ARG Puzzle with 3.5 BTC Private Key Prize, Game Over

[arg]

btw...  the solution is.... one small now is tall... so exchange w with W in the 51 character string...

That's fucking stupid. It's unrelated to any of the information given. Why was the shit on the right of the image then? The OP made a typo in the given key and somehow that's supposed to be part of the ARG?

I dont even get it...

z69JZqlJn862D1ndx7oLVEMmVOlP1zewEeUCrsI7Roahzpeny7P switch(w,W)
-> z69JZqlJn862D1ndx7oLVEMmVOlP1zeWEeUCrsI7Roahzpeny7P
and then what? shift 6EQUJ5 times?
...
5KZnsvrXDcP7JFD7GCuZvifrbcBtK4kke8nHx6ibktgvPJxs4Lp

Where is the palindrome hint? I am confused and go to sleep maybe someone is nice and write a "for dummies" how to solve the last step so I can finish the pdf.

You get "6EQUJ5", turn it into integers using the pattern in Crops.jpg.

Code:

6EQUJ5 = (decoded) = 6,14,26,30,19,5

You change the w to a W in the string (who the would have thought of that?)

Code:

z69JZqlJn862D1ndx7oLVEMmVOlP1ze[W]EeUCrsI7Roahzpeny7P

You shift the key in Wow.jpg by the numbers sequentially, looping once you run out

Code:

5KZnsvrXDcP7JFD7GCuZvifrbcBtK4kAe8nHx6ibktgvPJxs4Lp

You then add 0.35% more to your horde of BTC like Gatekeeper did.


http://mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw7567-tumblr_m8rf1eEzb41r84295o1_500.gif

[Remember remember the 5th of November]

Woah, somebody with over 1k btc got the prize? That's pretty...pathetic.

[ooxtcoo]

no...
if you read the WOW SIGNAL website, you can see how the wow signal is decoded...
if you check back some pages, you see, we already have decoded it since days...

my converter tool which i have posted already did it based on the wow signal website...

[jc01480]

Good game, ladies.

[rock_collector]

Friends, I can't tell you how impressed I am with all of you. I have been following since the start, but had nothing to add. This was way out of my league, yet I have followed obsessively. I have learned so much from all of you. Such brilliance! And great collaboration. Please don't bash the OP. She's an uber-talented, multifaceted woman--an artist, a coder, a puzzler--Wow ! She generously donated her brilliance, her time, and her btc. We all were intellectually stimulated and entertained for 2 weeks. The experience was its own reward. Nice job, everyone!

[Remember remember the 5th of November]

Friends, I can't tell you how impressed I am with all of you. I have been following since the start, but had nothing to add. This was way out of my league, yet I have followed obsessively. I have learned so much from all of you. Such brilliance! And great collaboration. Please don't bash the OP. She's an uber-talented, multifaceted woman--an artist, a coder, a puzzler--Wow ! She generously donated her brilliance, her time, and her btc. We all were intellectually stimulated and entertained for 2 weeks. The experience was its own reward. Nice job, everyone!

I was out of it's league as well, but the end result is that somebody with 1500 btc got the prize, that was not only anticlimactic, but greedy.

[cryptozim]

I also think the solution is idiotic. No way could anyone find it without not one but two hints:
- "One small now is tall."
- Picture with Alice with letter "W" marked all over it.

What's the point of a puzzle that can not sustain itself, and relies on numerous hints to be solved?

I agree with this. This was terrible, and there were many points in the puzzle that relied on incredibly arbitrary leaps of logic, and therefore, clues from OP. I'm not a genius at puzzles, but who would've swapped the 'W' case without being told about it? I think the answer is obviously: nobody.

[Remember remember the 5th of November]

I also think the solution is idiotic. No way could anyone find it without not one but two hints:
- "One small now is tall."
- Picture with Alice with letter "W" marked all over it.

What's the point of a puzzle that can not sustain itself, and relies on numerous hints to be solved?

I agree with this. This was terrible, and there were many points in the puzzle that relied on incredibly arbitrary leaps of logic, and therefore, clues from OP. I'm not a genius at puzzles, but who would've swapped the 'W' case without being told about it? I think the answer is obviously: nobody.

I don't think so, some people have solved Cicada 3301 puzzles way more complex without anybody's help.

[rock_collector]

How do you know Gatekeeper isn't going to share the winnings with those who contributed to solving the puzzle? Instead of bashing him, why don't you post your addresses and see what happens....

[Remember remember the 5th of November]

How do you know Gatekeeper isn't going to share the winnings with those who contributed to solving the puzzle? Instead of bashing him, why don't you post your addresses and see what happens....

Because he shouldn't have attempted to win this, he has 1510btc, in one address(which is bad), and he claimed ANOTHER prize. I say somebody else should have gotten this, I mean the dude has almost a million $ from BTC, yet he also got 3.5btc more

[arg-sidekick]

I don't think so, some people have solved Cicada 3301 puzzles way more complex without anybody's help.

Yes, but we've had the explicit information to NOT brute force it. I agree that the last stage wouldn't have been obtained without OP's hints but it's over now. Nothing you can do but do something else. It's the internet, after all.

Thank you to all the guys and girls that helped solve each step of the way. It's been a great game of cat and mouse even if the source material could do with some polish.

I look forward to playing again. Under a different handle, of course.

Love, sidekick.

[cryptozim]

How do you know Gatekeeper isn't going to share the winnings with those who contributed to solving the puzzle? Instead of bashing him, why don't you post your addresses and see what happens....

Because he shouldn't have attempted to win this, he has 1510btc, in one address(which is bad), and he claimed ANOTHER prize. I say somebody else should have gotten this, I mean the dude has millions of $ from BTC, yet he also got 3.5btc more

I say let him have it. Nothing about this game was made specifically for the Bitcoin-poor. I bet he didn't get 1510BTC by not taking opportunities to get BTC when they were presented to him.

[ooxtcoo]

@gatekeeper you better would have hide your 1500BTC

why didnt you transfered it into some empty wallet?

how solve that puzzle?  

[arg]

Love, sidekick.

Later.

http://fat.gfycat.com/UnimportantPeriodicDwarfrabbit.gif

[Izerian]

Yes, but we've had the explicit information to NOT brute force it.

I don't remember seeing explicit OP info not to, just a post or two about a general rule. I stopped myself a few times because of those postings... error on my part

I was just bummed to find that the posters (me included) were all stuck until a clue from the OP. This happened a few times. Maybe he/she just wanted to be involved throughout the hunt. I get it I guess.

At any rate, it was fun to think through for the most part. As far as I know this is the OP's first puzzle like this? At least I can archive this directory and move on with my life

[moinen]

Great, the last hint I needed dropped when my time zone sleeps.

Good game everybody, I hope you had as much fun as I did.

[jc01480]

When does the next one start?   

[micaman]

So we should have used brute-capitalization-of-ws?
I think the shifting over the 2nd string was clever, but the wW thing... disappointing i must say.
Lame end but nice journey.

Anyway i want to thank OP for these 2 intense weeks, and all the others that joined this adventure from the beginning.
I learned a lot and met a lot of very skilled people who i would definitely help in a next time.
Congratulations to the winner, whoever it was.


EDIT: got a weird response signal from outer space, done the usual: binary, morse, 2xsha, wW fix, and... it's another link to Again.7z.

EDIT2: the W thing was a fix for a mistake. Could have ended up much worse or not at all. I would have done it all again, no regrets.

[ooxtcoo]

So we should have used brute-capitalization-of-ws?
I think the shifting over the 2nd string was clever, but the wW thing... disappointing i must say.
Lame end but nice journey.

Anyway i want to thank OP for these 2 intense weeks, and all the others that joined this adventure from the beginning.
I learned a lot and met a lot of very skilled people who i would definitely help in a next time.
Congratulations to the winner, whoever it was.


EDIT: got a weird response signal from outer space, done the usual: binary, morse, 2xsha, wW fix, and... it's another link to Again.7z.

next time with some reverse engeneering please!  

[TheButterZone]

Well I hope one of the savants at Unfiction solved it as punishment for this not being a real ARG (they said that when I linked this topic in #unfiction). I look forward to the next bullshit bitcoin "game" that nobody but savants can solve.