Tag Archives: viral puzzle

The Internet Rallies Together to Solve a Fall Guys Jigsaw Puzzle!

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[Image courtesy of Fabrik Brands.]

It’s always fun when companies use puzzles as part of their marketing campaign. We’ve seen it loads of times over the years with varying degrees of success.

On the plus side, there was the intriguing trailer hunt for the Cartoon Network show Infinity Train, and the excitement when Game of Thrones launched a viral challenge where folks hunted down copies of the Iron Throne around the world.

On the minus side, there was the Busch Beer Pop Up Schop promotion where days of little puzzles led to hundreds more attendees showing up to the event than expected, and many were turned away disappointed when the free beer and merch dried up quickly.

I think my favorite thing about all of these puzzly campaigns is how people from all over the Internet rally together to solve them. They share information, theories, speculation, and general enthusiasm, driving each other toward a solution.

We got to see another example of collective puzzle-solving on the internet recently for fans of Fall Guys.

[Image courtesy of Wired.]

Fall Guys, for the uninitiated, is a game where dozens of players can compete in silly obstacle courses, tag-style chase games, and other sporty competitions as these goofy little costumed toddling characters, the fall guys.

It’s great fun and rapidly became one of the go-to games for streamers on YouTube to share their successes, frustrations, and all the shenanigans involved in playing.

The team behind Fall Guys, Mediatonic, teased the third season of Fall Guys by launching Operation #JigSawus, wherein they sliced a promotional photo into three hundred pieces and distributed them to fans across a number of different Twitter and Instagram accounts and Discord servers.

Then, it was up to the fans. Would people put aside the competitiveness that made Fall Guys so fun in order to find out just what the jigsaw would reveal?

Of course they would. Puzzle people are good people.

[Image courtesy of Mediatonic.]

It took only a few hours for the entire image to be revealed: a promotional poster for the theme for Fall Guys Season 3, Winter Knockout.

Yes, most fans probably assumed that the third season, launching in wintertime, would have a winter theme, but hey, it’s a bit of fun, and another nice reminder of how people can come together to solve puzzles and support each other.

Puzzles really do make the world a better place.

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“Infinity Train” Arrives Soon With Some Puzzly Ideas (and Viral Marketing)

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infinitytrainpuzzle2

Puzzles pop up all over the television landscape, whether you’re expecting them or not. For instance, while watching an old episode of The Sopranos the other day, I was surprised to see a Crostic puzzle from our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles in the hands of an FBI agent on the show.

You never know where puzzly ideas will show up, though thanks to a recent viral campaign, we do have some details on the latest Cartoon Network show with a puzzle element.

Infinity Train.

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[Image courtesy of Gizmodo.]

Based on an 8-minute short film by Owen Dennis — who worked as both writer and storyboard editor for Regular Show — Infinity Train is an adventure/mystery series featuring a student named Tulip who has a knack for coding and solving puzzles. Tulip ends up on the titular train, discovering not only endless strange worlds inside the train, but dangerous foes and a puzzly mystery to solve.

The folks at Cartoon Network even whipped up a puzzle-fueled challenge for interested viewers.

It started with this brief teaser trailer for the show:

A link in the description box on YouTube directed folks to this website, where a piano puzzle — similar to the one from The Goonies — awaits:

infinitytrainpuzzle

Intrepid solvers quickly figured out that the solution to the puzzle is to play that brief melody you heard in the teaser. If you press (in order) D, B, G, and F#, a full trailer plays as your reward, revealing more scenes from the upcoming TV show.

It’s a cool piece of viral marketing that definitely sparked greater interest in the show, and even before the first episode has aired, fans are already speculating about the infinite train, the strange number on Tulip’s hand that changes depending on her actions, and the sinister characters that want her to “return to her seat.”

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[Image courtesy of Infinity Train Fans.]

There is an intriguing mix of danger and excitement to the proceedings, as Tulip and her companions seem eager to unravel the train’s many mysteries, but never forget that they are in peril. It’s a tough tightrope to walk narratively, but if done correctly, it will add tension and drama to the show’s puzzly premise.

Given how much fun — and how challenging — solvers found some of the puzzles connected to Gravity Falls, there’s real potential for those same solvers to find new joys with Infinity Train.

Only time will tell.

Oh, and hey, here’s the full trailer in case you couldn’t crack the piano puzzle:

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It’s Follow-Up Friday: Math Puzzle Madness edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to revisit the world of viral puzzles and discuss two that have been making the rounds on Facebook recently.

If you’ve been on social media recently, you’ve no doubt seen one or both of these puzzles:

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Each was probably accompanied by some hyperbolic phrasing like “95% of people and most dogs can’t solve this puzzle! Heck, they can’t even agree on an answer! CAN YOU?!?!?!?!”

Well, duh. Of course they can’t agree on an answer. There’s plenty of room to make different assumptions.

Let’s look at the first puzzle again.

math

Now, if you take the puzzle at face value, the chain would appear to be this:

1 + 4 = 5

2 + 5 (+5) = 12 (We’ve added the previous answer, which is where the +5 comes from.

3 + 6 (+12) = 21

8 + 11 (+21) = 40

So the answer is 40.

But wait. if you assume that the pattern continues for the digits between 3 and 8, you end up with this:

1 + 4 = 5

2 + 5 (+5) = 12

3 + 6 (+12) = 21

4 + 7 (+21) = 32

5 + 8 (+32) = 45

6 + 9 (+45) = 60

7 + 10 (+60) = 77

8 + 11 (+77) = 96

And, in truth, it could be either. You’re not given enough information to know for sure how to proceed. It’s a coin toss whether the last line immediately follows the third line, or whether there’s a whole bunch of lines in between and you need to “get the pattern” to extrapolate the 8th line.

Now let’s look at that second puzzle again.

14962617_1223950097651735_5609824945112529117_n

This one also has the potential for alternate answers, but instead of inferences, it depends on whether you follow the traditional order of operations (parentheses, exponents, multiplication/division, addition/subtraction) or you simply read left to right.

If you use traditional order of operations, you end up with:

Horse + Horse + Horse = 30, so Horse = 10.

Horse + Horseshoes + Horseshoes = 18, so Horseshoes = 4 and Horseshoe = 2.

Horseshoes – Boots = 2, so Boots = 2 and Boot = 1.

Boot + Horse x Horseshoe = Boot + (Horse x Horseshoe) = 1 + (10 x 2) = 21.

But if you simply read the last equation from left to right, you end up with:

Boot + Horse x Horseshoe = 1 + 10 x 2 = 11 x 2 = 22.

So, in fairness, there is no right answer to either puzzle, given the information we have.

Which, to me, doesn’t seem like a great puzzle, but it probably makes for great clickbait.

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It’s Follow-Up Friday: This Illusion’s Got Legs edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to return to the subject of viral optical illusions.

Last year, we had The Dress. Then, in March of this year, we had The Jacket. And in May, we asked the question How Many Girls?

Whether we’re spotting iPhones or looking for cats in woodpiles, we can’t seem to get enough of optical illusions.

And there’s a new one making the rounds recently:

[Image courtesy of TheChive.com.]

A woman named Bree tweeted this image of a pair of bare legs that look incredibly shiny. Are they false legs? Are they lotioned or wrapped in Saran wrap? What’s going on here?

I’ll give you a few moments to ponder the image before revealing the secret behind it. Because, as Bree said, “Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.”

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Ready? Okay, here we go.

Like most optical illusions, the answer is startlingly simple.

[Image courtesy of TheChive.com.]

The illusion of shininess is actually the result of strategically placed streaks of white paint or toothpaste or something similar.

Pretty impressive once you really look at it, isn’t it?

This image has truly gone viral. As I write this, it’s been retweeted over 16,000 times, and liked over 20,000 times. Bree herself seems baffled by the attention the post has received.

Amazing what you can do with a bit of white paint.

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