I have posted these questions earlier, but due to some technical errors I had to delete the post and do the whole thing again! I hope I acted fast enough and didn't spoil the fun for you solvers out there!
Now, where was I? Oh yes, as I was saying, some friends have expressed their concern that my previous questions were too tough. They said if I kept posting such tough questions, I would "soon lose my fans"!
On the other hand, some other friends have said that those previous questions were somewhat "mild". Sigh... I guess I just can't please everyone. So I've decided to give several questions of varying degree of difficulties in the hope of reaching out to a wider audience out there.
Some of you have never hunted before. Ordinarily, I would conduct a hunt clinic prior to the actual hunt. But it is impractical to conduct a hunt clinic in this blog. However, treasure hunt questions and the principles behind the types of clues etc are basically the same with cryptic clueing, safe for some variations to suit local and field requirements. Therefore, those of you who're keen to try out these questions might want to run through the basic ideas in cryptic clueing here.
A word of reminder regarding these pictures. Solvers might have to click on these pictures to get a clearer view of the signboards. Unlike in an actual hunt, the questions given here are NOT IN SEQUENCE—the answers can be found in any of those pictures in no particular order.
OK, here we go...
Now, where was I? Oh yes, as I was saying, some friends have expressed their concern that my previous questions were too tough. They said if I kept posting such tough questions, I would "soon lose my fans"!
On the other hand, some other friends have said that those previous questions were somewhat "mild". Sigh... I guess I just can't please everyone. So I've decided to give several questions of varying degree of difficulties in the hope of reaching out to a wider audience out there.
Some of you have never hunted before. Ordinarily, I would conduct a hunt clinic prior to the actual hunt. But it is impractical to conduct a hunt clinic in this blog. However, treasure hunt questions and the principles behind the types of clues etc are basically the same with cryptic clueing, safe for some variations to suit local and field requirements. Therefore, those of you who're keen to try out these questions might want to run through the basic ideas in cryptic clueing here.
A word of reminder regarding these pictures. Solvers might have to click on these pictures to get a clearer view of the signboards. Unlike in an actual hunt, the questions given here are NOT IN SEQUENCE—the answers can be found in any of those pictures in no particular order.
OK, here we go...
"I am a hunt virgin. I have no experience, so please be gentle with me!"
Q1) Yes, domestic helper found within.
Q2) Have a desire for a fish, so I was told.
Q3) American champ?
"I've had some experience before. I know a number of different styles too! It's so much fun, I can't get enough of it. Please give me more!"
Q4) Victory in the backstreet.
Q5) A corrupt politician.
Q6) Come play with the seven figures.
"I am a seasoned hunter, and I've seen all the tricks! I have treasure hunt questions for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh I need to get a life! Please give me more challenging questions so that I can get my kicks!"
Q7) Between the first real threats for a ruler on behalf of a young king.
Q8) Not reversed after an endless trip.
Q9) A violent disorder without the edge?
PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS HERE. Send in your solutions to: ckoh1965@yahoo.com.
All answers are to be accompanied by explanations to be considered as valid submissions. Otherwise I will treat them as blind guesses—they do not count!
Good luck and have fun!
p/s: I forgot to say that I only allow ONE attempt per customer for each question. Once wrong, no more second attempt. So make sure you know the answers, don't just guess blindly. You may submit your answers separately if you like, but again only ONE attempt each.
21 comments:
Listen up, folks, I know you hate to hear this very familiar line, but this is not a race; take your time!... hehehe.
I can see some of you are rushing like mad to solve the questions. Suddenly the page loads are shooting waaaaaaaay over the previous record!... hehehe. And it's still moving very fast!
And I can see that some of my Sabahan friends are trying very hard this time; which is a good sign.
However, I see no submission yet so far. I guess those last 3 questions are a bit complicated, huh?
Well, I'm gonna go to bed now. Don't stay up too late, folks. Tomorrow is Monday, so don't be sleepy at work because of this virtual hunt! Nite!
One of my biggest fans, claire, has submitted her attempts for Q1-Q6. They're all correct.
Looking back at all the questions now, perhaps I should've included another level of difficulty between Q6 and Q7 to cater for those hunters between the "chasing pack" and masters. They are probably finding Q1-Q6 too easy, but Q7-Q9 too tough. Let's see if they're gonna be successful anyway. Perhaps I rushed with the question-setting. Well, I will improve on this in my next virtual hunt.
I am convinced that many seasoned hunters must have solved Q1-Q6 at a glance, but are now having a little bit of torture dealing with Q7-Q9.
You are not gonna believe this, folks, but grandmaster Margaret has just submitted perfect answers for all the questions, Q1-Q9. The explanations are impeccable.
For a moment, I wondered if Q7-Q9 were too harsh for the masters. Well, apparently not. She practically bulldozed her way like a walk in the park. Now she will have to pay the price of a very long wait until the next virtual hunt!... hehehe.
If I worked really hard, I might be able to reach GM Margaret's hunting ability in 10 years' time, I don't know. And that is if I won't damage my brain first! Congratulations to GM Margaret. I am still in awe...
That's because she doesn't have a "real job" like everyone else (hee hee).
Absolutely crazy...
"2 Romans & 1 Impostor" submitted the answers/explanations for Q1-Q7 just shortly ago, and they're all correct!
It should come as no surprise that their names are always amongst the top winners in any hunt in KL.
I am still waiting to hear from some more of my regular "customers". I think it won't be very long now before I get their submissions.
More surprises, folks...
I received an attempt from a celebrity master, Mike Pang for Q1-Q6. But perhaps due to carelessness, he got one wrong! Blunders like that can happen in an actual hunt, but I must say that it's amazing that it can also happen here. So I'd like to repeat, please consider your answers carefully, folks. If you make a silly mistake (s), you will only end up kicking yourselves in your butts!... hehehe
2RII, don't say like that-lah... after my boss hear that, how? (hehehe)
Cornelius, tnx for the toughies. Very well crafted & interesting Qs, with one even having a little twist (hope i'm not giving away too much). I really had fun with them. Bad thing is, now I have to sit and watch til your next batch of new creations.
Don't worry Margaret, our comments are all positive! We're proud of you!
I don't know if it's because of hunting habit or what, but many of you are not paying any attention to what I've said.
Some of these questions are not meant to be solved immediately on the spot as in an actual hunt.
Take your time. Spend a few days if you must. Sleep on it!
2R1I submitted the rest of his answers/explanations. But he ended the hunt with one wrong. So his score's 8/9. So far only Margaret achieved a perfect score. Any other masters can achieve it too?
claire is hot on the heels of the grandmasters. She is successful in 8 questions so far, and still working on one question. Let's see if she can achieve a perfect score too. Easy does it, claire. TAKE YOUR TIME!
Julie submitted 5 answers with explanations, and she got all of them correct. Way to go, Julie! Keep working on the rest. And again, TAKE YOUR TIME!
Listen up, folks!
I see there is a sudden inflow of visitors from the USA. I am dying to know how they found this blog of mine. Judging from the number of times they loaded the pages (pictures?), I can only guess that they are mostly cryptic crosswords players.
Please be informed that in Malaysia, the hunt questions are not exactly the same as what you get in cryptic crosswords. We have some variations to suit the local and field requirements. For example, the Malaysian hunters are required to think in English and Malay, i.e. the answers might involve some translations between the two languages! But! some of them are purely in English, so you can still try them out.
Another example is that when you do cryptic crosswords, you are given the number of letters in the answer. But in a hunt, you are given the question sector, and the answers can be anywhere there! In some cases, it's possible to arrive at the answers strictly on paper, and then to spot them on the board. But that is not always the case! Give it a try, and you will soon become addicted to this game!
I am glad to note that no one has submitted any attempts so far this morning. So I guess solvers are heeding my recommendation to "TAKE YOUR TIME".
However, I hope non-submission doesn't mean that solvers have given up! I know some of you are still actively trying to crack the clues based on the number of times you are coming back to this blog!
So am I gonna get any attempt from a Sabahan hunter anytime soon? I am sure some of you must have solved at least a few of the questions? You can submit them separately if you like. But only one try per question!
Julie submitted another attempt which is correct. So she has submitted 6 correct answers so far. Very well done!
Eileen Yeoh chosed to submit all the answers together. But she only got 7 correct. She failed in 2 questions. Hmmm... very interesting.
Will there be another perfect achiever? I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
Julie has submitted more answers. But she got 1 wrong, and she has one more to answer. Looks like the last 2 questions are tough for a lot of people, huh?
Well, don't blame me; "someone" told me that my previous 2 questions were somewhat "mild", so I had no choice but to increase the difficulty level a bit this time. I just hope that the level hasn't reached too far to the extent that people will give up in the end without trying!... hehehe
Keep trying, folks!
Goh Leep Sean, a new participant in this blog has submitted 7 answers/explanations. He got 6 correct and 1 wrong. Am still waiting for the remaining 2 aswers.
Interesting to know that this virtual hunt has attracted a wider audience. But I'm still hoping for a bigger participation from my Sabahan comrades.
Angie Ng submitted 7 answers/explanations. All correct. Still 2 Qs pending. Very good so far.
Grace Chong submitted 8 answers/explanations. 7 correct & 1 wrong. Under the 9th question, she gave "Still working on it, man!!!!!!" I will have to check with her if she meant that to be her solution... hehehe. Keep going, Grace, looking good!
Nestor Fields chose to submit all his answers/explanations together. He got 8 correct and 1 wrong.
I think by now it is obvious to everyone that the stumbling block is Q9.
I forgot to mention that Moon submitted 8 answers/explanations 2 days ago. She got 6 correct. She has 1 more to go (yes, it's the forsaken Q9). But I think we won't be hearing from her for at least the next couple of days. I was given to understand that she's gone into labour this morning. Damn! can't the baby wait? We've got an important treasure hunt question to deal with here!... hehehe.
CK has submitted his attempts for 7 questions. He got 6 correct. He still has 2 more questions to answer. Very good, keep it going!
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