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Christmas (2024) is coming!
2024-11-21
The mscroggs.co.uk Advent Calendar is back for its tenth year!
Behind each door, there will be a puzzle with a three digit solution. The solution to each day's puzzle forms part of a logic puzzle:
It's nearly Christmas and something terrible has happened: there's been a major malfunction in multiple machines in Santa's toy factory, and
not enough presents have been made. Santa has a backup warehouse full of wrapped presents that can be used in the case of severe emergency, but the warehouse is locked.
You need to help Santa work out the code to unlock the warehouse so that he can deliver the presents before Christmas is ruined for everyone.
The information needed to work out the code to the warehouse is known by Santa and his three most trusted elves: Santa is remembering a three-digit number,
and each elf is remembering a one-digit and a three-digit number. If Santa and the elves all agree that the emergency warehouse should be opened, they can work out the code for the door as follows:
- Santa tells his three-digit number to the first elf.
- The first elf subtracts her three-digit number then multiplies by her one-digit number. She tells her result to the second elf.
- The second elf subtracts his three-digit number then multiplies by his one-digit number. He tells his result to the third elf.
- The third elf subtracts their three-digit number then multiplies by their one-digit number. Their result is a five-digit number that is the code to unlock the warehouse.
But this year, there is a complication: the three elves are on a diplomatic mission to Mars to visit Martian Santa and cannot be contacted, so you need to piece together their
numbers from the clues they have left behind.
Behind each day (except Christmas Day), there is a puzzle with a three-digit answer. Each of these answers forms part of a clue about Santa's and the elves' numbers.
You must use these clues to work out the code for the warehouse.
You can use this page to try opening the door. If you enter an incorrect code three times, the door mechanism locks until the following day.
Ten randomly selected people who solve all the puzzles, open the warehouse, and fill in the entry form behind the door on the 25th will win prizes!
![](javascript:showlimage("prizes2018.jpg"))
The prizes will include an mscroggs.co.uk Advent 2024 T-shirt. If you'd like one of the T-shirts from a previous Advent, they are available to order at merch.mscroggs.co.uk.
The winners will be randomly chosen from all those who submit the entry form before the end of 2024. Each day's puzzle (and the entry form on Christmas Day) will be available from 5:00am GMT. But as the winners will be selected randomly,
there's no need to get up at 5am on Christmas Day to enter!
As you solve the puzzles, your answers will be stored. To share your stored answers between multiple devices, enter your email address below the calendar and you will be emailed a magic link to visit on your other devices.
To win a prize, you must submit your entry before the end of 2024. Only one entry will be accepted per person. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments below,
on Bluesky,
or on Mastodon.
If you'd like to chat with other solvers, we'll be discussing the Advent Calendar in the #scroggs-advent-calendar channel in the Finite Group Discord: you
can join the Discord by following the link in this post on Patreon (you'll need to become a free member
on Patreon to unlock the post).
So once December is here, get solving! Good luck and have a very merry Christmas!
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Comments
Comments in green were written by me. Comments in blue were not written by me.
⭐ top comment (2024-11-24) ⭐
@Ben: Thanks, I've added the "before"Matthew
×2 I am so appreciative that you continue to make these puzzles every year. I think I started doing them in 2017 and always enjoy them. Thank you!×2
Jessica
×2 Thanks Scroggs - first time I've done this and very much enjoyed the days and also the meta-puzzling. Brilliant!!. If you run in future years I have one request for a tiny tweak - I find the numbers on the advent calendar for the days very small for my ageing eye-sight - any chance of a bigger font? And last suggestion - when it gets to the end, provide a link to your "buy me a cup of tea" page as this is more than worth a few £s :-). Thanks again :-)
×1
Justin
×1 @Seth Cohen: Thanks Seth, I solved it by looking at the 5×5 picture and thinking harder. Thanks to Matthew for another enjoyable set of puzzles. I look forward to reading the proper solution.
Reza
Had a great time doing this puzzles again this year! 23 was particularly fun :) Thanks for taking the time to make this!
Bill V.
I enjoyed working the advent puzzles. Thank you for providing such fun entertainment and math challenges! Attempted most without any programming help but some begged for a programming solution. Refreshed some former Python skills to happily solve a few puzzles. Looking forward to math solutions. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!×1
Tony
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