Only 36 People Have Solved The Internet's Hardest Puzzle

Over time, we've put together quite a collection of puzzles and riddles for the internet's aspiring geniuses and code-breakers. Some test your eagle eyes by asking you to find a hidden part of a bigger picture, while others are more interested in how keen your sense of logic is.

Yet, some riddlers will go above and beyond the usual tricks and test every bit of knowledge and problem-solving skill you could possibly have. In terms of challenge, only one seems to outdo them all. It's called Notpron and it's widely known as the hardest riddle on the internet.

How hard could it be? Well, about 17 million people have tried the puzzle since 2004. Of these many comers, only 36 have officially beaten it. Of course, the most difficult challenges are always the most enticing, aren't they? Not only do they inspire so much curiosity about what could possibly be so difficult about them, but they also inspire an instant dreamy feeling.

Imagine being number 37 and knowing that you succeeded where literally millions have failed. You won't know you can do it until you try.

But first, let's find out a little more about this mysterious game.

COMMENT and tell us how far you got before Notpron asked the impossible. 

The puzzle begins simply enough.

All you have to do is click on the door. Do that, and you've just passed level one.

Yet, level two sets the stage for the kind of game this is.

The game asks you to get to level three and advises you to "trick it or reach LEVEL3 in a different way." While you might normally be inclined to click around the screen, the answer actually lies in changing the "2" in the URL to a "3" and going to the next page.

Your hint to do this is the finger pointing upwards.

Based on the gloomy images, some players may start to get suspicious.

Rest assured that this isn't one of those sites that starts as a puzzle and ends up screaming at full volume. All Münnich is trying to do is challenge you, not scare you.

For the first nine levels, Münnich provides you with a few hints.

However, you're on your own after that. That may not sound so bad until you realize that the game is 140 levels long.

And it's not just simple brain-teasers, either.

Some answers are hidden in the site's source code.

Others require you to edit images to find hidden information and some even depend on knowledge of different file formats to progress.

However, even the most tech-savvy of players will likely still get stuck.

Münnich enjoys forcing players to "work around the system" to succeed. He said that his favorite part is level 72, which apparently makes the player step away from their computer and handcraft something to progress.

When Münnich started the game, it was just a series of riddles.

Going by his hints screen, it seems like it had about 81 levels back in 2004. However, as he added more levels over time, Münnich started to get interested in fringe ideas and philosophies. 

So what does this mean for the player?

Later parts of the game apparently have to do with remote viewing.

Normally this would mean you'd more or less have to be psychic to complete it but it's unknown how exactly Münnich put such a mechanic into his riddles

Apparently, whatever he did didn't make the game impossible since at least three people have managed to beat it within the last two years.

Regardless of how you do it, it seems like you have to expect the unexpected.

The fact that discussion forums and communities have sprouted up with possible solutions to beat it apparently hasn't done much to raise the success rate. The later levels must truly have some far out puzzles behind them.

Münnich said the best strategy is to play as a team.

He said that the winners are usually small groups of friends who put every team member's strengths to use. As he put it, "I don't think anyone beat the game all alone, because you need to possess so many different skills, that it's nearly impossible for a single person."

So what do you get if you do win?

To answer this, there's a part we know about and a part we don't.

What we do know is that each winner gets a certificate stating, among other things, that they "persisted with a broad range of complex ways of thinking, while maintaining focus and dedication over a long period."

There's also a secret prize that only the 36 winners know about.

When asked about this reward, Münnich only said, "I made sure the last one is really special, and if you beat it, you experience something that might change your whole idea of how the universe works. Doesn’t that sound mysterious and provoking? But I actually mean it."

For as hard as this challenge is, this secret reward better do just that.

None of the winners have angrily posted the solutions online yet so I guess it was reasonably satisfying.

Don't forget to COMMENT and tell us how you did with the internet's supreme challenge.