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PICTURE OF THE WEEK: The 2003 Google US Puzzle Championship

Google, the premier internet search engine, is taking its puzzling nature to the next level. This Saturday, May 31st, Google will hold an online puzzle competition for citizens of the US and Canada. The top two US competitors and top three Canadian competitors will be added to their national teams and compete in the World Puzzle Championships in the Netherlands in October, 2003. Additionally, contestants from countries other than the US and Canada are invited to participate; extraordinary scores will be forwarded to the World Puzzle Championship director of the individual's home country for consideration and possible inclusion in their national team. Furthermore, if a contestant's country does not currently participate in the World Puzzle Championship, they may be offered an individual birth into the competition.

The competition set to start at 1:00pm EST and has a running time of exactly two and a half hours (150 minutes). Contestants will submit their answers, in a explicit form, online. There are a total of twenty-three mind-numbing, tongue-twisting, puzzles, ranging in a point value of 5 to 25, with possible 5-point bonuses on extra-tough puzzles. Wrong answers are penalized 5 points, while skipped puzzles incur no penalties. For every one minute of late answer submission, contestant's final scores are penalized 10 points.

A practice test and practice instructions have been provided by Google and the WPC (World Puzzle Championships), and are currently available online; both, like the real test and instructions-sheet, are in PDF format and password protected. Contestants can now download the actual test and instructions, and although the password for the test itself will not be provided online until the start of the test, it is recommended that all participants read through the directions before the start of the competition.

The US and Canadian winners will be posted on June 4th, with a complete list of participant scores being posted later in the week.

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