Rating (1-5):

Reviewed by Nick
HackQuest Web Site
Type of Site: Mental Challenges

I found www.hackquest.de in Google. I like this site because it provides very difficult mental challenges that make you think and learn. As you solve each challenge you are given a password, which is used to add points to your ongoing score. (You must be at least 13 to register.)

The challenges are separated into categories. The easiest for beginners is the logic section, because you don’t really have to know much but math and logic. Some of these are word problems, others are just a series of numbers which can be used to arrive at a special number. Here’s the type of riddle or question you might find:

Seven people walk into a square room which has no windows.
They found a dead man who had clearly hung himself from the ceiling, but they couldn't figure out how he did it.
There was no chair or table that he might of jumped off.
The only thing there was a puddle of water.

How did he do it?

Answer: He stood on a block of ice, which eventually melted.

Other challenge categories help introduce you to computer concepts, like programming, JavaScript, etc. to complete the challenge. For example, there was one challenge in a JavaScript category, where I had to look at the source code of the webpage to find the password. It’s really cool. (To view the source code of this page, click ‘View’ on your browser menu, and scrolldown to ‘Source’; you’ll see what I mean.)

There are forums for members to share ideas about each puzzle, but no one gives the answers, just hints. Some of the puzzles are really tricky, so if you’re a quitter don’t join Hackquest. The challenge selection screen shows you how many people have completed it, so you can see which ones are hard or easy. I get frustrated with many of the puzzles, but I love it when I solve one. If you like mental challenges, give it a try.

Labels: online games, website review