Event Recap

BAPHL 26 occured Saturday, May 2nd, 2026, from 10 AM to 6 PM. Conspiracy theorists from near and far gathered at the Parkman Bandstand in Boston Common to receive their special request from Boston's Alternate Past Historical Lore Society, then investigated four theories at Boston Public Garden, Copley Square, the Emerald Necklace, and the Esplanade.

Statistics

A total of 66 teams joined the investigation. 32 teams solved in the Flat Earther (Normal) division, and 34 teams solved in the Illuminati (Hard) division. A total of 32 teams finished BAPHL 26, including:

• 21 at the event (or in the hours that followed) on Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
• 11 over the course of the following week
• 20 in the Illuminati division
• 12 in the Flat Earther division

Puzzles & Solutions

All puzzles and solutions are now available below. (Intro materials and round cover sheets will be uploaded soon. Author notes will also eventually be included for those curious about how these puzzles came to be!)

BAPHL 26 was structured as four independent rounds, each representing a theory of Boston's history and consisting of four feeder puzzles and a metapuzzle. Investigators then traveled back to the Parkman Bandstand for one final meta-meta puzzle.

Location A: Aliens (Boston Public Garden)

Location B: Hell (Copley Square)

Location C: Vikings (Emerald Necklace Statues)

Location D: Cats (Esplanade)

Metameta:

Some solutions are still being improved. If you believe you have identified an error with a puzzle or solution, please contact baphl26@baphl.org.

Credits & Thank Yous

BAPHL 26 was organized by members of MIT Puzzle Club and Grad Unified Theory.

Puzzle Authors (credited beneath their puzzles)

Rebecca Chang, Annie Guo, Dyne Lee, Marvin Mao, Atul Shatavart Nadig, Aloysius Ng, Sanjay Johnson, Gautam Prabhu, Madhav Sankaranarayanan, Nick Sbalbi, Alex Stoneman

Editing and Logistics

Annie Guo, Alex Stoneman

Event Staffing

Rebecca Chang, Ryan Dong, Rachel Gao, Annie Guo, Angela Kim, Riley Kong, Dyne Lee, Benson Lin, Marvin Mao, Atul Shatavart Nadig, Aloysius Ng, ZZ Ong, Gautam Prabhu (test solve), Nick Sbalbi, Alex Stoneman

Art

Rebecca Chang (round icons and stickers), Angela Kim (banner)

Story and Skit

Rachel Gao, Annie Guo, Dyne Lee, Riley Kong, Atul Shatavart Nadig, Aloysius Ng, Nick Sbalbi, Alex Stoneman

Website, Registration, and Communications

Alex Stoneman

Internal Test Solvers

Annie Guo, Dyne Lee, Marvin Mao, Atul Shatavart Nadig, Aloysius Ng, Sanjay Johnson, Gautam Prabhu, Nick Sbalbi, Alex Stoneman

External Test Solvers

BASSOON!!!! (Lucas Boo, Ryan Dong, Brendon Jiang, Angela Kim), Aisha Hsu Arroyo, Andy Davis, Nathan Dilday, Julian Martinez, Madeline White

Special Thanks

Thank you to Hubert Hwang for supporting the broader planning of BAPHL 26 and BAPHLs in general. Thank you to all teams for an awesome, historic BAPHL!