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Frequently Asked Questions
Registering
Can we modify our team? // We entered a typo on the registration form!
E-mail us (puzzles@mezzacotta.net) with your request and we'll do our best to help you.
If we have more than five people, can we be a team of five, plus "unofficial helpers"?
That's acceptable, as long as the helpers don't help any other team. Another option is to split into two separate teams and compete against one another.
The Puzzles
There are no instructions! How do we solve the puzzles?
See the puzzle solving guide, for general information on how to solve the puzzles.
I think there's a mistake in this puzzle!
Please e-mail us if you think you've found a mistake. We will tell you whether or not it is a mistake. If it is, we'll issue a correction for the puzzle.
Why do you only allow 100 answer attempts per daily puzzle set?
To discourage teams from simply guessing answers. You're better off trying to solve the puzzle completely than guessing anyway. If you work through the puzzles as intended, you're unlikely to need that many attempts.
Why are the puzzles released at 18:00 Australian EDT (07:00 GMT)?
Traditionally, Australian puzzle competitions have released puzzles at midday local time. However, this is a privately run competition and we are at work at that time, so unable to monitor the competition to fix any problems. So we've made the puzzle release time 6 hours later, to ensure we're home to fix any potential problems. We realise this is a bad time for American solvers, but we really have no choice.
Administration
Are there other puzzle competitions similar to yours?
Yes! We were originally inspired by the MUMS Puzzle Hunt, run by the Melbourne University Mathematics and Statistics Society. And since we began, the Sydney University Mathematics Society has also started up the SUMS Puzzle Hunt. We recommend them both!
About mezzacotta
Who are you guys?
mezzacotta is a creative group of friends based in Sydney, Australia. We ran the CiSRA Puzzle Competition from 2007 to 2013. The company decided not to sponsor the competition any more, so we created our own private puzzle competition. We also do a bunch of other stuff, like the webcomics Darths & Droids, Irregular Webcomic!, Planet of Hats, The Prisoner of Monty Hall, mezzacotta, and others.