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Here's a new episode to the puzzle game I piloted a couple of weeks back:
http://bitscan.com/articles/missing-keys-the-mystery-continues (http://bitscan.com/articles/missing-keys-the-mystery-continues)

Those clues were guessed pretty fast so hopefully this one will take a little longer. This is the first of three related episodes, to be released over the next month or so.

Original episode (for background) here: bitscan.com/articles/mystery-bitcoin-game-the-hidden-keys (http://bitscan.com/articles/mystery-bitcoin-game-the-hidden-keys)

UPDATE: hints available at http://bitscan.com/articles/missing-keys-clue-hints-revealed (http://bitscan.com/articles/missing-keys-clue-hints-revealed)

so what is a bounty for that one?? :)
How much I will get if I will solve it?

Did you get the last one? The winner didn't let us know...
The first one has a prize of 0.05 in the address, plus a bonus if they get in touch to claim it (see what we did there?).
But this is the first of three. There will be small prizes along the way, and a bigger pot at the end if you can get them all.
Still ironing out the kinks but hopefully it will be fun.

Bump: new hints available!

These are fun, but I'm terrible at this kind of puzzle.  Good luck to everyone!

Subsequent episodes will work on different principles - they won't all be this kind of rebus.

Your uncle really used the MiniKey standard? So 30 characters in base58 only, with 00-check?

This will be fun, I will have a go  ;D

good luck :) I must say this puzzle is really hard ...

I cannot figure out the right answer yet ...

I will try, but may not get anywhere.
Well, C21H23NO5 is heroin, 360' is 30 yards?

Yes you are perhaps right :) and you are closer to an answer ;)
But still more puzzles pieces to put in a right place.

You seem surprised - why?

Yes, it's a minikey, but in fact it's base 32: numbers and caps only. (This was explained in the first episode.)
This still makes it way to hard to brute force (145 bits of entropy - the original Casascius coins had 123) but easier to remember and less confusion about whether any given clue is upper or lower case.

Well this is definitely challenging but 30 yards of heroin is something to think about...Breaking Bad?   :D

I love a puzzle!
"Llyswen > south" could be A470

A minikey is base58 and has the 00-check. Base58 means for example that no zero is allowed in the key.
Base32 is all capital letters, and the numbers 2 till 7. By mentioning base32 I am now even more confused.

Edit: is the 00-?-check still in place?

It's a totally standard minikey, so yes the 00 check is still in place. The only difference is that the characterset has been reduced:
BASE32 = '23456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZ'
BASE58 = '23456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz'
So it's a base 32, not the 'standard' base 32 (which I understand isn't used that much). Sorry for the ambiguity.
If you want to see the code used to generate the minikey, take a look at https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mini_private_key_format#Python_Code (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mini_private_key_format#Python_Code)
Aside from using a reduced characterset, the only major difference is that I used a better source of entropy than random.
I've used all caps and numbers simply because I didn't want people to have to wonder whether a clue was upper or lower case.
Hope that helps!

Yes, thanks!

So, presumably you are coding a brute force app...
When you've done, I'll be interested to find out how many combinations per second it can guess. That might help me calibrate further puzzles, assuming they use the same principles.

I just made a little script to go from minikey to address to see if my answers were correct. But I am about to give up :(

Check back regularly - there will be hints every couple of days until it goes.

Are the answers of the previous puzzle posted somewhere?

Not completely. There was a thread where they were discussed and most were guessed: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=560045.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=560045.0)
I guess I could reveal those now since someone has already figured them out, so if you've got any questions about them let me know.

I guess I my answers for "111", "london system" and "50" are wrong. :)
I was guessing: "3", "D4", "L"

Edit: nevermind, got the answer. Now to solve the current puzzle...

Not bad... should help a bit since a lot of the same principles are re-used. Just an extra layer of abstraction in some cases.

Bump: New hints posted

Thanks Cassius!

I am spending some time on this just for the fun of it. I am not a techie, so need to read up on this base32 minikey format. So, your mini private key is 30 alphanumeric characters long, all capitals but left out:
1 (number one)
I  (capital i)
O (capital O)
0 (number zero)

Is my understanding correct? If so, my guess "Llyswen > south" is A470 must be wrong! :-\

A few posts back you'll see a discussion about this and the character set used.
Enjoy!
More hints soon.

This is proving to be a lot more difficult than I previously thought. I need more clues. People who could write brute forcing scrypts will have an edge on this.

Me too... tested over 65k keys but no luck. I've no ideia about that "Salisbury" one, or if those bold clues carry any special meaning.

If the clue is about Salisbury in the UK (not sure there is another one elsewhere), the most famous thing there is the Stone Henge. "SH" perhaps?

I guess it's a possibility... What about "vides", is that even an english word?

Looks latin to me...
video = i see
vides = you see
videt = he sees
I think the answer could be "UC"

My guess is UC as well. But at the moment I am secondguessing every answer :P

"spot"?
"vi"? In the previous puzzle Latin numbers were in capital, this one isn't?
("u+m)(u-m)"?
"360'" so 360 minutes is 6Hours or a Quarter Day?
"Salisbury"? Wales, UK?
Holy? "Domitian"?
"Llyswen -> south" Running to the south of Llyswen is the A470, yet zeroes are not allowed.

I have no clue on "domitian" aswell. Someone suggested using "T" as a substitute for "0" in "A470", sounds valid.

A couple more hints now available at http://bitscan.com/articles/missing-keys-clue-hints-revealed (http://bitscan.com/articles/missing-keys-clue-hints-revealed), including the elusive "..."
More to come in a day or two. Any particular requests?

My pathetic maths tells me (u+m)(u-m) = u²-m², which is called "Difference of Squares".
The grid says the key is 3 characters long, so may be it is "DOS".

I believe it is safe to assume "360" is "6H". "QD" (quarter day) is too many twists for just 2 charactors  :D

I've tried not to make things too abstract. The first version was too easy. It was a bit like the Telegraph's cryptic crossword (which is only going to be meaningful if you're in the UK - though you seem to be, despite the name). This one is a bit more like the Times' crossword from what I can tell (never could get more than one or two clues...). Much the same but an additional layer of abstraction. Multiple twists wouldn't be reasonable.

I had those answers already.

DOS -> capital O is not allowed.

Oh dear, you are right. I keep on forgetting about illegal characters  :D

Afterthought: Do you think it's worth trying "DFS"??

Yet another afterthought: It just hit me this is fundamental algebra, so "LGB" or "LGR"??

The formula (u+m)(u-m) makes a parabola. There is an OS called "Parabola GNU" so the answer is GNU.

Or maybe I am just going crazy and seeing patterns, logic and answers in everything :D

My guesses are:

cyclononasulphur - S9
mdma - E
spot - X, C
vides - UC
2(C21H23NO5) - 2H
disk free - DF

vi - 6, C
G-B-D-F - G7
puli - K9
(u+m)(u-m) - D2F, DTS, DSF
360' - 6H

Salisbury - ???
+Domitian - 96
Llyswen -> south - A438
... - S
1001 - 9

Still no clues on the bold ones...

The postcode for Salisbury is "SP", if this helps anyone. I thought of Stone Henge before. I think the postcode made more sense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SP_postcode_area

i gots the precious  ;)

 https://blockchain.info/tx/744b8161e746f5b4c2b12e2de9d48a0ead08465d58167db97f60795e96f823a9

will post the solution after confirmation

Aaand it's gone! Congratulations and make sure you contact BitScan so your achievement can be recognized.
Will keep you posted about the next installment.
Nice job, dalek.

confirmed now, so here's the solution: S9EXUC2HDF6G7K9WMM6HSP96A479S9

this doesn't count as contact?  :P  guess i'll have to create a throwaway twitter account...

Drop them an email, unless you really want to stay anonymous. I'm hoping there's a further (smallish) reward. I don't hold the purse strings! If not I'll let them know.

Well done dalek!

I would think it's about time someone would get it. Most clues have been solved. So "Salisbury" is "SP". "Disk Free" is just "DF"? How uneventful, it should be "SS" as in "Solid State" harddisks.  ;D

i thought disk free would have more likely been MB or GB. and heroin OD.
and surprised vanitygen has no minikey support still. somebody could then have turned it into a brute forcer.

Congrats! Had all except WMM? What does it stand for?

(u+m)(u-m) = uumm or "double u double m"
Sorry.

Did you guess that Dalek, or bruteforced it?

Grr... so close.
Congratz to the winner!
 ;D

i figured it out after reading the thread from the previous contest

So it's gone! Congrats dalek!


I am checking the answers to the clues. I find "(u+m)(u-m) = uumm = wmm" a stretch. I appreciate difficult puzzles, but illogical solutions are just unbearable. He could use split them up and make the clues difficult, or use "Found MRW" as the clue ;D

You know, we talked about it at the office, and I actually wrote down u²-m² = uu-mm, to bad it never crossed my mind to just remove the minus sign :(

Here's my clue:   Two word description of this puzzle and its answers....

The solution:   Horrible

Whore - Able
You Idiots

 :D
I'm going to take that as reassurance that this episode wasn't too easy.
At least you didn't commit suicide in the end.

The day isn't over....

I give you props for the game.  To be honest....  I just don't like the brute force...

and you know that's how this one was won

If he got wmm out of (u+m)(u-m) then he's a genius!

I do get where you're coming from.
I would have preferred to do this without the brute force element. But I knew that people would make the software. That's why the first one was solved so quickly. My response was to make some of the clues much harder, so that it wouldn't be so easy to guess most and brute force the rest. You'd actually have to get into the head of the puzzle-setter and figure out how they thought and the kind of clues they were setting.
It's possible this went too far, though someone obviously did manage it with a minimum of hints.
Next one I won't write this way, it will use a different principle.

I will tell you this much....

The first one was done without the brute force

How the hell is ... = S????

It's Morse Code. That was in one of the hints. As in SOS: dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot.

For those of you who survived the previous episode, here's the next. It works on a completely different principle :)

http://bitscan.com/articles/the-hidden-keys-game-the-mystery-deepens (http://bitscan.com/articles/the-hidden-keys-game-the-mystery-deepens)

This bible code style game need more programming skills than a trained mind  :-[
Good luck to all the script coders.

No! No computers required this time. :)

This one was a real brainteaser. The hints haven't helped at all as I already figured out the bible code thing, however I haven't been able to figure out the 3 variables as it seems. Tried several starting points that seemed to make sense. Do we know how long the private key is, or is that part of the game as well?

Looking at previous episodes will help, but there will be more hints too.

This last hint confused me, are we looking for a hidden message in his email? Or are we looking for the private key

Wouldn't it be cool if it was both at the same time?

That would be cool, but if it was one or the other that would be help me :p

Sorry, it's not one or the other...  :D

So then there's nothing in the email?

Or...

Well I get that the private key itself could be a hidden in the email. Or does it like spell something out? THat's what I'm asking :o I'm so confused. omg.

I think if you read it from end to beginning, start at 49 and jump about 369, you get 'btc'.  ;D

It would be cool if the key WAS the message...

Well i found the secret word "toRah", but i've no idea if these are the kind of words we are looking for...

I speak from much experience....

Play this game and you will LOSE YOUR FUCKING MIND!

http://oi57.tinypic.com/oivn89.jpg

i will try it

Guess i "received enough valid"

So close to cracking it, it's ridiculous. Why the last part won't click for me is beyond me however, need more thinking time I suppose.

There's a new clue, if that helps...

Not really, since that was sort of obvious given the previous games.

To some people  :)

I got through the first two paragraphs without hitting any letters that aren't used, up til like my 4th to last character. So pissed. Been spending AT LEAST an hour every day since this was first posted trying to figure it out.

Ugh. I'm stumped. I made progress but the end is stumping me.

Haha, the problem is that the clue has always been 1 step behind me so far. :D

Someone seems to have won, will the solution be posted anywhere?

Yes, solution will be posted on BitScan soon.

Oh damn. Lots of time invested into this. :/

Congratz to the winner though, looking forward to seeing the solution.

Is this a ****ing joke though? With the last puzzle?

An error in the text, that's why it didn't work?

S3CURITYRI5K2NE7WORKfLHdosswuheY

That's what I had, BEFORE the 2nd hint.I was skipping exactly 25 each step, and yet it didn't work due to the last letters.
I was almost thinking it was an error on your behalf but shooed those thoughts off thinking you'd notice that mistake way in time before publicizing it, or at least during the course.

Someone probably got the Security risk to network right and brute forced the rest of it.

It's one thing to complain about a free entry contest, I know that, however it's really a kick in the nuts to find out that the mistake was on the host's behalf, and that someone managed to claim it by using a computer even though "no computers will be needed" was stated on the website.

Sigh.

Yup, afraid so. I checked and rechecked it and... made a mistake.
Very embarrassing and I can only apologise.
I've sent out a small consolation prize to a runner-up and will do so once more if you post your address.
Aside from that I can only say sorry.

Mistakes happen, I guess. Unfortunately for me it was in the first puzzle I came close to solving!

I'll gladly accept your gesture; it gladdens me to get a response.

173oNFXDhT7s3HBhRVhMTDTcn3S5PWXAdZ

Thanks in advance.

PS: Apart from the mistake, this was a really good puzzle, fun and challenging. Good thinking with the external source of the method to solve it (ELS).

So that's why S3curityRi5k2ne7workfLHdosswuh didn't work... :(
Nice evolution from the old puzzles though, hoping to see the next one.

If you're really compensating for your mistake, it's a very honourable action, thank you.
1KLrqo71UUDToKmqguQCZowxijzb189qyw

Thanks for being gracious about it. It's extremely frustrating for me after spending so many hours working on the puzzle and checking it through; I imagine it must be at least as frustrating for those who came close to solving it and couldn't. I've sent a small consolation prize to Zyborg.


Obviously now that people know about the consolation prize, anyone could claim they came close, so I won't be sending out any more. (Micaman, I've sent a very small sum as a consolation prize for missing the consolation prize.)

Having thought about it a little more I think the best way to compensate remaining players would be to raise the prize sum for the final puzzle. And, of course, check the clues one last time... It also won't be another ELS.

Thanks again to all for playing.

Cassius

Perhaps a PM would've been better from me!

Recieved the btc, thanks mate. I'll be sure to check out your last puzzle, very hyped for it. :)

Thanks for the responses and thanks for handling this situation nicely.

I got it too. You didn't have to, but i respect and appreciate your gesture.
Thanks again.

When the next puzzle game is going to be placed? :)

During last two I was quiet but now I will do my best to solve it :)

Thanks everyone.

I will aim to post the last puzzle within the next 2-3 weeks.