Last Will And Testament Puzzle Hunt

Written By The Confounder

I've always dreamed of having a puzzle hunt as a part of my Last Will And Testament. I'd divide up most of my assets so that nobody feels left out, but I'd like to have a trail of difficult, tamper-proof puzzles for anyone in my will who would like to opt in and puzzle their way to an additional 5-10% of my estate.  But how can you build a puzzle hunt that’s run (hopefully) a long time into the future, without the ability to interfere and help your players, while making sure that everything is fun, memorable, and legal?  How do you even start work on such an endeavor?  I’m here to share with you my research and current plans, but given how I still have another ~60 years to work on this, my plan is far from complete.  I hope you take what you find useful, and leave your suggestions on how I could make this even better.

Estate Planning 101

First, let’s start with the basics.  When someone dies without a will, it’s a messy, legally fraught mess for the departed’s surviving family.  It takes serious work between you and a trusted attorney and/or estate planner to make sure that you’re not leaving a mess for your family to try to clean up during an emotionally demanding time.  Loss and greed bring out the worst in people, so make sure your wishes are legally binding, and work with a professional to draft a Will, Living Will, and Medical/Financial Power of Attorney documents, as well as any other documents you may need to make sure your wishes are met if you become unable to communicate them yourself.  The only two certainties in life are death and taxes, and only taxes come to us on time.  I’d recommend getting even a very basic version of those documents written and notarized in case the worst happens.  You can always update them as life goes on.  Inheritance laws are very different depending on where you live, so work with an experienced local professional.

Building the Hunt into Your Will

There are several questions that you (and your partner) should spend some time considering, about how to build your hunt into your will. 

Who is this for?  As in, is this for close friends and family, or is this for the whole world?  This article is focused on the first option, leading to a more collaborative, personal, and intimate hunt.  That said, there are a lot of concepts here that can be used to build a robust, competitive hunt.

Are participants competing, or working together?  Again, this mostly depends on who this hunt is intended for.  Of course this needs to be competitive if this hunt is open to the world, but I would argue that for friends and family, collaboration is essential.  There’s very little reason to force conflict onto those closest to you after you’re gone.  I recommend splitting whatever prizes are obtained evenly between all participants.  If you insist on competition, it could be worth considering having players compete to donate to the charity of their choosing.  

Should there be money involved?  Every estate planner I’ve talked to has STRONGLY advised against this.  If you’re not careful with the construction of your will, this could lead to an unbelievably complicated, burdensome, and especially tedious task imposed on grieving family members at a particularly vulnerable time.  Having unsettled assets from your will can drag out proceedings for a long time, so again, please get help from a professional if you decide to include a monetary prize in your hunt.  A good starting point would be asking for a Trust with a No Contest clause, meaning that what you’re asking to be done with this money cannot (easily) have lawsuits brought against it.  I’d also recommend adding a Clear Termination clause based on time, meaning that once a certain amount of time has elapsed, your puzzle hunt ends, and anything unclaimed will be dealt with as outlined in that clause.  These are just some very basic ideas, which might not apply to your situation, so once again, get the help of a knowledgeable professional for this!  It’s hard!

When should the hunt start?  The initial thought is to start the puzzle hunt as your will is being read, but that’s probably not the best way to go about things.  Leaving time between the will reading and the hunt beginning gives your beneficiaries time to grieve, and it gives them time to ask for time off of work to actually play your game.  I’d suggest leaving at least a month’s gap between the will reading and your game, if not longer.  Besides, a longer break between your will and your game gives your gamemaster more time to make sure your hunt functions as intended (more on that later!).

Too Long, Didn’t Read. Where’s a good place to start?

  • Work with a local attorney/estate agent

  • Make participation voluntary

  • Separate this hunt from monetary rewards

  • Trust with no contest clause

  • Clear termination clause based on time

Building the Actual Hunt

Now that we’ve got a framework, let’s get to the puzzle hunt already!  Start by building the end, then build the beginning.  What will your grand prize be?  Is there somewhere special where it should be located?  And on the opposite end of the hunt, what clues will your players be given to start with?  I’ve chosen a branching structure for my hunt.  My players will be given a large box full of clues, which will lead them down several small paths.  At the end of each path, they will receive a clue to the final path.  They won’t have to solve every path to finish the hunt, which is intentional.  I would prefer that my players cross the finish line, even if that means they don’t find/solve all of my puzzles.

With the structure taken care of, we’re now faced with the question: “So, who’s gonna run this hunt?”  I don’t yet have a good answer for this.  You could ask the executor of your will to run the game, you could ask one of your trustees to run the game, or perhaps there’s a third party that you could hire.  Regardless of who runs your game, they will have to know three things:  How should they start the game, how do they give hints to your players, and how do they confirm answers?  These answers all depend on the type of hunt you have planned.  In every case, you should leave your gamemaster with detailed instructions on how to begin the hunt (what clues should the players be given, give players an overview of the rules, etc.).  Some hunts might not require hints at all, but to reduce strain on the gamemaster, I’d suggest releasing hints on a predefined schedule.  Just enough to give your players a nudge on any puzzles they may be stuck on.  If your players will need to check their answers, or if they need to exchange answers for additional clues, your gamemaster must be given a complete list of answers to your puzzles, and thus cannot take part in the game themselves.  Finding someone you trust to do this job after your passing is a difficult challenge, especially considering that the gamemaster has a great amount of influence on the experience of your players.

Puzzles

So, what kinds of puzzles can you use for this?  And where can you hide them?  Remember, you’re (hopefully) not going to die for quite a while, and lots can change in the world before you do pass.  You might sell the desk with the secret compartment.  The bank where you rented a security deposit box could be sold or torn down.  A mall gets built on top of your time capsule.  Lots can happen, so it’s our job to make sure that risks are minimized.

Let’s start with the puzzles.  You’ve got the most time before you die right now, so you want to start with puzzles that are very sturdy and shelf-stable.  These puzzles really need to last.  Digital puzzles can be a good idea, but be careful, most drives can’t store data for several decades without experiencing some form of loss, so don’t put your puzzles onto thumb drives just yet.  Also, don’t rely on any digital services that work today to be available in 60 years, much less 10 years.  Another piece of advice would be to make these puzzles personal.  For example, I really like cooking, so I’m hiding a puzzle in the recipe book I’m leaving.  I used to be a DJ, so I’ve built a puzzle out of a mix tape.  My wife really likes to crochet, so we’re working on encoding a message onto some of the items she’s making.  Here’s a list of puzzles that I’m considering, or have already built:

Hiding the Puzzles

Once you’ve got puzzles ready to go, what do you do with them?  It’s easiest to leave everything in a box and not have anything hidden, but that’s not as much fun for you or your players.  

There’s lots to learn from the geocaching community here.  While most of their caches are nearly microscopic, they’re very good at leaving clues to a location, and hiding the treasure in a location that is very inconspicuous, and will typically remain undisturbed by anyone not specifically searching for that geocache.  

Another group that’s good to learn from is time capsule enthusiasts, especially if you’d like to, you know, use time capsules.  Important points to remember are, don’t bury your capsule on any sort of flood plain, or anywhere where water could collect.  Also, make sure anything you put inside your capsule (especially documents) are encased in the proper protective covering to ensure they’re preserved properly.  When you bury your capsule, make sure to either give your players GPS coordinates, or to date whatever treasure map you give them.  

With all of that said, hold off on hiding any puzzles for as long as you can.  I haven’t hidden any puzzles for my hunt yet, and I won’t for several years.  The longer I wait to hide my puzzles, the more sure I can be that they’ll be where I expect them to be.  Also, once you place puzzles in the real world, you need to check up on them to make sure they remain in good condition.  Take VERY good notes on where you’ve hidden your puzzles, and consider walking through the locations with your gamemaster.  Besides, someone will need to check up on these puzzles when you’re old, and mobility could well be an issue for you.  Here’s a list of locations that I’m considering for my puzzles to get you started:

  • Bury a time capsule somewhere outdoors.  Give participants accurate GPS coordinates to help them find it, perhaps alongside some sort of treasure map?

  • X marks the spot?

  • Secret compartments! 

    • Wall safe behind picture?

    • False drawer in desk?

    • Hidden stash in emptied bottle of cleaning solution/car fluid/paint can

  • Clues hidden within the outline of the puzzle hunt, given to players at the very beginning. (Ottendorf cipher, Cardan Grille, Morse Code border)

  • Clue hidden in recipe book (Indexing example in Architect’s video)

  • Hidden message on a plaque somewhere (statue, park bench, founder’s plaque somewhere?  Not sure yet)

  • Safety Deposit Box at bank

  • Underwater stash somewhere, will require scuba.  Underwater statue?

  • Hidden stash in radio station where I volunteer.

So, what do you think?  How would you improve this plan for your final puzzle hunt?  Is there anything that I’ve overlooked?  What cool ideas do you have for your final puzzle hunt?  Please let me know in the comments below!  Good luck with your Last Will and Testament Puzzle Hunt, and with all of the puzzle hunts before then as well!

The Confounder
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