BAPHL 24

BAPHL 24 took place on August 9th and 10th, 2025 in Watertown, MA. A total of 49 teams participated across both days. Thanks to everyone who joined us, and a special congratulations to the 16 teams that finished:

Finishing teams (in alphabetical order)

We are hoping to re-run BAPHL 24 as the first ever “BAyPHL” (Bay Area Puzzle Hunt League) event in the coming months, and as such are not yet posting the puzzles or solutions. Check back in mid-to-late November for the puzzles and solutions to BAPHL 24, and in the mean time, if you have friends in the Bay Area who might be interested in participating, encourage them to sign up for the BAyPHL announcement mailing list!

Basic Information

What is this?

BAPHL is the Boston Area Puzzle Hunt League, a recurring series of puzzle hunts in the Boston area.

Teams of 4–6 are given challenging puzzles that require various logical, lateral-thinking, and creative skills to solve. There is also an element of exploration which requires teams to visit certain locations during the completion of the event.

When is BAPHL 24 happening?

BAPHL 24 will have two separate identical instances — Saturday, August 9, 2025, and Sunday, August 10, 2025, both from 10 AM – about 5:30 PM. Teams can participate on either Saturday or Sunday.

The route will be outdoors, and will start and end near the Arsenal Yards Mall in Watertown. Solvers should expect to walk around 3 miles over the course of the route. More specifics will be given to registered teams in the week leading up to the event.

How do I register?

We have closed registration for BAPHL 24. If you would like to hear about future BAPHL events, you can sign up for the BAPHL announcement mailing list.

How much will it cost?
BAPHL 24 will cost $40 for a team to participate. BAPHL is a fully volunteer written and run event, so all of your registration costs go toward puzzle production and other overhead.
What is your refund policy?

If you register and pay for BAPHL 24 and then find that you are unable to make the event, we will do our best to replace your team with another team from the waitlist. If we are able to do so, we would be happy to refund your registration fee. However, if we are unable to do so, we will not be able to issue a refund.

What if it rains?
We’ll get wet, and we’ll all be a little sad. If it gets really bad, we’ll make some adjustments to the route and puzzles, but you should be prepared for whatever nature may bring.

Puzzle Info

What kinds of puzzles will there be?
Every hunt is a little bit different. If you want to get a sense of the types of puzzles there could be, you can check out some examples from prior BAPHL events: BAPHL 23, BAPHL 22, or BAPHL 21.
Just how hard is this thing?

There will be two divisions: Normal and Hard.

If you’ve never done any full-day puzzle hunts before, you really have a goal of finishing, or if you’re coming from Puzzled Pint, then Normal mode is for you — we’ll make sure to provide more guidance and hints so that you can keep solving and having fun.

Hard mode is aimed at folks with more experience with longer puzzle hunts such as the MIT Mystery Hunt, Puzzle Boat, or past BAPHLs.

How long is the hunt?

BAPHL 24 will consist of approximately 20 puzzles of potentially wildly varying lengths. Puzzle difficulty is always hard to estimate, but we expect that the hunt as a whole will be on par with the difficulty of past BAPHLs.

We recommend planning to spend all day on the hunt. Our ending location has some great hangout spots, so there will be opportunities to sit and socialize with other participants if you finish early. And if you’re concerned about finishing, we will have volunteers available all day who are eager to provide as much or as little help as required or desired for you to accomplish your goals.

What kind of supplies will we need?

You’ll want lots of solving supplies — paper, pencils, scissors, tape, highlighters, markers, rulers, etc. You’ll want to bring clipboards, since you may not be able to find seating at a table along our route, and a picnic blanket or lightweight camp chairs might not be a terrible idea.

You’ll also want to dress for comfort while walking and solving outside. In August in Boston, this probably means lots of sunscreen, water, and good sneakers, but you should obviously check the forecast and adjust appropriately.

BAPHL 24 Registration

Registration is now closed!

If you would like to hear about future BAPHL events, you can sign up for the BAPHL announcement mailing list.

Questions? Comments? Please reach out to us at baphl24@baphl.org.