Courtesy of LufCo as our sponsor, Shmooganography returns for our 17th year of hiding messages at the Con. This is a five-stage contest built on tailored steganographic techniques, hiding messages “in plain sight” using blacklights, audio frequencies, packet manipulation, and more. 

This year, we’ve called Indiana Shmoo out of retirement, donning his signature fedora and sticker-encrusted laptop, to hunt down the long-lost golden moose. Each stage of this contest has a <stego technique=”hidden”/> codeword along with a clue to lead you to the next stage. Don’t worry if your whip gets tangled: cleverly released clues will help you boulder your forward. 

The first team to solve and report each stage wins a No Starch Press voucher, and the winning team takes $500 cash back to their warehouse of treasures!  Assemble your adventurous archaeology team and register at http://www.shmooganography.org to start your journey!