The world's puzzle hunt

The US Puzzle Championship is taking place online on June 15^th, which is this Saturday; the details will be posted at the USPC 2013 site imminently. US solvers interested in consideration for the perennially-top-contender national team at the World Puzzle Championship need to start solving at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK time; last year, unofficial contestants had the freedom to choose when to start their participation, with the same 2½-hour time limit.

It's always a good contest and you'll be able to download the instructions for the types of puzzles in advance, so you can see whether this year's bundle suits your taste or not. (The event isn't being used to determine a place on the UK team this year; UK solvers only have one online contest to earn one of three spots on the team. Hey, I don't make the rules.)

After DASH a week and a bit ago, I've been in a puzzle-y mood pretty much non-stop. Accordingly, now is as good a time as any to make a post I've been planning to make for over four months, about this year's MIT Mystery Hunt. ( This is the point where you'll know whether you're interested in reading or not. )

( The world's different puzzling traditions. )