Ready Player 50
Ready Player 50 has ended in all time zones! CS50 Certificates were awarded to anyone who solved all seven (7) levels. See cs50.medium.com/this-was-ready-player-50-f7bb38c65fce for a summary! You can still play the game at gandalf.lakera.ai/cs50 for fun, but you can no longer submit!
Like to learn more about artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs), and prompt engineering? Join CS50 for Ready Player 50! Register at cs50.ly/register.
The CS50 Duck has a secret. Can you convince it to reveal its secret? Join CS50 and Lakera.ai for a challenge in which you’ll face none other than CS50’s duck debugger, aka ddb, an experimental AI for rubberducking. But be warned: each time you crack the code, the CS50 Duck will “level up” and become more protective.
Along the way, learn about prompt engineering and, in turn, prompt-injection attacks, which can be a problem with large language models. This challenge is a new version of the world-famous prompt-injection game Gandalf, specifically designed for CS50.
Starts 00:00 on Friday, September 29, 2023, in your own time zone. Ends 23:59 on Monday, October 2, 2023, in your own time zone. Teams of size 2, 3, or 4 are encouraged, but you may form larger teams of reasonable size.
Open to anyone online, whether taking CS50 or not. No prior programming experience required.
Register officially at cs50.ly/register anytime before 23:59 on Monday, October 2, 2023, in your own time zone. Every member of your team should register individually by submitting the form as well.
Table of Contents
- How does it work?
- What are the rules?
- Photos (and memes)!
- How to practice?
- Looking for teammates?
- Questions?
- How to submit?
- Who are the winners?
- What are the right answers?
- Souvenir Photo
- Acknowledgements
How does it work?
- Anytime after 00:00 on Friday, September 29, 2023, in your own time zone, visit cs50.ly/ready for the challenge.
- Your team will then have until the end of Monday, October 2, 2023, in your own time zone, to solve as many levels as you can. You’ll submit your answers online via a Google Form at cs50.ly/submit.
- Take photos while you work on the levels (or screenshots of your team collaborating online)! We’ll then share them online if you’d like.
- On 2023-10-05T17:00:00-04:00/2023-10-05T18:00:00-04:00, we’ll hold a live walkthrough of the challenge’s levels via Zoom. If unable to attend live, you can also watch on demand afterward.
- CS50 certificates will be awarded to the teams that solve the most levels.
- Open to anyone online, whether taking CS50 or not. No prior programming experience required. All you’ll need is a computer with internet access.
What are the rules?
- Teams of size 2, 3, or 4 are encouraged, but you may form larger teams of reasonable size. Consider, though, that the larger your team, the less each team member will be challenged! Teams deemed by CS50’s staff to be of unreasonable size will be disqualified and ineligible for certificates.
- Teams may not share hints or answers with other teams. Teams deemed by CS50’s staff to have shared hints or answers with other teams will be disqualified and ineligible for certificates.
- Using AI-based software (e.g., ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Bing Chat, et al.) is allowed.
Photos (and memes)!
Take photos while you work on the challenge (or screenshots of your team collaborating online)! Or create Ready Player 50-related memes! Share them at cs50.ly/photos if you’d like!
Albums
How to practice?
Try out gandalf.lakera.ai!
Looking for teammates?
Post in any of CS50’s communities if looking to form a team! Perhaps share a little bit about yourself in your post.
Questions?
If you have questions about the challenge, email outreach@cs50.harvard.edu, and we’ll do our best to reply! Afraid, though, we won’t be able to offer any hints or tips!
How to submit?
Submit your answers at cs50.ly/submit by 23:59:59 on Monday, October 2, 2023, in your own time zone!
Who are the winners?
CS50 Certificates were awarded to anyone who solved all seven (7) levels! See cs50.medium.com/this-was-ready-player-50-f7bb38c65fce for more!
Expecting a certificate and didn't get one?
All certificates have been issued. If you were amongst the winners, you will have received an email with a link to claim your certificate. If you haven’t, review the copy of your form responses that you received when you submitted to see where you went wrong. If you never received that confirmation email, you most likely submitted with an incorrect email address. Afraid there’s nothing we can do to fix that now.
What are the right answers?
Souvenir Photo
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to CS50’s friends at Lakera! And to Sophie Anderson for the artwork!