for assessing clarity and difficulty of the puzzle.

“Test-solving is really crucial to the success of the Hunt, so we go on a test-solving spree at some point every spring,” Vale said.

Vale’s interest in puzzles stemmed from her brother Vinjai Vale ’18, who helped found Exeter’s Puzzle Hunt. “I got introduced to puzzles by my brother, who founded Puzzle Hunt during his time at Exeter, so I had some exposure before I came here,” Vale said. “I was really interested in puzzles, and I wanted to learn how to write good ones, so I joined the Puzzle Hunt team.”

Pham mentioned that former team members returned to help design this year’s Puzzle Hunt. “A bunch of people from last year's puzzle board came back and helped out a bunch,” Pham said. “They helped with poster and puzzle writing because a lot of the people on the board this year were new to Puzzle Hunt, so the alums have to come and teach us how to do that and test-solve everything.”

This year the Puzzle Hunt team experienced additional challenges due to COVID. “It's been kind of hard to plan with all the shifting schedules and Covid situations; in the fall, we were really unsure whether the hunt would be fully virtual, hybrid, or mostly in person, and so we've had to see how that played out across the year. We've landed on a hybrid hunt, so there are some in-person elements but we can't guarantee in-person solving space for teams like we have in years past,” Bolker said.

“Planning this year's hunt was challenging compared to even last year's digital hunt, because we had no idea what spring term looked like back in the fall,” Vale added. “Last year, at least we were able to make everything fully virtual, but this year, we wanted the Hunt to have in-person components.”

Puzzle Hunt is an opportunity for some to connect with students not from the Academy or Exeter alumni through an unique experience. “Many alumni and non-Exonian friends participate on teams, so Exonians get a chance to have fun and spend time with the alums or friends from home they miss,” Vale said. “In general, it's a very fun event that many people look forward to every year.

Pham mentioned Puzzle Hunt’s importance as a school tradition. “It just brings people together. You know, it's just a fun thing to do for a weekend,” he said.

Bolker agreed. “Puzzle Hunt is a great way for people to relax, escape from homework, and spend time with their friends. Whether you're someone who wants to show up and do a few puzzles at the beginning or spend an entire weekend on it, it's a lot of fun and there's space for everyone,” she said.

Students and alumni alike enjoyed participating in Puzzle Hunt. “Puzzle hunt has definitely been a highlight of my Exeter experience,” participant Kevin Xu ’20 said. “It’s not often that you get to be completely engrossed in solving puzzles with friends for a whole weekend. You get to put aside your work and other responsibilities for a short while and have this completely unique experience, made by your very own peers.”

Xu appreciated the balance between competition and collaboration in the event. “The energy is great, too, because even though there is competition, the goal of puzzle HQ is to allow everyone to enjoy the process, and they manage to do it every year,” Xu said.