Berlin Studios presents · a zero-knowledge game
THE HIDDEN
WITNESS
A hunt for up to 1,000 players. Somewhere in this crowd is a witness. Find it, then prove you found it without revealing where it is. That's a zero-knowledge proof, the same math that keeps Zcash payments private.
The doors close on Halloween, October 31, or sooner if all 1,000 seats fill. Then the puzzle begins.
Free to take a seat · Proofs are sealed with Zcash · Not everything here is what it shows.
How to play
One face in this crowd is the witness. Your job is to find out which one.
Take a seat
Add your X handle. Your face joins the crowd and you get a numbered seat card. It's free. Only seated players can play.
Open nowThe doors close
On Halloween, October 31, or sooner if all 1,000 seats fill. The game begins the moment the doors close. No new players after that.
… seats leftSeven clues
Seven clues drop on @chrisberlin at odd hours, marked ⌖. Each one describes the witness. Each lives 60 minutes, then it's gone forever. Use them to cross faces off the crowd below. Every clue you catch also unlocks a private detail about the witness, for your eyes only.
Watch for ⌖Name the witness
When you know, make your guess. One guess per player, sealed so no one can see it or copy it. It counts if you caught at least 3 of the 7 clues. Every guess stays sealed until the last clue's hour ends. Then the first right answer wins the blind bounty.
One guessWhat you need. A seat costs nothing. To catch a clue or make your guess you send a shielded Zcash message from a Zcash wallet such as Zashi or Zingo. Each one carries a tiny amount, 0.0001 ZEC, plus your wallet's network fee. That's what makes it private and timestamped by the blockchain.
Catching a clue. Every clue carries a code. Send that code within the hour to prove you were there. Your catches show on the board.
Your private details. Some faces in the crowd look almost exactly like the witness. The clues on X will only get you close. Each catch unlocks one detail that tells the lookalikes apart, and only you can read yours. Catch more, and fewer faces are left.
The crowd
These are the players. The first faces walked through NULLIFIER. Every face after that took a seat. Lately, faces nobody invited keep sitting down. They look familiar. One face in this crowd is the witness.
Step into the crowd
Add your X handle and your picture joins the crowd. You choose what the world sees. Only seated players can play when the doors close.
Take a seat and this becomes your numbered seat card.
Seat #000
Your post goes out with your seat card as the picture.
Shielded or visible
Zcash lets you choose what the chain reveals. A shielded payment is real and valid, but it doesn't say who sent it.
Here it works the same way. Shielded, your face is in the crowd, but no one can tell whose it is. Your handle is never shown or saved.
Taking a seat needs no wallet and costs nothing. Proving takes one tiny shielded payment, because that is what makes a proof private.
Catch the clues
Each clue on X carries a code. Seal the code inside a shielded Zcash message and send it before the hour runs out. The blockchain is the clock: the block your message lands in decides. Turn on notifications for @chrisberlin.
The game begins when the doors close on Halloween. Take your seat before then. Watch for ⌖.
Your guess
Cross faces off the crowd until one is left. That face becomes your guess.
Your guess counts if you caught at least 3 of the 7 clues with the same shielded address. Guesses stay sealed until the last clue's hour ends.
Your private details
Every clue you catch unlocks one detail about the witness. Only you can read yours. They show here a few minutes after your catch is mined.
- None yet. Catch a clue to unlock one.
Your key: . It rides inside every message you seal from this browser, and it's what unlocks your details. To read them on another device, use the same key there.
Sealed. Now send it.
- Send to
- Amount
- Memo
Send it from a shielded Zcash wallet (Zashi, Zingo, Zkool and others). Scan the code or tap the button and the memo fills in. If your wallet doesn't, paste the memo exactly. A message sent in the last minute still counts if the network mines it within 5 minutes. It lands on the board a few minutes after it's mined. Each clue counts once per player, and each player gets one guess.
The board
What the chain says. Nothing more.
0 sealed · 0 caught · 0 guesses
The witness has been named.
Clues
- None yet. Seven are coming.
Most caught
- No catches yet.
Blind bounty
This is a game, and there is a prize. It stays sealed until the doors close on October 31, or sooner if all 1,000 seats are taken. Then the crowd closes, and only those inside can play:
Things are hidden on this page. Some of them tell you what happens next.
Another Easter egg will be announced soon. Turn on notifications for @chrisberlin so you don't miss it.