Puzzles, Optical Illusions, and Other Player Handouts

[Mark CMG]

Let's use a thread to discuss and collect player handouts. We should probably not do maps since that is a category unto itself, I think. Do you ever prepare for the players a single page handout that was a coded message or puzzle for the players to work out? Or played in a game where one was given to you? I was thinking about this when I ran across a bunch of optical illusion images on Yahoo.

Optical Illusions | Brain Teasers - Yahoo! Games

This tangle with a hidden word, for instance, can be something to use in game -

| Solve the Optical Illusion - Yahoo! Games

 

[Almacov]

I've thought about creating puzzle handouts, but the last time I had a situation that would have made for a good one, it was an idea that came up during a game, so I wasn't able to give them a physical object, and just had to describe it.

It involved an extremely intelligent, playful NPC creating a clue by circling words scattered through a tabloid that, interpreted correctly, would reveal the time and place of a secret meeting. As it turned out, the players got the address, but not the date.
They wound up acting rashly on the information in entertaining but somewhat disastrous ways.
I've since thought that it would have been a lot of fun to actually whip up the whole tabloid.

I've got a few more very visual puzzles/hints planned out for later in the campaign, but most of them are incorporated in the terrain, and so will either wind up on the map itself, or artwork depicting the setting. (For that matter, I've already sketched out clues when they were visual enough in nature that it felt necessary.)

 

[Gilladian]

I'm interested in putting together an adventure wherein each of the pcs (I think there would be 4 or 5 of them) would have to solve a puzzle in order to have a chance to win a treasure or free someone from captivity. Visual puzzles would be perfect for what I'm imagining, so thanks for the link, and I look forward to future suggestions/offerings. In turn, I have to say I did a broadsheet for a while in my campaign. About every 2-3 sessions I presented the PCs with a new issue that often mentioned them or had hooks to future adventures in it. Or both.

They're posted on my wiki here: Vishteer Campaign / Broadsheets

 

[kitsune9]

They're posted on my wiki here: Vishteer Campaign / Broadsheets

I did something like this for the beginning of my Age of Worms campaign back in 2005 (I think). I used Publisher to create an email newsletter that I sent to the players. I thought it was pretty cool until I realized that none of them were reading them even though they were short. The way I found out was that I put in the XP for the session or other stuff and the first question I get from them is "What's our XP?"

 

[Diamond Cross]

Actually a good source of these kinds of things are hidden object games, such as Retrun To Ravenhurst and Dark Parables; The Curse Of The Briar Rose.

These games are more about puzzle solving connected to a story rather than shoot up or hack slash games.

They also have interesting ideas for scenarios as well.

For example, Dark parables begin with an overgrowth of briar patch that threatens to engulf the entire city.