WIXX and THE TOME OF FATES is an exciting new treasure hunt set to release 1/5/25! Get ready! As we learn in the following Six Questions it is free for all to participate and offers an excellent treasure to claim – both an artifact and cash!
If just getting involved in the hobby of treasure hunting, WIXX and THE TOME OF FATES is a perfect introduction into this world of puzzles – as the answer to Question Six reaffirms! But if you’ve been part of the community for a time – it’s for you too! Adventures await for all who dare to take up the challenge!
Let’s find out more about what is for sure going to be lots of fun! I hope you join us!
Six Questions with Dr. WIXX:
- 1Q) What a great way to start the year with a brand-new hunt! Please share what inspired you to create a hunt. Have you worked on other hunts in the past?
Yes! This hunt is a great start for the New Year! This hunt creator has been part of this community for 20 years and has seen so many great hunts come through over that time. There comes a time when the hunter wonders whether they can create. So, this is my first treasure hunt as a creator. Our hobby has seen so much evolution in the style, number and types of hunts, that it felt right to get a little nostalgic with this one as a nod to all that fabulous nerdy history.
- 2Q) How can someone get involved in the hunt? Is there a prize?
The hunt launches January 5th, 12 PM (noon) EST right here on Mysterious Writings. It will be in PDF form to insure that all participants have the materials at the same time. It’s free and open to all. Guidelines and rules will be attached to the hunt launch.
Yes! There is treasure! There is an “artifact” that is worth around $1000 and also a cash prize of $1000 for the team/hunter that recovers the treasure. It is BOTG, so the cash will help offset travel expenses if need be. Additionally, there is an Easter Egg hunt built in for an additional $100 prize at the end of the hunt.
- 3Q) What would you say to new searchers just getting started in the hobby? Will they be able to solve the clues and find the treasure?
Find your tribe to work with. It’s what makes the whole thing fun! All the AHA moments shared in solving things, the anticipation of trying to get to a treasure first, the absolute shared joy of knowing you were right! All good stuff—the best stuff really. My best advice is keep pushing against the puzzle, keep trying things, be persistent.
- 4Q) Since this is a BOTG hunt (Boots on the Ground) -is the location accessible year round 24/7? What would a searcher be looking for – the actual treasure or is a proxy item used to claim the treasure?
Yes the treasure spot is open to the public 24/7/365. This is discussed in detail in the guidelines that will be published at launch, so make sure you check that out. You will be looking for a proxy item.
- 5Q) What did you enjoy most about creating the hunt? Also, what was the most challenging?
I imagined my tribe. Each person brings a different set of strengths and skills to the team. I wanted to use that concept to build this hunt. The other thing I loved doing was putting in all the little nods to this great hobby of ours, not only in the Easter Eggs, but also just thematically. There is just so many nostalgic cultural references merging within the narrative as well. The format speaks to this nostalgia as well and I hope people are surprised. We haven’t quite seen something like it before as a hunt, but at the same time it feels still so cozily familiar.–well, because it is.
I conceived the hunt 2.5 years ago, but it is a very specific project, especially on format. Once AI rolled out and became more available and usable, that was clearly the path to take and I’m glad that some friends talked me into going that route, because I was about to give up on it. AI currently isn’t quite there for this type of project because its purpose is to produce something different and original with each inquiry. This was especially challenging because it needed to reproduce the same looking character. It came close. Close enough with additional digital editing to push the project through.
- 6Q) What advice do you have for those taking on the adventures of the hunt? How long do you feel it will take to solve all the clues and find the treasure?
This hunt has what I call “low hanging fruit”—novice level solving—that will get those who not so familiar with these types of puzzles going and give hunters an indication of some of the tools they may need. For the more advanced, there is some good stuff in there that I hope people find challenging. It’s difficult to judge when it’s just difficult enough but not too difficult that it becomes ridiculously unsolvable. That is something that I gave a lot of consideration to as hints are built into the hunt. There is something for everyone though. If you’re a codes & ciphers person, you’ll have some to work on. If you like researchy type hunts, you can throw your browser at it. If you’re a word-thinker puzzle type, yep, you’ll find that too.
How long may it take to solve? That’s tough. Weeks to months?? That sounds like a doctor telling you how long you have to live, LOL, but I hope no more than 3-6 months. I wish everyone good luck. I hope you enjoy it. It was a blast to put together. Love all you nerds out there!