Enigma #46

[enigma]

Here is a very special chart, especially for those who can enjoy a fantastic trek among exciting people and events. Navigating's a snap, if you can begin from on top. What's omitted, The Enigma knows.


Y N P B S A G P R K C R D U N G M F P O F G V Q I V
R V U P F Z Z F B W F M Z F O H A G L K G L A D O G
L M U U U D U N T W T Y C H X H R O S T N T D B F T
U R P D N C X Y Y W E A S T H V G P I G B L I X I W
T O X E E V A B O P Y K Y R R O O L K N O D Z X A Q
T L S E Q T O D O K P E Q O T R T I K V B A R N A U
M I A N R L I N E O R S M A I O P E E E K Q D Q K L
U K E C T X L F Q N L H X A X R Y F K N B A E O Y Z
E P N R X K L H O G Q R H S J J R H R C N R X I R W
I M W V M M C N D C I F M U B O C H H G V N F D V V
U W N X L L E O J E P Q Q J M J S N E I K F F H H G
T N V C Z W G W W C V Y M J T U S L F G Z B M H P I
I A E P S O B F E L I Y I M B F A B Q I M G Y V P M
P B F H N X I U T B I M J E Z M Y G E N J B E F C M
Z P E M R E F S D M E W W R N K C K O V W Z E A W N
T R B O R U H R S X F V E O N M N G D A W G V K V L
E L Z Z U P H C R A E S D R O W A T O N S I S I H T
I J H S M Z R Z Q V S F Z P N O F A H E Z C H F Y A
L V I P K U E F O E P V Y U E V A W L B N J G N F J
J Y B M K Y W J E B P B J A F A T K R A U W C U S T
H L F H G T G E X P G F D R L M I G Q L I F A L D X
E J L K E M V T D U S Q M X K H S P T K R Q S C S C
N D G B L J P B H E B M C I M S I C E L O S T J P R
S G B F C O H I T N S Y H D T E R A W T F O S H E S
M V P Q Z T T N B W J R X L I T O E M Y F Q W M G Y
Q J J F X N D N W D Y M G W A O N O V H H N D M X P

[Brillig]

26 x 26 matrix, all letters appear at least once.

A less scroll intensive version:


Y N P B S A G P R K C R D U N G M F P O F G V Q I V
R V U P F Z Z F B W F M Z F O H A G L K G L A D O G
L M U U U D U N T W T Y C H X H R O S T N T D B F T
U R P D N C X Y Y W E A S T H V G P I G B L I X I W
T O X E E V A B O P Y K Y R R O O L K N O D Z X A Q
T L S E Q T O D O K P E Q O T R T I K V B A R N A U
M I A N R L I N E O R S M A I O P E E E K Q D Q K L
U K E C T X L F Q N L H X A X R Y F K N B A E O Y Z
E P N R X K L H O G Q R H S J J R H R C N R X I R W
I M W V M M C N D C I F M U B O C H H G V N F D V V
U W N X L L E O J E P Q Q J M J S N E I K F F H H G
T N V C Z W G W W C V Y M J T U S L F G Z B M H P I
I A E P S O B F E L I Y I M B F A B Q I M G Y V P M
P B F H N X I U T B I M J E Z M Y G E N J B E F C M
Z P E M R E F S D M E W W R N K C K O V W Z E A W N
T R B O R U H R S X F V E O N M N G D A W G V K V L
E L Z Z U P H C R A E S D R O W A T O N S I S I H T
I J H S M Z R Z Q V S F Z P N O F A H E Z C H F Y A
L V I P K U E F O E P V Y U E V A W L B N J G N F J
J Y B M K Y W J E B P B J A F A T K R A U W C U S T
H L F H G T G E X P G F D R L M I G Q L I F A L D X
E J L K E M V T D U S Q M X K H S P T K R Q S C S C
N D G B L J P B H E B M C I M S I C E L O S T J P R
S G B F C O H I T N S Y H D T E R A W T F O S H E S
M V P Q Z T T N B W J R X L I T O E M Y F Q W M G Y
Q J J F X N D N W D Y M G W A O N O V H H N D M X P

[enigma]

Well, that's a shame. I liked this puzzle, too.

[Maple Leafs]

<observation>
I think the reason some of these have trouble getting going is because they all seem to involve figuring out what the heck you're supposed to even do. I like some obscurity as much as the next guy, but did we pass a law against puzzles that are straightforward in nature but still challenging in some way?
</observation>

First thought would be some sort of continuous string of characters that would spell something interesting. It can't start from the top left, but the clue only says to start from the top so it could be that any character at the top is the starting point.

That said, it's clear that not all letters are used since there are lots of Q's with no U's nearby, as well as plenty of other non-common characters.

[rjolley]

A couple of thoughts:

1) The last sentence reminds me of The Shadow. Maybe that helps, maybe not.

2) It doesn't say "begin from the top", it says "begin from on top". That could mean that the beginning of the puzzle is finding the word top.

3) Navigating is a snap may mean it's some sort of wrd maze...

[Maple Leafs]

As in snapping the lines over a set number of spaces to get something that reads straight through?

[Maple Leafs]

The letters are not equally distributed -- there aren't 26 of each.

The common letters like A, E, N, T, etc., seem to be there more often than Q, X and Z. But the uncommon letters still show up more often than you'd expect if all letters followed normal distribution.

Almost as if only portions of the grid are used, and the rest was filled in with random letters.

[QuikSand]

In the long history of enigmas, we certainly have drifted toward more and more esoteric puzzles, it's true.

Most of the ones where we have little idea how to even approach it turn out to have various clues imbedded in the setup text.

Here, I see words like "trek" and "navigate" as words thatstandout to me -- not what I'd use in those situations, ordinarily. So, perhaps they are clues...

Star Trek?
Navigate = maze? (as speculated above)


Other possible clue words: special, fantastic, exciting, a snap, on top

[enigma]

The letters are not equally distributed -- there aren't 26 of each.

The common letters like A, E, N, T, etc., seem to be there more often than Q, X and Z. But the uncommon letters still show up more often than you'd expect if all letters followed normal distribution.

Almost as if only portions of the grid are used, and the rest was filled in with random letters.

This is a good start.

In the long history of enigmas, we certainly have drifted toward more and more esoteric puzzles, it's true.

Most of the ones where we have little idea how to even approach it turn out to have various clues imbedded in the setup text.

Perhaps this is too esoteric. Figuring out how to approach this may be unreasonably hard, but I'd like to see some solid effort.

Here, I see words like "trek" and "navigate" as words thatstandout to me -- not what I'd use in those situations, ordinarily. So, perhaps they are clues...

Star Trek?
Navigate = maze? (as speculated above)


Other possible clue words: special, fantastic, exciting, a snap, on top

Yes, those words are intended to guide, but they imply paths (as was also mentioned earlier). That is misleading. This journey is different.

Why else might word choice be a little different from ordinary usage?

[enigma]

26 x 26 matrix.


I wonder why that particular format was chosen.

[Celeval]

Y N P B S A G P R K C R D U N G M F P O F G V Q I V
R V U P F Z Z F B W F M Z F O H A G L K G L A D O G
L M U U U D U N T W T Y C H X H R O S T N T D B F T
U R P D N C X Y Y W E A S T H V G P I G B L I X I W
T O X E E V A B O P Y K Y R R O O L K N O D Z X A Q
T L S E Q T O D O K P E Q O T R T I K V B A R N A U
M I A N R L I N E O R S M A I O P E E E K Q D Q K L
U K E C T X L F Q N L H X A X R Y F K N B A E O Y Z
E P N R X K L H O G Q R H S J J R H R C N R X I R W
I M W V M M C N D C I F M U B O C H H G V N F D V V
U W N X L L E O J E P Q Q J M J S N E I K F F H H G
T N V C Z W G W W C V Y M J T U S L F G Z B M H P I
I A E P S O B F E L I Y I M B F A B Q I M G Y V P M
P B F H N X I U T B I M J E Z M Y G E N J B E F C M
Z P E M R E F S D M E W W R N K C K O V W Z E A W N
T R B O R U H R S X F V E O N M N G D A W G V K V L
E L Z Z U P H C R A E S D R O W A T O N S I S I H T
I J H S M Z R Z Q V S F Z P N O F A H E Z C H F Y A
L V I P K U E F O E P V Y U E V A W L B N J G N F J
J Y B M K Y W J E B P B J A F A T K R A U W C U S T
H L F H G T G E X P G F D R L M I G Q L I F A L D X
E J L K E M V T D U S Q M X K H S P T K R Q S C S C
N D G B L J P B H E B M C I M S I C E L O S T J P R
S G B F C O H I T N S Y H D T E R A W T F O S H E S
M V P Q Z T T N B W J R X L I T O E M Y F Q W M G Y
Q J J F X N D N W D Y M G W A O N O V H H N D M X P

"top" only occurs once in a straight line.

[Maple Leafs]

If we're going to pick at the original wording, the part that stood out to me was "Navigating's a snap". Seems like an odd spot for a contraction, no?

[cuervo72]

I didn't even know there was an enigma, what with it posted at 2AM and a bump at 5AM.

[QuikSand]

It certainly can't be any sort of simle word search... there's an utter dearth of anything meaningful along those lines, of course.

Might be a sort of cipher involved, I guess. Though the letter frquency does kinda suggest that the Z's really are meant to be Z's... otherise you'd expect to see a more random frequency among the common and uncommon letters, rather than what Leafs posted above.

[QuikSand]

So, if it's a word maze of some sort... maybe letters like N, S, E, and W are important? or maybe L, R, U, and D?

(Out of good ideas, I'm now on to the empty ones)

[enigma]

If we're going to pick at the original wording, the part that stood out to me was "Navigating's a snap". Seems like an odd spot for a contraction, no?

Maybe. There's a reason for everything in the clue.

[enigma]

It certainly can't be any sort of simle word search... there's an utter dearth of anything meaningful along those lines, of course.

Might be a sort of cipher involved, I guess. Though the letter frquency does kinda suggest that the Z's really are meant to be Z's... otherise you'd expect to see a more random frequency among the common and uncommon letters, rather than what Leafs posted above.

You never know what you might find in that grid. Figuring out the purpose of the grid is probably the hardest part of this puzzle, that's why I haven't given it away yet.

I would not worry about letter frequency. What's been said about that already is entirely sufficient.

Again, there's no path through the grid. Navigating it is based on something else.

[dacman]

Y N P B S A G P R K C R D U N G M F P O F G V Q I V
R V U P F Z Z F B W F M Z F O H A G L K G L A D O G
L M U U U D U N T W T Y C H X H R O S T N T D B F T
U R P D N C X Y Y W E A S T H V G P I G B L I X I W
T O X E E V A B O P Y K Y R R O O L K N O D Z X A Q
T L S E Q T O D O K P E Q O T R T I K V B A R N A U
M I A N R L I N E O R S M A I O P E E E K Q D Q K L
U K E C T X L F Q N L H X A X R Y F K N B A E O Y Z
E P N R X K L H O G Q R H S J J R H R C N R X I R W
I M W V M M C N D C I F M U B O C H H G V N F D V V
U W N X L L E O J E P Q Q J M J S N E I K F F H H G
T N V C Z W G W W C V Y M J T U S L F G Z B M H P I
I A E P S O B F E L I Y I M B F A B Q I M G Y V P M
P B F H N X I U T B I M J E Z M Y G E N J B E F C M
Z P E M R E F S D M E W W R N K C K O V W Z E A W N
T R B O R U H R S X F V E O N M N G D A W G V K V L
E L Z Z U P H C R A E S D R O W A T O N S I S I H T
I J H S M Z R Z Q V S F Z P N O F A H E Z C H F Y A
L V I P K U E F O E P V Y U E V A W L B N J G N F J
J Y B M K Y W J E B P B J A F A T K R A U W C U S T
H L F H G T G E X P G F D R L M I G Q L I F A L D X
E J L K E M V T D U S Q M X K H S P T K R Q S C S C
N D G B L J P B H E B M C I M S I C E L O S T J P R
S G B F C O H I T N S Y H D T E R A W T F O S H E S
M V P Q Z T T N B W J R X L I T O E M Y F Q W M G Y
Q J J F X N D N W D Y M G W A O N O V H H N D M X P


Read that line backwards.

[QuikSand]

Hey, you think that might be a clue?

[cuervo72]

Cool, the enigma is screwing with us!

[Passacaglia]

Nor is it a fancy ass cryptogram.

[Passacaglia]

But I don't know how to make a column all red like that.

[ThunderingHERD]

Nothing to add really--staring at this grid is making my head hurt. The only significance I can think of for the 26x26 is letters of the alphabet, wikipedia doesn't offer much else: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_26, nor does a google search for 26x26. I tried laying the alphabet over each row and noting matches, but didn't get anywhere with it.

Potentially dead-end observations:

1. There are 26 letters in the last sentence of the clue: "What's omitted, The Enigma knows."

2. The word "software" is spelled out backwards on row 24.

[enigma]

Nothing to add really--staring at this grid is making my head hurt. The only significance I can think of for the 26x26 is letters of the alphabet

Sounds pretty significant.

I tried laying the alphabet over each row...

That's a very good idea.

and noting matches

And that's a dead end.


1. There are 26 letters in the last sentence of the clue: "What's omitted, The Enigma knows."

That's a good thought on the right track, but just a coincidence in this case.

2. The word "software" is spelled out backwards on row 24.

In and of itself, it's not important. The idea of the hidden words is simply to show that the grid has many areas where all sorts of stupid stuff can reside. That might help, might not.

[QuikSand]

2. The word "software" is spelled out backwards on row 24.

In the row above it, SOLECISMIC is spelled out backwards as well. The enigma's help has me confused on the value of this.

[Passacaglia]

But, this is not a word search puzzle!

[Buccaneer]

Just find a sequence from the clues and skip over the necessary letters. We're picking selected letters from the grid like in an excel spreadsheet.

[Franklinnoble]

How about we look at each row and pick out the letters of the alphabet that are missing from each one?

[drewmtn]

Okay so here's the grid with an alphabet laid out over the sides. I don't think I'm at the right starting point for the alphabet guide yet though.


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A Y N P B S A G P R K C R D U N G M F P O F G V Q I V
B R V U P F Z Z F B W F M Z F O H A G L K G L A D O G
C L M U U U D U N T W T Y C H X H R O S T N T D B F T
D U R P D N C X Y Y W E A S T H V G P I G B L I X I W
E T O X E E V A B O P Y K Y R R O O L K N O D Z X A Q
F T L S E Q T O D O K P E Q O T R T I K V B A R N A U
G M I A N R L I N E O R S M A I O P E E E K Q D Q K L
H U K E C T X L F Q N L H X A X R Y F K N B A E O Y Z
I E P N R X K L H O G Q R H S J J R H R C N R X I R W
J I M W V M M C N D C I F M U B O C H H G V N F D V V
K U W N X L L E O J E P Q Q J M J S N E I K F F H H G
L T N V C Z W G W W C V Y M J T U S L F G Z B M H P I
M I A E P S O B F E L I Y I M B F A B Q I M G Y V P M
N P B F H N X I U T B I M J E Z M Y G E N J B E F C M
O Z P E M R E F S D M E W W R N K C K O V W Z E A W N
P T R B O R U H R S X F V E O N M N G D A W G V K V L
Q E L Z Z U P H C R A E S D R O W A T O N S I S I H T
R I J H S M Z R Z Q V S F Z P N O F A H E Z C H F Y A
S L V I P K U E F O E P V Y U E V A W L B N J G N F J
T J Y B M K Y W J E B P B J A F A T K R A U W C U S T
U H L F H G T G E X P G F D R L M I G Q L I F A L D X
V E J L K E M V T D U S Q M X K H S P T K R Q S C S C
W N D G B L J P B H E B M C I M S I C E L O S T J P R
X S G B F C O H I T N S Y H D T E R A W T F O S H E S
Y M V P Q Z T T N B W J R X L I T O E M Y F Q W M G Y
Z Q J J F X N D N W D Y M G W A O N O V H H N D M X P

[Franklinnoble]

The code function is your friend.

[QuikSand]

Y N P B S A G P R K C R D U N G M F P O F G V Q I V
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Just in case this sparks something. The G matches, but that is apparently not relevant. Not sure if I see anything else that makes any sense.

[Buccaneer]

There are no "E" in the first 3 rows.

To clarify my suggestion, label the columns A-Z. Either use the clues to find a word letter-by-letter and see what colum it's under...or switch that around.

[Buccaneer]

exciting people and events

Probably relates to a single theme.

[drewmtn]

The code function is your friend.
Thanks. That looked painful there for a minute.

[drewmtn]

How about we look at each row and pick out the letters of the alphabet that are missing from each one?

These are the letters missing from the first two rows . . .

ehjltwxz

ceimpqstxy

[enigma]

Okay so here's the grid with an alphabet laid out over the sides. I don't think I'm at the right starting point for the alphabet guide yet though.


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A Y N P B S A G P R K C R D U N G M F P O F G V Q I V
B R V U P F Z Z F B W F M Z F O H A G L K G L A D O G
C L M U U U D U N T W T Y C H X H R O S T N T D B F T
D U R P D N C X Y Y W E A S T H V G P I G B L I X I W
E T O X E E V A B O P Y K Y R R O O L K N O D Z X A Q
F T L S E Q T O D O K P E Q O T R T I K V B A R N A U
G M I A N R L I N E O R S M A I O P E E E K Q D Q K L
H U K E C T X L F Q N L H X A X R Y F K N B A E O Y Z
I E P N R X K L H O G Q R H S J J R H R C N R X I R W
J I M W V M M C N D C I F M U B O C H H G V N F D V V
K U W N X L L E O J E P Q Q J M J S N E I K F F H H G
L T N V C Z W G W W C V Y M J T U S L F G Z B M H P I
M I A E P S O B F E L I Y I M B F A B Q I M G Y V P M
N P B F H N X I U T B I M J E Z M Y G E N J B E F C M
O Z P E M R E F S D M E W W R N K C K O V W Z E A W N
P T R B O R U H R S X F V E O N M N G D A W G V K V L
Q E L Z Z U P H C R A E S D R O W A T O N S I S I H T
R I J H S M Z R Z Q V S F Z P N O F A H E Z C H F Y A
S L V I P K U E F O E P V Y U E V A W L B N J G N F J
T J Y B M K Y W J E B P B J A F A T K R A U W C U S T
U H L F H G T G E X P G F D R L M I G Q L I F A L D X
V E J L K E M V T D U S Q M X K H S P T K R Q S C S C
W N D G B L J P B H E B M C I M S I C E L O S T J P R
X S G B F C O H I T N S Y H D T E R A W T F O S H E S
Y M V P Q Z T T N B W J R X L I T O E M Y F Q W M G Y
Z Q J J F X N D N W D Y M G W A O N O V H H N D M X P




This should be very useful.

Notice anything about the lines that contain the text? That's really the only purpose of the hidden words.

Do not worry about which letters appear in various lines of the grid.

[enigma]

In the row above it, SOLECISMIC is spelled out backwards as well. The enigma's help has me confused on the value of this.

Just think about why I'd be able to construct a grid and be able to put a bunch of fluff on an entire row and an entire column.

[ThunderingHERD]

Enigma, I believe there is a certain Y that should be a B.

[cuervo72]

They both line up on Q? Q was on Star Trek and could do anything he wanted with a snap of the fingers, but beyond that I got nothing.

Or, you're trying to taunt QuikSand.

[enigma]

Solved.

[enigma]

This is a two-stage puzzle (aside from the hidden words in the grid that have nothing to do with the solution).

The first stage is creating a list of places. These places are hidden in the grid. Every two-letter pair in the clue maps to one letter in the list.

You'll notice the grid has 26 rows and 26 columns. Map those from A to Z on top and A to Z on the side to form coordinates. Beginning on top, you use each pair in the clue to find one letter at the intersection of each column and row.

To start, take the first two letters in the clue, H and e. This maps to the letter B at their intersection in the grid.

After decyphering 79 of these pairs, you have the following list:

Bloemfontein
Durban
Nelspruit
Port Elizabeth
Rustenburg
Cape Town
Polokwane
Johannesburg

This is a list of South African cities. But it's not a complete list. A couple of these cities are much smaller than South African cities that are not included. Why?

The clue talks about a fantastic trek among people and events. Taking a bit of a leap from here, you might think about the World Cup, which is going on right now and will take place in South Africa in 2010.

Which leads you to the second stage. What's omitted is the solution. There are nine South African cities that will host World Cup games in 2010. Eight are included in the list. The ninth, Pretoria, is the solution to the puzzle and the current Enigma password.

(edited to remove my dumb explanation and paste the enigma's, which I forgot was available)

[Dutch]

Wow...again.

[Groundhog]

Yeah, that was my next guess.

[Buccaneer]

Soccer. Figures.

[cuervo72]

It is clever, yes, if you look at the approach and get past the fact that it is about soccer (the whole "journey" thing...meh).

I do wonder though if I'm the not the only one reading some of the enigma's clues in a bit of a condescending voice...

[Franklinnoble]

Meh. When you gotta spend hours cranking out 79 pairs of clues and all that, I think it stops being fun.