by Eric the Puzzler
July 16, 2026
There’s a treasure hunt at the Navy Yard this summer. And I bet it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
Hi, I’m Eric The Puzzler, an adventure puzzle creator in Philadelphia. What’s an adventure puzzle? Basically, a puzzle-based experience that can only be solved by exploring the real world! But don’t think jigsaw—think escape room. My puzzles require lateral thinking, pattern recognition, and careful observation of the world around you. My third annual Philly Treasure Hunt, sponsored by the Navy Yard, is a prime example of this unique type of experience!
I launched my first adventure puzzle in 2021 to provide a fun new way for people to safely reconnect outdoors. The response was super positive, so I continued developing puzzles of all sorts and experimenting in the wide-open field of experiential design. Over the years, puzzling became my primary occupation, and in 2024, the continuing spirit of “let’s see if I can do this” led me to develop the first Philly Treasure Hunt.
I wanted to create a super challenging, super involved adventure puzzle that would send players all over Philly to explore some of the city’s hidden gems. Could I make something interesting? Would people enjoy it?
For a project with zero funding, I spent altogether too much time designing my first treasure hunt. A riddle led to the basement of a ruin in Fairmount Park; geographic locations had to be converted into braille; a cryptic message on the back of a padlock revealed a secret phone number to text; and the treasure was literally buried—in an obscure park in Northeast Philly. But the response from both Puzzlers (that’s what I call my players) and the media was tremendous. I was more than happy to chalk up an Inquirer profile, two tv appearances, and 10,000 new fans as a success. And it meant I would definitely be making another treasure hunt.
Photos courtesy of Eric the Puzzler.
The idea for a hunt at the Navy Yard actually came from my Puzzlers. It turns out that the riddle I wrote for that first hunt had a number of unintentional synchronicities with locations in the Navy Yard, leading multiple teams to visit and explore. As they sent me photos of what they had found and explained how they had interpreted the riddle, they also told me how much fun they’d had despite being nowhere near locations actually involved in the solution—simply because there’s so much cool stuff at the Navy Yard! It was almost like the Navy Yard itself was a hidden gem worth discovering in a treasure hunt.
This idea immediately clicked. I myself had developed a little familiarity with the Navy Yard through Group X projects there over the years, and had done a bit of exploring. I knew that the Puzzlers who sought adventure there were onto something. Luckily, the Navy Yard saw it the same way, and signed on as Presenting Sponsor of The Philly Treasure Hunt 2026! They’ve also rustled up some great prizes for the fastest teams to complete the challenge.
How many sights will you see as you try to solve it? How many of them are actually part of the puzzles? Can you solve it fast enough to win a prize? There’s only one way to find out: start your adventure. Good luck!
—Eric The Puzzler