By Sasha Allen
With the height of autumn approaching, groups across campus have hosted different events, fundraisers and meetings catering to the season. The University of Maryland puzzle club, run by junior microbiology major Grant Yang, hosted a “Ghosts in the Shell Puzzle Hunt” on Saturday, Oct. 23.
The annual event was an all-day affair: from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., teams of around five students were sent on a scavenger hunt that depended on their ability to solve different types of puzzles.
The theme of the puzzle hunt was based off of a story that the club created about a person stepping on the infamous Point of Failure — located on the pavement between Shoemaker and LeFrak halls in commemoration of the Great Fire of 1912 that occurred on UMD’s campus — releasing all of the ghosts who had died in the fire.
The hunt started with the opening ceremonies, where puzzle hunt participants gathered at the Point of Failure to watch an opening skit, featuring the angry ghosts released by the student who stepped on it, and the organizers went over the general guidelines for the hunt. The group then moved over to the McKeldin Mall fountain to kick off the hunt.
Yang, the club’s president and one of the event’s main organizers, said he was excited for the participants to get the chance to solve the puzzles that the club had put together.
“I think puzzles are really interesting because they use a part of your brain that I feel like you don’t normally use,” said Yang.
The hunt was organized by a seven-person writing team. While the writing team was larger in past years, this year’s group pulled the hunt together, working to plan the hunt’s track as well as the puzzles, which ranged from sudoku puzzles to crosswords to decryptions.
Slideshow: UMD students solve crosswords, decryptions and other puzzles at the puzzle club’s annual Halloween puzzle hunt on Saturday, Oct. 23. Photos by Minnie Stephenson.
The hunt brought together 27 students from different backgrounds who were eager to compete in the hunt. Both club members and non-members were able to participate. Brian Tran, a senior computer science major, has been in the puzzle club for the past three years.
“I joined the puzzle club my freshman year. I’ve always been doing puzzle hunts, and it’s my second year of doing one,” said Tran, competing on the “Scared Hamsters” team. Tran said his favorite aspect of the puzzle hunt was its competitive nature and ability to bring together students with a shared interest in puzzles
Tran has been participating in the puzzle hunts for the past two years, but because of the pandemic, this year was his first in-person hunt.
“I would definitely say that the puzzle hunt is definitely a lot better in person,” said Tran.
For other students, it was their first experience with the puzzle hunt. Grazelle Giray, a freshman landscape architecture major, found out about the hunt through social media.
“I saw it on Reddit, and then I was like telling my friends that this seems kind of cool because escape rooms and scavenger hunts are cool, so I was like, ‘I think we could do this,’” said Giray.
Some students had other reasons for signing up. Allen Yuan, a freshman environmental and policy major, hadn’t been interested in puzzles prior to the hunt.
Yuan said friends roped him into participating, but that he was open and willing to come along.
“I think it’ll be really fun just to get in the Halloween spirit and explore the campus, I need my steps,” he said.
Featured image: A University of Maryland puzzle club member performs in the opening skit dressed as a ghost. The skit set the stage for the Halloween puzzle hunt held by the club on Saturday, Oct. 23. Photo by Minnie Stephenson.
Editor’s note: The original version of this story incorrectly identified Yang as a senior. Yang is a junior. This story has been updated.