Mary was so kind to create a puzzle guideline for all the new bamboozlers and riddle returnees to help you solve the “harder” puzzles:

In most of our puzzles which are marked "hard" you have to find files. These files have to be downloaded from our server.
You may find hints and tips for the file name or the extension in the puzzle text/image or in the page source (PS)

Page Source:
Right-click with your mouse in the field with the puzzle text. A context menu should open: select show page source. The page source window will be opened. Scroll down until you come across the puzzle text. If there is additional information hidden in the source text, you can recognize it easily: Normally, the font color is green and preceded by these characters: <---

Puzzle Text:
Sometimes, the puzzle text can give you a hint how to further proceed:
The puzzle creator may have choosen another font, bold types or italics. Look for Capital letters in unusual places, too.

Puzzle image:
It can be very helpful to save the puzzle image on your computer and to access the file properties with a right mouse click. Our puzzle creators love to hide hints there, too.
Zoom in! This may help you to find hints concerning the file extensions.

Some examples for file extension hints:

• If an image (.jpg, .bmp, .png or .gif) has to be found, the text may look like this: look at this or take a look at...
  Sometimes there may be also a hint for the filename, e.g.: "Take a look at the easteregg and add the first word from the PS"
• If we are looking for a .doc, the word “write” is often used, or “go see a doctor”.
• The letters for a file extension are often hidden in a very tiny font in the image itself, or in bold in the puzzle text.

Over the time, you will learn to look for these little hints

Some common file extensions:

• Images: jpg, bmp, gif
• Text: doc, pdf, txt
• Sometimes you have to find an audio or a video file: .mp4 (Video) or .mp3 (Music)

To be a little mean, some files are hidden with extensions that don't really exist.
E.g.: papa.mama
Just download these files, rename the extension in papa.doc and now you can open it.

If you think that you have found the right file name, you can download the file from our server.
For the time being this is the URL:http://bamboozles.net/blubb/filename.extension
E.g. if you are looking for an example.jpg you have to enter http://bamboozles.net/blubb/example.jpg into your browser's address bar.

File name conventions: No capitals, no blank spaces, no special characters (example: threelittlebears.jpg).
If the file name is correct you will either see the file immediately or a window „save under“ will open. If the file name is incorrect, you will receive an error message.

These files may contain various ciphers, secret languages, codings and riddles. The main goal in most of the puzzles is to find what it is all about. If a complicated cipher has been used, you will normally get a hint, to make it easier for you to find this cipher. And don’t forget: your new best friends are „google“ and „wikipedia“

How to google “right”:

• Do not only search for one word – combine several words from the puzzle text
• Googling a whole passage of the text may help, too
• Google words, sentences put in inverted commas – this will return different hits.

And, finally, if you have no idea how to proceed, do not give up immediately. Even puzzle experts are sometimes at a loss. Let it all sink in for a while, read through everything again later. Sometimes, you may find hints and tips in the corresponding puzzle thread, left there by other bamboozlers who have solved the puzzle. And if you really have no idea what to do – send a PM to a member of the team. Just state your level, give us a short description at which point you are stuck and we will be a helping hand.