The Final Puzzle

The computer disk collected in the Galleria puzzle provided the ability to convert the two-digit puzzle solutions into clues for the Final Puzzle.

Using the program on the diskette, the five correct two-digit numbers could be converted to the following clues:

• To solve this puzzle, you'll need to see through the distractions.
• Lines abounding here and there.
• Which are lemons? Which are pairs?
• Coaches pick their best team with a final cut.
• How do all these things stack up?

Make no mistake about it, this puzzle was tricky - but it was meant to be! The clues resulting from a full day of puzzle-solving are very concise, and cracking this puzzle required carefully interpreting each word of these five final clues.

Analyzing the clues:

To solve this puzzle, you'll need to see through the distractions.

Scattered throughout the puzzle booklet - some funny, but all annoyingly devoid of useful information - were several advertisements for various nonsensical products and services, ranging from "Squishman's Liquo-Lux" to "Billy-Jo-Jim-Bob's Hog Boutique." These ads were the "distrations" which the clue refers to.

The following fake ads were scattered throughout the puzzle booklet:

Lines abounding here and there.

Each of the advertisements in the booklet had a border printed around it - this is, each ad was bounded by lines.

Which are lemons? Which are pairs?

Some of the ad borders were single lines; others were double lines - or "pairs" of lines. The imporant ads were the three found in the booklet which were bounded by pairs of lines - the others were all "lemons," unimportant.

The following fake ads from the puzzle booklet have double borders:

Coaches pick their best team with a final cut.

The "best team" of ads - the three ads which had double borders - should be picked with a "final cut" - that is, they should be cut out of the booklet.

How do all these things stack up?

To solve this puzzle, you'll need to see through the distractions.

By stacking these three ads together in a pile and viewing through them all (perhaps by holding them up to a lamp or the sun), some text and other markings on the advertisements could be seen to line up (the backs of the booklet pages from where the ads were cut were blank in those areas).

One of the ads contained a rectangle in the middle of the ad. Letters and digits from the other two ads lined up nicely within this box to form the string of characters, "5CUTHID."

Hunt teams knew that the finish line would be reached by dialing a phone number, and were told to be on the lookout for the number. 5CUTHID is that phone number. Dialing it rang the Hunt Finish Line phone at 528-8443. The first three teams calling in were awarded the top three prizes; other teams successfully deducing and calling the phone number were acknowledged with honorable mentions.