BAPHL 24 took place on August 8th and 9th, 2025 in Watertown, MA. A total of 49 teams participated. Thanks to everyone who joined us, and special congratulations to the 16 teams that finished:
(Did you finish BAPHL 24 but aren’t credited above? Email us and let us know at baphl24@baphl.org. We did our best but may have missed you.)
In BAPHL 24, newly minted graduates of the International Archaeological School of Archaeology were sent out to explore well-known wonders of the world and see if they could unearth any secrets (as Beginner Archaeologists Pursuing Historical Landmarks). BAPHL 24 featured 21 puzzles total, broken into two rounds. The first round included 6 “major wonders” and 6 “minor wonders,” (puzzles which leveraged specific locations, physical components, or temporary installations), capped off by a metapuzzle. The second round featured 7 additional puzzles and a capstone metapuzzle.
Teams started in Filippello Park in Watertown, MA and traveled along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway to Fresh Pond, where they received the first metapuzzle and learned their first secret. That secret provided them with access to additional information as they returned along the path they had taken, back to Filippello Park and on to Arsenal Yards, where they reached the end of our route and received their final metapuzzle.
As a note, we have included credits below for the primary authors of each puzzle. However, we had a very collaborative writing process and all authors and testsolvers listed in the full credits section below were involved in various degrees with all puzzles.
As they checked out of ALPHA, teams additionally received a 3D-printed pyramid, which was eventually used as part of the metapuzzle. We have included all of the relevant files under Dig Site GAMMA.
| Bartering | Evan Broder, James Douberley | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| Crossing the Thames | Jesse Moeller | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| Young Kid Yoga: A Park Day | Arcturus Wang | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| This puzzle utilized the Filipello Park Story Walk, which as of August 2025 was the book Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram. | ||||
| Field Trip | James Douberley | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| This was a location puzzle which utilized various sights in Filippello Park and along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. Many of them can be found on Google Street View, but we have also compiled a gallery of photos taken along the route. | ||||
| Language Arts | Henry Wong | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| This was a physical puzzle consisting of a rock painted white with some multi-colored dots and lines on it. | ||||
| Turtle Geometry | Evan Broder | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| This was a location puzzle which utilized a sewer grate on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. You can see a 3D model of the grate we created for the BayPHL 1 re-run. | ||||
As they checked out of BETA, teams additionally received a segment of a 3D-printed pyramid, which was eventually used as part of the metapuzzle. We have included all of the relevant files under Dig Site GAMMA.
| Credit Crunch | Teddy McArthur | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| FÖRBRYLLANDE | Arcturus Wang | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| Panama | Robin Deits | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| An A-B-C Inning | Teddy McArthur | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| In order to solve this puzzle, teams needed to find our updated version of the Green Monster installed on the Greenway (painted by Emilie Josephs). | ||||
| Birdwatching | Robin Deits, Michele Pratusevich | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| In order to solve this puzzle, teams needed to find these birdwatching posters placed along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway in addition to the puzzle content. | ||||
| X Marks the Spot | Robert “Fro” Myers, Arcturus Wang | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| In order to solve this puzzle, teams needed to find a “sand pit” (a baking sheet tray filled with sand) along with some brushes and other tools. By using the tools to dig up what is “buried” in the sand, teams found some shards at the bottom. | ||||
| Metapuzzle 1: The Great Pyramids | Everyone | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| In addition to the one-page printout, teams received 3 additional 3D-printed pieces, giving them 5 total. All 5 pieces can be found as a single 3MF or STL file. | ||||
| A Friendly Brunch | Jesse Moeller | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| 📞🔢 | Robert “Fro” Myers, Arcturus Wang | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| The Polynesian Diaspora | Robin Deits, Michele Pratusevich | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| A Clash of Titans | James Douberley, Evan Broder | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| Hanging Rows Garden | Brie Frame, Emilie Josephs | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| Links | Henry Wong | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| My Immortal Shiptoast | Jesse Moeller, Arcturus Wang | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| Metapuzzle 2: A Space Race | James Douberley, Robin Deits | Normal | Hard | Solution |
| Once again, teams received 3D-printed pieces along with the one-page metapuzzle, giving them 5 additional pieces. All 5 of these pieces can be found as a single 3MF or STL file. | ||||
Icons by Freepik, IYIKON, cube29 from www.flaticon.com, and by OpenIcons, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, and Stampf from pixabay.com
Texture by kues1 from www.freepik.com
Images of wonders based on photos by Scott Conwell, Diego Delso, Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr., Photo2023, LuizaV72, Radomu, Nono vlf, Arian Zwegers, Paul Landry, Fantasy Art, sheilapic76, WikiImages, George E. Koronaios, Felix Winkelnkemper, Tyler Bell, Friends of Dunbar Cave, Jürgen Howaldt, Andrewjames954