Opportunity brief
Event Overview
Sherlocked: The Architect's Fallacy is a three-round, narrative-driven game combining aptitude, quantitative reasoning, logical thinking, and a campus-wide treasure hunt. A renowned, reclusive mathematics professor has mysteriously disappeared overnight. His sealed chamber contains an automated terminal displaying the college's blueprints and a chilling warning: "A catastrophic calculation error exists in the campus archives. Once the clock strikes zero, the leak goes public. Prove my theorem wrong, or watch the legacy crumble." Participants take on the role of forensic analysts tasked with tracing the professor's whereabouts, recovering his misplaced ledger, and preventing the impending leak.
Round-Wise Structure and Storyline
Round 1: The Breadcrumb Trail - General Aptitude (Online on Unstop)
Teams begin their investigation by analysing the professor's mysterious disappearance. This screening round tests quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, analytical ability, and general problem-solving. Their performance determines which teams are capable of proceeding deeper into the investigation.
- Date: 2nd Nov (online)
Round 2: The Antagonist Appears - Storyline-Based Aptitude (On-campus)
The investigation intensifies as teams encounter interconnected question sets involving mathematics, quantitative aptitude, logic, and situational problem-solving. Each set reveals another piece of the professor's research and the alleged calculation error. As teams progress, they receive contradictory hints and cryptic messages from an anonymous figure claiming to be the professor's former research partner, warning them not to trust the terminal. Participants must distinguish reliable evidence from deliberate misdirection to uncover the next stage of the mystery.
- Date: 5th Nov (offline)
Round 3: The Closed-Loop Simulation - Campus Treasure Hunt (On campus - final round)
Teams follow coded journal entries, solve physical alignment puzzles disguised as flyers, and interpret spatial riddles hidden around designated campus landmarks to locate the research vault. However, the final revelation overturns everything. The professor himself is the anonymous whistleblower, and the entire investigation is a carefully designed simulation testing the participants' resourcefulness, judgement, and ethics. The supposed exploit code, which promises an individual victory, would actually release the university's research data into the public domain. Teams must decide whether to pursue individual success or cooperate to discover an alternate override sequence and complete the professor's theorem. The game culminates in a final test of teamwork, integrity, and critical thinking.
- Date: 5th Nov (offline)
Venue and Logistics
- Preferred venue: Room 102 or Room 103, subject to availability.
Resources Required
- Microphone
- Podium
- Projector
- Printing of question papers, answer sheets, posters, coded messages, and clue sheets
- Permission to place clues at designated locations around the campus
- Theme based decor
The event will primarily utilise printed materials and existing college infrastructure, requiring minimal additional resources or decoration.