Bob’s 2011 Christmas Puzzle Card

This year’s puzzle incorporates a transparency. The goal is to combine two seemingly random images— one on the card, one on the transparent overlay— to reveal a hidden message. In fact, there are three hidden messages to be found.

Two image files are provided. The first is the card (pdf version png version). This should be printed on regular white paper or card stock. It is very important to prevent any scaling that may happen during the printing process. The images on the card and the overlay must be printed precisely at their original scale, or the puzzle will not work.

The second image file is the overlay (pdf version png version). This should be printed on transparency. Office supply stores used to sell sheets of letter sized transparency film suitable for ink jet printers. If those are not available, you can print on white paper and take it to a copying center to be transferred to a transparency.

Puzzle Instructions

Line up the four corners of the overlay with the four corners of one of the images on the card. Both the overlay and the card images have registration marks in all four corners to aid this process, similar to the corners of QR 2D bar codes. When you have them lined up just right, a hidden message will appear among the snowy darkness.

Once you have found the hidden message in one image, try to find the other two hidden messages.


Line up the images on your computer screen

Find Hidden Message 1 interactively (smaller version)
Find Hidden Message 2 interactively (smaller version)
Find Hidden Message 3 interactively (smaller version)

Solutions

(don't look if you don't want to see ‘em!)
Hidden Message 1
Hidden Message 2
Hidden Message 3

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