Puzzle Safari is a one-day puzzle solving event that combines physical and intellectual challenge. Teams of four players solve puzzles that lead to locations on campus. At each location is a hidden stamp (this year represented by a barcode) that players use to stamp their logbooks (this year, logbooks are virtual, and teams use smartphones). Teams must find as many stamps as they can within the allotted time for each round of puzzles. Teams can earn extra points by participating in challenges spread throughout the event. The team who finds the most stamps—and earns the most points—wins the game!
Safari is for anyone at Microsoft interested in solving puzzles. It's a team competition so people of all different skill and interest levels can enjoy it, but it does require physical activity of running or walking around the Microsoft campus in the sun. Teams can include non-Microsoft employees, so spouses and friends are welcome, but two team members must be full-time Microsoft employees or interns (one for fully remote teams).
Safari puzzles are easier than those found in Puzzlehunt or Puzzleday, and there are often more puzzles, with 70 or 80 puzzles to solve throughout the day. If you like fun, quick, clever puzzles, this might be the event for you!
Two big changes this year: a fully-remote option, and the replacement of physical stamps with barcodes and smartphones.
After the opening ceremonies, you and your team members will travel back to your headquarters and begin solving puzzles. You'll have 35-40 puzzles to solve, some easier than others, but you should be able to solve the easiest puzzles quickly. Keep an eye on the clock because you have 3 hours to solve as many puzzles and find as many barcodes as possible in Round 1, and 3.5 hours in Round 2.
To find a barcode, you've got to solve the puzzle correctly, submit the correct answer to this website, and then go to the location the site tells you. At that location you'll find a small barcode with a 5-letter code under it. Scan the barcode with your phone, or enter the 5-letter code into your phone, and confirm that you have successfully found the correct barcode. Do not move the barcode!
Most of the event, only one team member can scan barcodes at a time. Other members stay behind to solve puzzles and communicate solutions by phone or direct message tweet. The folks out looking for barcodes (known as runners) must do so on foot or by wheelchair. Runners must bring their phone to the barcode, not the other way around.
To score points, you've got to solve the puzzle correctly, submit the correct answer to this website, and then scan the barcode or enter the 5-letter code.
The schedule will indicate what time solving and picture taking ends for each round. When Round 1 ends we break for lunch for 1/2 hour. After that we'll give you about 35 more puzzles. You cannot enter solution to puzzles, or scan barcodes, during lunch or after the event is over.
There is no longer a late penalty. Instead, you just can't score points after the round ends. You don't have to do anything special to end your round.
Scoring is as follows:
During Round 1:
During Round 2:
Yes, that's right, you can still solve Round 1 puzzles during Round 2, but the barcodes are worth half as much. Your team will have to decide if it's worth the effort to gather Round 1 barcodes or if you want to go for the full 10 points for the Round 2 barcodes. For some hints about strategy, see our Strategy Guide below.
Safari takes place on the Microsoft West Campus (the one with The Commons) east of 148th Avenue, south of 40th Street, and northwest of SR520. The outdoors of campus is all part of the game, but many stamps are hidden inside the Microsoft buildings, so only employees with a badge can effectively collect stamps. A number of buildings, and all construction areas, are restricted by Microsoft Security for safety and for Microsoft business reasons. Players are not allowed to enter construction areas or the restricted buildings, even though they may not be explicitly marked—it is the players' responsibility to avoid them. At press time, the restricted buildings include Studios A, B, C, and buildings 111 and 114. Also, don't go in the Honeywell buildings or parking areas, or any other non-Microsoft buildings. See the event information on the website and listen at the opening ceremony for the current list of restricted buildings.
Puzzle Safari differs in a number of ways:
We realize that some teams may not wish to come into the Microsoft campus, or may be located somewhere outside the Puget Sound area. So, this year we have a remote option. In the remote option, teams only solve puzzles, but do not participate in the stamp finding or challenge aspects of Puzzle Safari. Remote teams don't get the full Puzzle Safari experience, but they can still take part in the puzzle solving aspect.
Because remote teams don't have to find stamps, and can't earn points from challenges, the standings and scores from the fully remote option are not comparable to the in-person option. Teams in the fully-remote option will have a separate scoreboard and separate winners.
Fully remote teams only need one MSFT employee on the team.
Scoring for the fully remote option is as follows:
During Round 1:
During Round 2:
Barcodes have several advantages that we are trying out this year. Depending on how things work out, we may continue to use barcodes in the future, or switch back to stamps and logbooks.
Short answer: no.
Only one phone on your team can be the active scanning device for your team. You can transfer this to another phone, but that phone must be in the same physical location (like handing off a log book).
Important exception: In the last 15 minutes of round 2, you may use as many devices as you want to scan barcodes.
Yes! We strongly encourage this.
You need to enable location permissions for the Puzzle Safari solution site.
For iPhone: Click "aA" in the address bar, then click "Website Settings", then set "Location" to "Allow". If that still doesn't work, go to Settings, Privacy, Location Services, make sure "Location Services" is ON, and Safari Websites is set to "While Using the App".
For Android: Click the padlock in the address bar, then click "Permissions", turn on Location.
Then refresh the web page.
You need to enable camera permissions for the Puzzle Safari solution site.
For iPhone: Click "aA" in the address bar, then click "Website Settings", then set "Camera" to "Allow".
For Android: Click the padlock in the address bar, then click "Permissions", turn on Camera.
Then refresh the web page.
If you can't get camera access to work, you can type in the 5 letter code instead.
There are no challenge tickets this year. Once you solve a puzzle associated with a challenge, you can proceed directly to that challenge. The challenge staff will verify that you have solved one of the feeder puzzles for that challenge.
Unless given alternate instructions in your clue, go to the location of the challenge, near the opening ceremony. When you get to the front of the line (if any), give the challenge staff your team number.
Once you complete a challenge, the challenge staff will record your successful completion. Be sure to give your team number to the challenge staff so that they record your successful completion. You can check that you successfully completed a challenge on the Solver page.
We play rain or shine. If it looks like rain, bring your raincoat and waterproof shoes.
Rain is uncommon at this time of year, but hot sun is quite common. If you plan to play outside and search for barcodes, please prepare by bringing hats and sunscreen. On a couple of years the temperature has exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Puzzle Safari is played straight through. Be sure to pack some snacks or a lunch, because you won't want to miss out on the action. We will have a 30-minute break between rounds to give everyone a chance to eat and relax.
Yes, but they need to be accompanied by a full-time employee at all times and be part of the 4 people on your team. This means you'll need at least two FTEs (employees or interns) on your team.
Teams selecting the fully remote option only need one FTE on their teams.
No. On the in-person option, up to two people on your team can be remote and helping to solve puzzles. These people won't be able to participate in collecting barcodes or challenges. Note that you must have two FTEs on campus. Puzzles will be available via PDFs on the solution system as well as on paper.
We've got about 70+ puzzles each year and will often have slightly more puzzles in Round 1 than Round 2. Exact figures will not be available until event day.
No, we don’t. We try to provide more puzzles than any team can solve, even the best. This ensures that every team can focus on puzzles they enjoy, and that no error with a specific puzzle spoils the event for one team. Our data shows the very best teams solve all or nearly all the ~70 puzzles and 6 challenges, and the average team solves over half of them.
We rarely need to post corrections because of our testing and we do not post hints—just try a different puzzle! If there is a problem, we will post a notice to this website and notify teams by the email listed in your team registration. We'll also have a hotline to report safety issues, accidents, missing stamps, or other problems.
Look up, look down, look under…keep looking! The barcodes aren't always conspicuous. If you can't find the barcode—move on! Whatever you do, please don't cause any property damage!! We will not hide the barcodes where you have to tear things apart to find them.
Some past Puzzle Safari participants told us that they sent scouts out to find stamps, only to find that when they returned with the logbook, the stamp was gone. Despite these complaints, we rarely lose any barcodes, and almost all missing reports turn out to be wrong. This means that the barcode didn't vanish—you didn't look hard enough. We hear rumors that tables have undersides.
Barcodes are adhered in position, and there should never be any reason to move them. If your phone camera won't focus on the barcode where it is, please use the five-digit code option intead of attempting to remove the barcode .
No. You can only scan the barcode if you know the puzzle that the barcode corresponds to.
We use your phones GPS to make sure you are the correct place when scanning each barcode. For this reason, please enable location services on the web site before scanning barcodes or entering the 5 letter code.
Ultimately, this game depends on players being honest, and we have found that players behave this way.
No.
An amazing experience, the admiration of fellow puzzlers, and fabulous prizes, of course!
Unlike some Puzzlehunts, the winner does not win the right to host the next Puzzle Safari. There is an organizing team that hosts all Puzzle Safaris. If you'd like to join us, e-mail us at psafari@microsoft.com. We always need new staff.
Check the other pages of this Web site—you should find all the information you need to sign up and be ready to play. If you've got a question we haven't answered, e-mail us at psafari@microsoft.com.
Here are a few hints to get you started in Puzzle Safari.
Book your conference room as soon as you register, if not sooner. Conference rooms in central locations tend to fill up fast.
Make sure your computer and phone are ready and charged. Make your printer works. Make sure Microsoft Teams works.
Decide a strategy for playing the game. Do you want to solve a lot of puzzles for two hours and then spend an hour looking for barcodes, or do you want to send people scouting for barcodes while a few people stay behind and solve puzzles? You'll have to decide the winning strategy , but take it from us: the more time you spend on campus looking for barcodes the better. One hour is not enough time to cross campus more than once. If you're serious about winning, you'll have one player set out for barcodes as quickly as possible, and keep in touch with mobile phones
If you're new to Microsoft, ask an old-timer to give you a tour of all the Microsoft tourist spots. Some locations might assume you're familiar with these places and their names, so you might want to take a walk around campus and check out all the fountains, landmarks, and other points of interest before the event. Aerial maps from Bing can help you scout campus too. A map of campus with restricted buildings crossed out is on the web site.
Seriously consider at the end of round 1 setting up a relay race among your team for the final stamp collection run. Organize the stamp locations by proximity and establish a route to visit them all. Have each of your team members who have a badge run one portion of that route. You'll find you can run faster because you don't have to conserve energy for the full run. At the end of round 2, you'll need to coordinate among your team who gets which barcode, so that you don't have multiple people trying for the same barcode.
In many puzzles, the titles are hints. Use them, but don't take them too literally.
Don't make puzzles harder than they have to be by overworking them. If you get stuck, have a teammate look then move on!
Do not be afraid to use Bing to search if you are stuck. Puzzles may require the use of common internet resources (e.g. Wikipedia, IMDB). Additionally, if you have solved part of a puzzle, the internet may reveal what your answers have in common and help you understand the next step.
Many puzzles have a little text at the top that gives basic instructions or hints at what you should do. Read this text carefully. It probably contains multiple hints for things to do or try.
When you are part-way through a puzzle, you may find that you have several letters of the final answer. At this point it’s normally worthwhile to fill in the partially completed answer and see if you can make the final step by guessing. For example, if you have SM_ _ L you might guess SMALL. Also use tools like Lexpert or TEA (see Tools page).
When you are part-way through a puzzle, you may find you have an entire data set, such as "USE THE FIRST LETTER OF EACH WORD". It may be worth entering this phrase into the answer system to see if you get a hint or word of encouragement to confirm that you're on the right track.
No puzzle should ever require you to anagram a word without saying so (mix/anagram). Try to use one of the orders that is explicitly part of the puzzle, or a logical order (such as alphabetization).
If a puzzle has a space for a final answer, you don't need to take any more steps after that.
If you have a set of numbers, all of which are in the range 1-26, try converting them to letters. If you have a set of words, look at their initial letters. If you have a set of small integers, try using them as indexes into words, wrapping if needed.
When looking for barcodes, don't expect them to be out in the open. They are usually discreetly hidden but not impossible to find. You need a careful eye to spot them, and you might get your hands or knees dirty in the process. However, you will not need to disassemble or destroy Microsoft property to find stamps!
Barcodes will never be hidden in a private office or shared office open area! Do not enter these.
Optimize runner routes as efficiently as possible to eliminate backtracking to distant locations. Also, think hard about going to a distant building when you only have one barcode to find.
Barcodes are adhered in position, and there should never be any reason to move them. If your phone camera won't focus on the barcode where it is, please use the five-digit code option intead of attempting to remove the barcode .