Pandora is a puzzle game that is played on the campus of the University of Twente. Teams get five days to earn as much points as possible. To give new players some insight in how Pandora is played a short explanation of the gameplay is given below.
Every evening a meeting is held. During the meetings a story will be told with a conclusion towards the final meeting. Teams also receive the first puzzle of the day at the meeting. During the first meeting the rules of Pandora will be explaned in details and changes relative to earlier years will be indicated. Teams will also receive their weapons, kill codes (business cards) and other useful equipment. It is of utmost importance that all members of your team will be present. On the last day of Pandora a drink will be held at which the victors will be rewarded.
After teams receive their first puzzle during the meeting the quest has started. Solving a puzzle results in the location at which the next puzzle is located. Every puzzle contains a puzzle code which, when submitted to the website, rewards your team with points. Solving the first 5 puzzles gives a time bonus. The first team to solve the first 5 puzzles gets the most points. Teams after that gradually receive less points. Puzzles linger on campus until the next meeting. After this time they can no longer be submitted on the website to earn points. Solving puzzles will unlock extra parts of the story.
At every meeting every team member receives a personal kill code (business card). This can be seen as your license to kill. During Pandora you can shut down members of other teams by hitting them with your weapon. When a person 'dies', he or she hands over their kill code to the killer and can no longer engage combat with others. When the next meeting starts, you get a new kill code and can battle again. Losing your kill code does not mean all hope is lost. Without a kill code you may still participate in puzzling and you can also walk around on campus as long as you do not carry a weapon (since this could confuse other teams). Every kill code can be submitted to the website once to receive points. As long as you are alive, you should wear your item of recognizition with the white side facing outwards. When you die, you should flip it around to show the red side. This way people can tell if you have been killed but also if you are allowed to kill them.
During Pandora teams can find bonus puzzles. Solving a bonus puzzle awards your team with points, just like regular puzzles do. Usually these puzzles are harder to solve or harder to find. Luckily you do not have to submit a bonus puzzle before the next meeting. The deadline to submit a bonus puzzle is before the final drink on Friday.
Like every other Pandora edition, a Cake Drink will take place. During this drink everyone (including people who do not participate in Pandora) can deliver a homemade baking. These bakings will be judged by the MeisCie and can reward your team with some deadly prices.
In case of uncertainties take a look at the rules of Pandora. For further question, please contact the committee.
The campus map used during Pandora can be found here. Puzzle solutions which reference building numbers or building names can be found on this map. If another map differs from the map provided above the map above is leading. Also, a translation of the map is provided here and a translation of works of art on the campus is provided here. Naturally, all names used in Pandora will be the official, thus Dutch names.
The playing field of Pandora is limited to parts of the campus. Some parts are forbidden because of security measures or to restrict disturbance of locals and visitors. A map with a complete overview of the playing field can be found here.