Monster Tic Tac Toe (SOLVED 6/4/22)

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

First, let's start with the prizes!

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

Monster Tic Tac Toe Instructions (please read before starting the hunt):

1. This is a totally armchair hunt. No travel is required.

2. There are two prizes for this hunt (picture already posted), so two chances to win! Each is valued at about $50. The first person or team to submit a correct answer will be able to choose which prize they want. Winners' names will be announced after the hunt is over.

3. Winners must have a US address.*

4. A winning submission will include all 9 squares of the tic tac toe board correctly answered, as well as the winning combination and direction. There are 9 squares and 12 monsters, so there are 3 monsters that are not used. You do not need to identify these unless you want to.

5. There are 10 parts to the answer: matching the 9 monsters to the correct region/ square, and the winning combination/direction. If any part is incorrect, I will tell you how many are wrong, but not which ones.

6. I will accept the square number &/or region name that goes with the name of the corresponding monster. I have included the first letter of each monster's name to make it easier to identify them. Many of these creatures go by different names in different areas of the world.

7. I will not respond to partial answers

8. You can submit your answer via messaging here on MW, or, if you prefer to send a marked image, you can submit it to me at [e-mail]

9. Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, clarification, or if you feel there is an error.

10. Enjoy the hunt and good luck!

*An alternative prize is available to the first non-US player who submits the correct solution. The original prizes will remain available to those with a US address. The prize for the non-US player will be available as long as the hunt remains open.

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

Here is the hunt, and a link to the PDF: ibb.co/ncMF7yh

*Note: Some of the instruction details on the PDF were changed after I made it up, so read the instructions posted above for correct information. For example, it says there is only one prize and there are two :-)

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

Clarification: The headless man is not one of the correct answers. There are many different names for a headless man around the world. I wanted to eliminate him before too many people pick him. I think some version of him might fit almost every square!

Also, the background map does not have anything to do with the puzzle.

Good luck!

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

I have received two correct answers, so the Tic-Tac-Toe games have been won.

Congratulations to team susb8383 & mike6888, and to medandro for submitting the first two correct solutions!

I have also received additional correct answers, and decided to keep the hunt open until tomorrow night. There will be secondary prizes for any correct submission received by 10pm tomorrow, 6/3/2022.

Thanks and good luck to everyone who is still working on the hunt!

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

The solution to the puzzle:

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

The following hunters submitted correct answers:

Team susb8383 & mike6888
medandro
r3trob1rd
outkastsearcher

Congratulations to the winners, and Kudos to all the hunters who submitted partially correct answers. Identifying cryptid creatures from all over the world and across different cultures and time periods is not easy!

A new hunt will be coming soon!

Thanks all!

-FHH

I've been having some issues with the proboards forum. This is the third time I've tried to post this message, but it hasn't shown up, and I get an error code. So I apologize if this ends up multiple times! Third time a charm?

Also, let me know via my email, [e-mail] if you submitted an answer here on the forum that I have not responded to. Another issue I've been having is sometimes messages don't show up, or show up in the wrong order.

[stercox]

Congrats to the finders!

[susb8383]

I just have to post this total Pie Crust, something that fits 100% but isn't the right answer.

Since FHH used the Mercator Arctic map from 1595 as the background, I plotted these locations on the Mercator world map from 1595. And just about everything had 3 dots in a row. But the only three that also fit a winning configuration on the tic-tac-toe board was Egypt, Basque Spain, and Australia. So I got the right answer for the wrong reason at first.

Amazing coincidence!