The Suffering Puzzle is a puzzle created by KirbySSM and Ness, with multiple contestants. Only three of them made it close to the prize, being Greeb, Wasabi, and thicc.kirb, the lattermost claiming the prize of Discord Nitro for a month and a 'Puzzle Master' role with a hexcode of #e67e22. It is unknown when it was made, but on 02/25/2021 WarriorOfJelly posted an image of the credits page containing the first clue. The puzzle was confirmed by KirbySSM after Greeb solved the first clue by putting it in a Caesar Cypher Decoder. The puzzle started on 02/25/2021, and ended at 03/01/2021. It lasted four days, making it the second-longest non-team event so far.
The Solution[edit | edit source]
These are the steps that the contestants had to do to solve the puzzle.
- Solve a Caesar Cypher hidden in the Kirby Gang Credits Page
- DM a picture of scissors to KirbySSM, to which he sends you another code that was solved by converting the numbers to letters using A=1, Z=26.
- Put a sound file found here through a spectrogram, in which it spells out 'dm the words britafornia to ssm.' If you do so, KirbySSM will send you a new code.
- Decode the code using a Base64 decoder website like this one, and it decyphers into "dm ness fall off your horse :)," and KirbyIsNess will send you a discord invite link to the Spooky Scary Server (from the Halloween event)
- Find an old message in the Spooky Scary Server and decode it into an unlisted Kirby Gang YT video that contained Morse Code.
- Decode the Morse Code into "Project: Termina" and DM it to KirbyIsNess, which he told them that was one of the keys. (Revealing that there are two keys)
- Once this key was sent to KirbySSM, the page mentioned in step three updated to a different Base64 code, which translated to "Void Termina Cult" and was the final key. Once someone sent both keys to KirbySSM, they were proclaimed the winner.
The Hints and The Drama[edit | edit source]
The game was played using multiple online resources, such as Base64 Decoder, a Spectrum Analyzer (for the spectrogram), and Caesar Cypher Decoder. These were used to decode and encode messages, which were then used to find clues on how to continue. There were many red herrings involved, including a picture of chickpeas, a company name, and a picture that could be a spectrogram reading. The last of that list was decoded by Wasabi, who put it through a 'picture to music' decoder. This was a mistake, but a good one, because this made some really good music in the process. KirbyIsNess had to intervene after this, because the group was starting to obsess over solving that one image, only for it to be yet another red herring. This made the contestants extremely mad, but they later remarked that they learned from the experience, plus they got some really good music from it.
One of the hints that KirbySSM gave the contestants was a group of inspirational quotes. Most of them SSM made, while the unimportant(except for one) ones he found online. These quotes showed various inspirational messages, such as "There is more than what meets the eye" and "You only fail when you stop trying". These "Inspirational SSM QuotesTM" were a great boost to the contestant's morale, as they hadn't gotten very far with the hints that they did have. However, KirbySSM quickly realized that the contestants don't really have the braincells to handle this hint, and that he should tell us to stop working on them for they were too complex. He ended up being right in this call.
During the puzzle, it has been described as a 'team buliding exercise,' mostly because many friendships were made, and bonds between people strengthened. HungryKirby, Thicc, and Greeb became friends, which was cool for everyone involved.
The Results[edit | edit source]
At the end of the puzzle, Wasabi, Thicc, and Greeb were all debating who should get the win. Everyone wanted to have it, but nobody wanted to seem selfish. Various people tried to propose a shared prize, and everyone else agreed, but it wasn't all that possible, as the reward can't be split. After all that, they were too indecisive and Thicc got the prize of Classic Nitro from KirbyIsNess for a month.