Hello! This post contains instructional pointers for people who wish to participate in WiCS’ Cryptic Hunt 2021: Fakelore.

General Rules

1. This hunt is only open to Ashoka University students. All the members in your team should be currently enrolled in Ashoka University as a student. If you are an alumnus, you are welcome to participate, but you will not be rewarded for finishing the hunt.

2. On the hunt portal, please make sure you (and your teammate) use only one Ashoka email ID for the hunt.

3. You can participate individually or in a team of two. Yes, you can participate individually. It doesn’t matter what you filled in the registration form. If you want to participate with another person as a team, please go ahead. There is no need to inform us if you decide to change your team. Hope the flowchart below clarifies things:

1. There will be 16 levels in all: 15 total levels + Level-0 (hint: folklore).
2. The answers can only have lowercase alphanumeric characters (no space or special characters). If the answer is “Shweta’s salty salad”, the only acceptable answer is “shwetassaltysalad”.
3. You have infinite number of tries for each questions. However, please note that only the single right answer will take you to the next level.
4. For any queries that you have, please use only our email and instagram dms to reach out to us. This way, we can respond to your queries in a more efficient manner. We will try to respond to you as soon as possible. Having said that, please note that we will not entertain any questions if you reach out to us through any other medium including whatsapp.
5. Also follow us and be on the lookout for further hints on our wics.ashoka as well as the Fakelore whatsapp group (the link to which has been emailed to you) ;)
6. We will be available for answering queries only between 6 AM - 12 PM & 2 PM - 11: 59 PM on all days. Please be kind and respectful to us in the language you use, we will be trying our best to help you out with all your queries.
7. Please note:
   1. Each team must have a team name or username. You will be prompted to enter this username when you login for the first time.
   2. Each team can use only one Ashoka email ID. If your team has two members, you cannot login with both your email IDs. Doing so can result in disqualification from the hunt.
8. Lastly, remember to have fun!

Additional Rules

But what’s a cryptic hunt?

• A cryptic hunt is an online quiz that is broken down into levels of increasing difficulty (if we’re kind). Each level has a picture or text clue that you have to solve!
• Right answers entered in the text box take you to the next level.
• You can attempt the question any number of times, but only the right answer will lead you to the next level.
• You can participate individually or in teams of two.
• Registration is open to everyone regardless of their major or gender.
• No technical background will be assumed. If you know how to Google to get information, you should be fine.