Some people call this type of thing "enigmatic puzzles." Here's an example. There's a bunch of information that makes zero apparent sense. Maybe it's a bunch of crossword clues with no grid. Or a grid with no clues. Or a bunch of pictures of falcons.
It looks meaningless, or asinine, or impossible. But it means something, and if you somehow tune into the cleverness and creativity of the person who made it, you can unlock that meaning. I think that's beautiful. Although usually the secret meaning you unlock is something like "POWER BALLAD" or "MEGABYTE." Or a pun. But still.
MIT MYSTERY HUNT
I was part of the team that made the 2018 MIT Mystery Hunt. I got to help make a bunch of puzzles and contribute a bunch of art.
ENIGMARCH
EnigMarch is an Inktober-type thing where you're supposed to make a puzzle every day for a month.
- EnigMarch 2026: You are the mayor! Figure out how to please the city councilors! Some pretty good metapuzzles baked ahead of time and some pretty good daily puzzles, like "Color" and "Air" and "Together".
- Advent 2025: Not an official EnigMarch event, just me amusing myself. Some fun ideas, like "Angels We Have Heard on High".
- EnigMarch 2025: A vaguely D&Dish monster-fighting (monster-collecting? monster-befriending?) adventure. I set up a bunch of cool metapuzzles in advance and I did art and it's all really slick. The best puzzles from this set include "Random" and "House."
- EnigMarch 2024: Not as good as later attempts, but there are some good puzzles in there. "Watch" and "Bridge" and "Shield" and "Club" are all great.
- Drawlloween 2023: 31 spooky puzzles based on prompts from a non-EnigMarch-affiliated drawing challenge. I was able to start working on these a month early, so they're a bit more polished and intentional than you get from EnigMarch's ostensible one-puzzle-per-day schedule. The best ones might be "Black Lagoon" (qua puzzle) and "Hunter's Moon" (qua aesthetic object).
- EnigMarch 2022: I made these puzzles after I did the 2023 set. Confusing. Check out "Present" and "Mirror".
- EnigMarch 2023: My very first attempts. Some of them are good (especially "Diagonal").
- EnigmAugust 2023: A highly self-indulgent follow-up to my 2022/2023 sets. For devotees and completionists.
OTHER
These puzzles don't have fancy hints or answer checkers or explanations. They may have been written with very specific audiences in mind! They may be unfair.
- With Sarah Willson I made an "ARG" to promote my game "The Little Match Girl 3: The Escalus Manifold."
- Later we made another more ARG-like ARG to promote my game "The Little Match Girl 5: The Hunter's Vow."
- I made this set of puzzles based on the board game "7 Wonders" for my in-laws. One of the puzzles relies on you having access to the same outdated edition of the board game that they had.
- Whatever this is