The Beginning of the End
The 19th is here and you can now begin your final quest of The Da Vinci Code Challenge. Here is a screenshot [copied with permission from Micheal] of the final puzzle and a quote from the official rules. Here is Micheal's site also.
Once a Finalist logs into the Final Puzzle Challenge and clicks "Begin" the Finalist will be timed. Timing will stop when the Finalist correctly and sequentially completes all five puzzles and clicks "Submit."
DO NOT PAUSE, LOG OUT OR RESTART THE FINAL PUZZLE CHALLENGE.
Finalists who attempt to pause, log out or restart the Final Puzzle Challenge will be instantly disqualified and ineligible to continue playing. The Finalist who correctly and successfully solves the Final Puzzle Challenge in the least amount of time (as measured by the official computer determining timing) will be declared the Grand Prize Winner.
My advice is to wait for some of those group #1 people to finish and leave feedback before starting your quest. This is the post to leave comments on the final challenge. Additionaly, you can visit the googlefact forums at http://googlefact.iphorum.com (the first page load is a little slow sometimes but after that it runs well) to discuss the final challenge.
Also, while you're waiting, please help me win a contest rather than just getting the "hope this makes you feel better that you lost" email. You can help me by visiting this link and voting 10 for my dog Rex http://www.1800petmeds.com/petcontest/vote/6006037436590614018. You have to admit he is pretty cute.
I will post more details on the final quest as I receive them. If you have trouble with the forums or you want me to update this post with specific information, shoot me an email at davincicodequest@gmail.com
Good Luck Everyone! Get all of the MSN Conspiracy Game Answers here
posted by G00GLEFACT @ 5/19/2006 05:17:00 AM
32 comments
32 Comments:
Here is a link to my blog on the controversy - IT'S NON-COMMERCIAL - not even any ads.
I just want to get as many people as possible to post their perspective on the controversy. It will be interesting to have a place to read differing viewpoints.
JUST PLEASE BE CIVIL. Try to express your opinion without insulting others.
Thanks for letting me put this here.
My Da Vinci Code blog post
Here's a screenshot of the final puzzle page: www.purplesquirrel.net/davinci/final-challenge.jpg
how many chess pieces are involved in the chess challenge? Is it just a few pieces, or a pretty full board?
Does anyone have any good strategies for the paint splotches? I suck at that one.
Matthew... Yeah, I dunno. The paint splotch thing seemed really random to me every time I played it throughout the challenges.
Also, if anyone gets screencaps, that would be immensely helpful.
Thanks for the suggestion for the splotches.
Chickadee, I think he means there are three sets of moves and each set has seveal choices. You click the second choice, then the second choise, then the fourth choice.
I got the good luck email. Now I'm just psyching (sp?) myself up before I start the challenge.
The forum isn't working for me.
matthewr100@hotmail.com
Please email me any screen shots / solution tips to davincicodequest@gmail.com I will add them to this blog or to the forums.
Also, I apologize for how slow the forums are. I would have hosted them myself but my servers are down due to the move. Hang in there and be patient with the forums and they will eventually load for you
does anyone have a photobucket account or flickr perhaps? could you please post a link to the screencap instead?.. that way this board could access it w/o having frist check the comments for ppl's emails.
also, has anyone confirmed that the chess puzzle is the only one w/ a unique solution? (ie: are there several different puzzles for the paint splotches, paint hangings, etc?)
Are there questions after the trailer or do they just make you watch it for the heck of it?
The splotches are definitely my weakest puzzle as well.
Here is the screenshot of the paintings:
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6894/painting0zu.jpg
Missy, the first link he posted worked, but here it is again.
http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/3797/finished0pn.jpg
No problem.
I'm still waiting for a sudoku screenshot. Even if it's just of the starting board.
Frist, you are my hero!
All the screenshots that frist has sent so far are now on the main blog page.
All I'm waiting for is a sudoku screenshot, then I'm jumping in.
Why do I get the feeling that the puzzles are going to change in a few hours? I'll bet as soon as we crack them all, Google switches them, not unlike the final stage 1 challenge.
I'm going in. Wish me luck.
I could use some help with the splotches.
Wow that sounds fast. Did any of the tips/screen captures help?
All done, did it in under 30 minutes, probably didn't win.
My chess solutionw as 2-2-4 also, so I'd go with that
For the suduku puzzle use a suduku solver (see the forum http://googlefact.iphorum.com for a link)
I finished in 32:47. I spent about 20 minutes on the freakin' splotches. Oh, well. It was fun, and I got a cryptex. I actually feel kind of sorry for the guy who has to pay 40 grand in taxes when he wins.
I guess we can only hope that everyone who finishes faster than us gets disqualified for some reason.
I got done in about 30 minutes or something.
It seems that there is a major flaw in the technology used for the final challenge.
You can access the puzzle without logging into Google.
Anyone can go to http://www.google.com/ig/davinci/puzzle.html?puzzle=100 and play the puzzle. You don't need to have logged in.
Judging by comments on my blog, people are doing just that.
I'm hoping google are tracking IP Address as a way of spotting such behaviour, but there's still a scenario in which this won't work.
If you have a mouse / key logging / replay program, you can go to Starbucks with your laptop, use wifi there (one IP address), go to the URL (without logging in), play the game while recording keystrokes, then go home, log into google, replay the keystrokes.
There's no way Google can spot this, apart from an absurdly fast time. However, if the time is close, but slightly faster than the guessed minimum, its not traceable.
I think they'll find the results are impossible to parse, and they cannot disqualify those that cheated. In that case they may have to think about rerunning the final round with more security.
BXCellent, I don't think this would work because you have to login with your winning google.com/ig email and password in order to access that page.
Of course if you had 2 winning accounts, you could log with one and play with the other, but Google's rules explicitly say it is illegal to have 2 entries into the contest. Maybe there is no way of tracking this though if you use the Starbucks method...
I can get to the page directly without logging into Google.
Not the www.google.com/davincicode link, but the one it takes you to:
http://www.google.com/ig/davinci/puzzle.html?puzzle=100
I haven't tried the "Play the Game" button, cos I don't want to invalidate my entry. Does it work or not work without logging in.
I created a new dummy account on google and went to the page, which loaded fine. However, when you try to play it, it says you have not logged in (which really means you are not one of the 10,000 finalists).
I'v got a few more pictures to post that may help some people out. The purplesquirrel ones are mine, and the others are ones I found on other sites. The animated splotches one might be of interest to people.
1. 9x9 Sudoku grid
Sudoku Solved
2. Paint Splotches
Purple Squirrel - Splotches Solved
Purple Squirrel - Splotches Animated
3. Hang Paintings - note 2 of the same pictures have different hooks.
Paintings
4. Chess - no questions, just play chess (Move answers: 2-2-4)
Chess
5. Puzzle – 36 smaller pieces
All Puzzle Images
I did it in about 9 minutes. The first 4 puzzles were exactly as expected, and I finished them in about 3-4 minutes, just clicking and moving as fast as I could. The last one, the puzzle, was quite a pain and took 5-6 minutes on its own.
Some people have been saying they have used a keystroke/mouse click logging program on one account to record the actions, then played it back on a second winning account. I think this would work for the first 4 puzzles, but the last one seems to place the pieces randomly, so you'd still have to do that by hand and it could mess up your time.
I didn't win, but it has been a blast and I thank all of the posters here for helping each other out, an for the founder of GoogleFact for giving us a place to put our comments.
Everyone vote for the little doggy!
Michael - Metro Mapper Maps Mashup
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