Ever wondered what it’s like to solve the kinds of puzzles that take over MIT every January during the world-famous Mystery Hunt? Puzzlehunts aren’t just crosswords or Sudoku- they can be about Taylor Swift songs, abstract math, or even famous memes. In this session, we'll talk about the basics of how puzzlehunts work, and work together on some fun and exciting puzzles and enjoy the “aha!” moments. No matter what you enjoy, puzzlehunts have something for everyone. You’ll see how wildly fun (and a maybe addictive) puzzlehunts can be. You don't need to have prior experience with puzzles- just curiosity and creativity!

We'll have all sorts of paper puzzles available! Come grab a crossword or Sudoku! Learn about other logic puzzle genres! Try your hand at some enigmatic "hunt-style puzzles", where you're not given explicit instructions!

The humble spreadsheet is far more than just a table with a bunch of numbers, and it can be used for far more than computing statistics. If used correctly, it can be a powerful tool, on par with learning how to code. Do you ever spend hours plugging numbers into the same equation for your chemistry homework or wonder about how hard you need to work to secure an A for the semester? Spreadsheets are uniquely capable of combining automation/calculation with user-friendly interfaces. Learn how to make formulas do your bidding: we'll show you how to make specialized calculators and leaderboards, process massive lists of text, and create interactive apps. We'll solve programming problems without any traditional coding and will even look at challenges from the Microsoft Excel World Championships (a real competition!) Please bring a laptop; you'll want to have access to a Google Drive account.

Puzzle hunts are a fun way to solve puzzles together with friends! The goal is to solve several puzzles that culminate in a final challenge, called a 'metapuzzle'. After a presentation teaching common solving strategies, you'll have the opportunity to work on a small puzzle hunt with others. You don't need any specialized puzzle-solving knowledge to participate.