a mind-bending head-stretching brain-twisting wit-splitting mega-puzzle in book form
Do you like knots, dilemmas, secrets, lock-and-keys,
mazes, brainteasers, anomalies, queries, intricacy,
perplexity, or riddles?
What about knowingness, obscurity, why, inscrutabilities,
enigmata, puzzles, double meaning bewilderments,
mysteries, representationalisms, runes, or conundrum?
If so, you will like this book. It is what I call a mega-puzzle. A mega-puzzle uses a large variety of ciphers, codes, and clues in various puzzles to total up to one single answer.
And you may be able to solve the book's mega-puzzle if you can understand why the two questions above each individually say “kickstarter.”
ABOUT | OH! MEGA-PUZZLE
oh! mega-puzzle is a mega-puzzle in book form. There are forty-two individual puzzles in two parts that lead to one single answer. If you know anything about puzzle hunts at MIT or The Master Theorem, you'll get the idea. Being in book form, however, the puzzles lack some of the graphic flavor or flare of the internet-based puzzles.
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For a sample puzzle (that's not in the book), see the website here or here.
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ABOUT | THE WEBSITE
I fully expect, with the difficulty of this mega-puzzle, that the puzzle won't be solved for months after this KickStarter campaign is over. That's where the companion website comes in.
Because of the difficulty and the nature of the puzzle, I will maintain a website for readers to network and for me to offer feedback to questions, comments, and concerns about the mega-puzzle. It will also be a place for resources, official updates, and the status of the oh! mega-puzzle's solution. The (beta) website is already up at ohmegapuzzle.com
ABOUT | WHY KICKSTARTER
This is where you come in. Not only am I offering KickStarter backers the first chance to order the book, but I also need funds to self-publish, market, and maintain the book and corresponding contest and website.
What your backing dollars will be used for:
- Formatting and publication of the book.
- Marketing of the book for retail.
- Creation and maintenance of the website.
- Reward fulfillment (printing books, shipping, etc).
So what do you say? Are you ready to support? Take a gander at the wonderful rewards offered.
And thank you!
ABOUT | SPOILER ALERT
How do those two questions above say “kickstarter”? Check out the FAQ questions to learn how. They were two very easy examples. Some puzzles in the book require many steps in a progression to find the pattern to find the system to find the clue to find the answer. Good luck!
ABOUT | KICK-FORWARD
Ten percent (10%) of the profit from this KickStarter campaign will "Kick-Forward": it will be used to back others' projects on KickStarter. Kick-Forward is just another way of saying "Thanks!" to all those from this community that support this project.
FAQ
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First of all, it is incredibly rewarding to solve the types of complex puzzles included in the book. Second, there is a reward for the first solver!
Publicity via the website | Your name, website, message, link, whatever, published on the front page of the ohmegapuzzle.com website!
Publicity via future editions of the book | Your name, website, message, link, whatever, published in an addendum to future printings of the book!
Possible future collaboration | An offer for you to publish your own puzzles in possible future versions of the oh! mega-puzzle. I will work with you to develop, write, and edit a puzzle (or two) for the next book. You would, of course, be compensated.
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I'm sorry, but that's the risk you take. Stick with it. The more puzzles you begin to understand, the more easily other connections can be made. But no, no refunds for anything other than printing errors or defective books.
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Awesome! You must be one of them geniuses I hear so much about. Kudos! Solve the thing, send me the official answer, and boom, you might be the first to solve the oh! mega-puzzle and earn the oh! mega-prize.
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Yes! The website will offer an answer checking system for the individual puzzles. The oh! mega-answer must, however, be submitted through the website (ohmegapuzzle.com) or by email (answer@ohmegapuzzle.com). I will accept one answer from each email address, each week. You are not penalized for wrong guesses, except for the time you lose.
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I will update the website (ohmegapuzzle.com) to keep all players up-to-date on the status of the oh! mega-puzzle.
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The website (ohmegapuzzle.com) will offer a discussion forum for users to bounce ideas around or otherwise discuss the puzzles.
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Shipping will cost $4 per book (to ship in the U.S.), but that price is INCLUDED IN THE REWARD. So the $15 reward level is actually $11 for the book and $4 for shipping. The book will retail at $15.95 (plus $4 shipping).
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A "hint" is a word or phrase I will offer for a specific puzzle in the oh! mega-puzzle. The backer will tell me which specific puzzle he or she wants help with, and I will give a hint to help them along. It WILL be based on that person's current success with the puzzle, so if he or she is very close to the correct answer, perhaps a little nudge in a specific direction will do the trick. If he or she is far off course, a more general clue will be given. NOTE: Hints will, of course, be limited until the oh! mega-prize is claimed.
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Shhh. Consider these hints a KickStarter special.
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Anywhere you want... in Southeastern Wisconsin. I'll drive to any coffee place you like. You choose. I'll buy you a coffee drink (or two), and we can jabber about the book and the puzzles as long as you would like (up to, say, an hour). Bring your notebook!
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I hope so! But I really have no clue if you'll be able to. How about this: if you haven't found it after the whole puzzle is officially solved, I will post on the website the location of all Easter Egg names and messages.
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No. The inclusion or rejection of any EASTER EGG submission is up to me completely. If you purchase an EASTER EGG and submit something I'm not willing to include in the book, I'll let you try something else.
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The book will (eventually) be available on Amazon.com. I will also have my own online "store" from which you can purchase the book at a discount. It will retail at $15.95 plus shipping.
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No.
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No, the video was just a fun way for me to visualize the process of puzzle solving. Nothing in the video at all clues to the book in any way.
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Question #1: Index into the list of words by its place in the list for half of the words, and then index back to the beginning letter.
[ k ] nots
d [ i ] lemmas
se [ c ] rets
loc [ k ] -and-keys
maze [ s ]
brain [ t ] easers
anom [ a ] lies
que [ r ] ies
in [ t ] ricacy
p [ e ] rplexity
[ r ] iddles
Question #2: Use the length of each list item (sans spaces) to key to a letter in the alphabet, but note that you will index into the alphabet either forward or backwards.
knowingness (11): k (or p)
obscurity (9): i (or r)
why (3): c (or x)
inscrutabilities (16): (p or) k
enigmata (8): (h or) s
puzzles (7): (g or) t
doublemeaningbewilderments (26): (z or) a
mysteries (9): (i or) r
representationalisms (20): t (or g)
runes (5): e (or v)
conundrum (9): (i or) rREMEMBER:
These were two very easy examples. Some puzzles in the book require many steps in a progression to find the pattern to find the system to find the clue to find the answer. Good luck!
19
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Funding Unsuccessful This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on July 28, 2012.
Funding period
Jun 27, 2012 -
Jul 28, 2012
- 2 created · 1 backed
- Has not connected Facebook
- Website: ohmegapuzzle.com
Pledge $1 or more
1 backer
THANKS | Your name listed in the Acknowledgments page of the book.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $6 or more
0 backers
INTERNATIONAL | All international orders (including rewards shipped outside the U.S.) must add $6 for added shipping and handling charges.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $13 or more
10 backers All gone!
KICKSTARTER | Ten early backers only! A copy of the book + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $15 or more
5 backers
BOOK | A copy of the book + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $25 or more
0 backers
BOOK x2 | A second copy of the book + BOOK + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $26 or more
2 backers Limited (8 of 10 left)
KICKSTARTER HARDCOVER | Ten early backers only! A limited edition, kickstarter-only, numbered-by-hand, hardcover copy of the book signed by the author + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $30 or more
0 backers
HARDCOVER | A limited edition, kickstarter-only, numbered-by-hand, hardcover copy of the book signed by the author + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $40 or more
0 backers
COMBO-PACK | HARDCOVER + BOOK + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $50 or more
1 backer Limited (2 of 3 left)
EASTER EGG | Your name and/or message (up to 80 characters total) hidden (somewhere) in the puzzles of the book + BOOK + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $65 or more
0 backers Limited (3 of 3 left)
HARDCOVER EGG | EASTER EGG + HARDCOVER + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $80 or more
0 backers Limited (5 of 5 left)
EMAIL HELP | An email conversation with me about the book, including hints to help you solve the mega-puzzle + BOOK + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $90 or more
0 backers Limited (5 of 5 left)
HARDCOVER EMAIL | EMAIL HELP + HARDCOVER + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012Pledge $125 or more
0 backers
BOOK CLUB | Twelve copies of the book.
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $200 or more
0 backers Limited (3 of 3 left)
COFFEE HELP | A future date for coffee anywhere in Southeastern Wisconsin to discuss the book, including hints to help you solve the mega-puzzle + HARDCOVER, except that I will sign your limited edition hardcover copy of the book with a special blurb just for you as we sit and drink java together + EASTER EGG + BOOK + THANKS.
Estimated delivery: Sep 2012
