REALLY REALLY EVIL CERTIFICATE META-METAPUZZLE

by Sean Trowbridge, Mark L. Gottlieb, Mike Selinker, Amanda O'Connor, and Evan Davis

Final activity: Beaning the Devil with a snowball made from the certificate pentagrams

The meta-metapuzzle that ends the hunt is found in the seals on the 12 certificates gotten for completing the major tasks. Solve all metapuzzles to obtain all the certificates (PDF). Solve the Hell puzzles to get instructions:

FIND MOTTO WORDS
IN ODD LINES
CHANGE EACH TO TWENTY
SECOND SUBSEQUENT WORD
SKIPPING ARTICLES
UNIQUELY TRANSFORM EACH SET
JOIN IDENTICAL SIDES

In each certificate, search for the 5 motto words where they occur in odd numbered lines (counting certificate titles). These words are colored red in this answer PDF. Decode these words by counting 22 words forward (not counting "a", "an", and "the"). The decoded words are colored green.

Replace the motto words with the resulting words in the seal (again, shown in green). Now, identify the transformation rule of each of the first 11 seals. Transform each of the words on the seal according to the seal's rule. In this answer key, the transformation rule is shown inside each seal, and the transformed words are labeled in blue on the seals.

Once properly transformed, each word has an exact match on another seal. Cut the seals out into pentagons. Join each pair of matching pentagon sides, in three dimensions, to form a dodecahedron with one missing side.

On the 12th certificate, decode the motto to read REPLACE MOTTO TO DEFEAT DEVIL. To find the correct replacement motto, you must backsolve the final certificate. Gather the five words from the unmatched sides of your assembly. (These words are labeled in blue on the seal on this page.) Identify the transformation rule which yields words which appear on the certificate. Locate the transformed words, then count backwards 22 words (skipping "a", "an", and "the") to find, in odd numbered lines, the new motto words - BEAN DEVIL WITH THIS SNOWBALL.

Add the 12th side to the dodecahedron and follow the final motto's instructions (go to Hell and throw the magical snowball you have created at the Devil) to defeat him. This is the last task in the Mystery Hunt, and it lets the team regain its collective soul.