Task Settings

Each task (level) in the game has a set of parameters that define the logic of its passage, auto-transitions, hints release, and bonus calculation.

To pass a level, players must submit one or more correct codes.

• Case Sensitivity: By default, code comparison is case-insensitive.
• Synonyms: You can specify multiple correct variations (synonyms) for a single code, separating them by commas or writing them on separate lines.
• Code Types: Codes can be main (required to pass the level) or bonus (rewarding the team with bonus seconds or points).

You can set up any number of hints for each level.

• Timer: Hints are released automatically after a specified time (in seconds or minutes) after the team enters the level.
• Penalty Hints: Hints can be set as penalty-based — in this case, players can open them prematurely but will receive a time or point penalty.

Sometimes you want a hint released straight away, but with its contents kept out of sight until the player asks for them. To do that, wrap the hint text in a collapsible block right in “Source” mode:

<details><summary>Click to see the hint</summary>
<p>Hint text</p>
</details>

The same effect with a button that disappears once pressed:

<button class="btn btn-default" onclick="this.style.display='none'; this.parentNode.nextElementSibling.style.display='block';">Show the hint</button>
<div style="display:none"><p>Hint text</p></div>

Bear in mind that text hidden this way still sits in the page source — this is a convenience, not protection. If the contents must not be reachable before their time, use the ordinary hint timer or templates.

Example in game

• Regular Bonuses: Linked to a specific level.
• Global (Spanning) Bonuses: Available across multiple levels (e.g. from level 5 to 10). If a team enters the correct answer on level 5, they cannot submit it again on level 6. Spanning bonuses for the entire game can be set from levels 1 to 999.

To protect against brute-force (guessing) answers, you can set attempt limits.

• Limits can be set globally for the level (e.g., maximum 50 attempts per minute for the whole team) or individually per player.
• If the limit is exceeded, the input field is blocked for the team for a configured cooldown period.

This is what the player sees: above the box, how long is left to wait; below it, how many attempts in what time they are allowed.

The block holding the lockout timer can be restyled, or have your own element attached to it — see Level Page Elements.

Example in game

The “Auto-transition” field sets the time after which the level closes on its own, even if the team has not passed it. It usually holds a duration in seconds, counted from the moment the team entered the level, so the auto-transition happens at a different time for every team.

Sometimes you need the level to close for everyone at once at a particular moment — in a multi-day game, say, where the new day's task starts at an appointed hour. For that, put the unix time of the moment into the same field (a large number instead of a duration). Such an auto-transition does not depend on when the team reached the level.

It is easy to tell apart by its behaviour in testing: restarting the level does not reset the time left until the auto-transition, and winding the level time forward in test mode does not bring it any closer.

Example in game

Normally a level closes as soon as all the codes are in — and any bonuses left unsolved are lost with it. The “Close level: Smart” option changes that: if the codes are in but unsolved bonuses remain on the level, the task does not close by itself. A “Finish the task” button appears instead.

Until the team presses it, the players can calmly finish off the bonuses. Handy on levels where the bonuses are worth more than the time, and it would be a shame to lose them just because somebody entered the last code too early.

Example in game

When playing in zones with poor mobile internet, enabling offline checking allows players to see the status of their submissions without waiting for a server response.

1. Upon entering the level, hash codes of the answers are downloaded to the player's browser.
2. If there is no internet, submitted answers are placed in a local queue.
3. Pending answers are instantly color-coded: green (correct), red (incorrect), and white (unknown/sending).
4. As soon as the connection is restored, the queue is automatically sent to the server.

Warning (Security): Because offline hashes are stored on the client side, technically advanced players could run local brute-force scripts to guess the code, especially if it is short or follows a known pattern (e.g. word + digits).

To protect against code guessing, add a penalty bonus with decoy codes (trap codes).

• For example, if the correct code is: baguette432.
• Add a hidden bonus with the code: baguette178 (and a penalty for solving it).
• To hide the bonus, write the special marker %hide% in its description. Teams won't know the trap exists, but automated brute-force scripts will hit it and receive a penalty.

Offline checking is disabled by default. It is recommended to enable it only on levels where poor network coverage is expected.

Example in game