Cipher Hunt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cipher Hunt

Date	July 20 – August 2, 2016 (2016-07-20 – 2016-08-02)
Location	Japan  Russia  United States
Type	Alternate reality game, Scavenger hunt
Organised by	Alex Hirsch
Outcome	Statue of Bill Cipher was found in a forest in Reedsport, Oregon. It was later removed and temporarily placed at Reedsport's Bicentennial Park, before being permanently relocated to Confusion Hill in Piercy, California.

Cipher Hunt was a super fun, real-life treasure hunt that felt like a video game! It was created by Alex Hirsch, the person who made the popular Disney Channel show Gravity Falls. The main goal was to find a real statue of Bill Cipher, a tricky character from the show. This statue was briefly seen at the very end of the Gravity Falls series finale.

The hunt started on July 20, 2016, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It ended on August 2, 2016, when the statue was found in a forest in Reedsport, Oregon. After being found, the statue had to move a few times. First, it went to a park in Reedsport. Later, it found its permanent home at Confusion Hill in Piercy, California.

Starting the Adventure: The Cipher Hunt Begins

Fans of Gravity Falls had a big question after the show ended in February 2016. They wondered if a real statue of Bill Cipher existed. This was because the final episode, "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls", showed a real Bill Cipher statue. It also had a secret message hinting at a "buried treasure" and a statue "beyond the rusty gates."

For months, Alex Hirsch and the show's team didn't say anything about a statue. But on July 20, 2016, Alex Hirsch tweeted, "Are you guys ready?" This tweet kicked off the game! It included the words "Let the games begin #FLSKHUKXQW" and a picture with secret codes and clues.

Alex Hirsch also shared the rules on Twitter. He made it clear that this hunt was a fan-made tribute, not officially connected to Disney. He asked fans to be safe and respectful. Most clues were in public places, so trespassing or damaging property was not allowed. Fans worked together using social media like Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit. They shared their findings and helped each other solve the puzzles.

The Global Treasure Hunt: Clue by Clue

The Cipher Hunt took fans on an amazing journey around the world!

Clue 1: Saint Petersburg, Russia

The Kazan Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, where the first clue was found.

After the hunt was announced, the first clue's location was hinted to be in Russia. This was discovered by decoding some red letters in the initial tweet's image. Fans recognized a drawing in the image as the Kazan Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. They used another diagram to find the exact spot inside the cathedral. The first clue was successfully found!

Clue 2: Tokyo, Japan

The Kanda Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo, the location of the second clue.

The first clue's message pointed to Japan. It mentioned a "shrine" and "yen", Japan's money. The second clue was at the Kanda Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Alex Hirsch and his partner, Dana Terrace, had visited this shrine earlier. The clue was on the back of a special wooden wish plaque called an ema. It had a drawing and a secret message.

Clue 3: Atlanta, Georgia

The second clue led to Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. The clue mentioned "the hunter of the fountain of youth" and "400 before his name." This referred to Juan Ponce de León and an address on Ponce de Leon Avenue. The address led to a building called a Shriners' temple. Fans found a missing poster for Waddles, Mabel Pines's pet pig, in the area. The poster had a picture of Waddles, a secret code, and a phone number. When called, the number played a reversed message from Grunkle Stan, a main character from the show.

Clue 4: Los Angeles, California

Ochre Court in Newport, Rhode Island, the original spot for the fourth clue.

Griffith Park in Los Angeles, where the new fourth clue was found.

The phone message from Grunkle Stan said the fourth clue was at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. But the university had accidentally thrown the clue away! Alex Hirsch promised a new clue and asked fans to stay away from the university. Soon after, he tweeted another phone number.

This new number played another message from Grunkle Stan. It said the new clue was near the statue of Griffith J. Griffith at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California. Fans found a golden head of Grunkle Stan there. Inside it was a paper with a code and a special invisible ink pen to reveal hidden messages.

Clue 5: Century City, California

The fourth clue's message led to Century City, Los Angeles, California. The clue was in a park shaped like the Eye of Providence, a symbol from the show. Gravity Falls voice actor Jason Ritter and Alex Hirsch's twin sister, Ariel Hirsch, even joined fans in the hunt! They found a black pouch with a USB stick. The USB stick had an audio file of Grunkle Stan being teased by a ghost.

Clue 6: Santa Clarita, California

The fifth clue clearly stated the next location: the California State Summer School for the Arts in Santa Clarita, California. It also said only students could get to it. The sixth clue was found in the campus's basement. It was a drawing of Bill Cipher and a series of hex codes (a type of computer code) on a wall.

Clue 7: Piedmont, California

The hex codes from the sixth clue gave coordinates that led to Piedmont, California. This is the hometown of the Pines twins and Alex Hirsch himself! Following hints from the Waddles poster and Alex Hirsch, fans found a pink key tied to a tree stump in Piedmont Park. They also found a small chest with a Cryptex, which is a puzzle box locked with a five-letter word.

Clue 8: Los Angeles, California

Using a keyword from the very first Cipher Hunt image, the cryptex was opened. Inside was the clue and another key. This key was for a PO box at a USPS post office in Los Angeles, California.

After some time, a fan with the key opened the PO box. The eighth clue was a plastic bag filled with two thousand jigsaw puzzle pieces! Fans got stuck on this puzzle for a while. After two days, Alex Hirsch tweeted a rough idea of what the finished puzzle should look like. A fan even created a digital version to help. Finally, through a big group effort, the puzzle was solved digitally.

Clue 9: Portland, Oregon

While the puzzle was still being worked on, a fan in Portland, Oregon, saw a lawn gnome. Knowing about the hunt, they picked it up. Underneath, they found a View-Master and the ninth clue!

Even though the clue was found early, Alex Hirsch offered rewards for finishing the puzzle. If the physical puzzle was completed, he would release the unaired pilot episode of Gravity Falls. If the digital puzzle was finished, he would upload unreleased deleted scenes. The physical puzzle was completed on August 1. Alex Hirsch showed up, signed it, and promised the pilot episode.

Clue 10: Piercy, California

The View-Master from the ninth clue showed pictures of the area around Confusion Hill in Piercy, California. This place is a tourist spot, much like the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls. One picture also showed Snoqualmie Falls in Washington, a waterfall famous from the TV show Twin Peaks, which inspired Gravity Falls. This pointed to Confusion Hill as the next clue spot.

A fan went to Confusion Hill and guessed the code to a jar of fake eyeballs. The code was "FILBRICK," a word found in invisible ink on fake money (Stan Bucks) that came with the jigsaw puzzle. The fan got the jar and found the tenth clue at the bottom. Alex Hirsch said fans who took a selfie with the Gravity Falls crew picture at Confusion Hill would get a prize.

Clue 11: Amity, Oregon

The tenth clue led to Stanley Street in Amity, Oregon, near some telephone poles. A group of fans went there and found a hidden geocache bolt. They unscrewed it and found the eleventh clue inside. It was a very narrow strip of paper with writing on both sides.

Clue 12: Turner, Oregon

The Enchanted Forest in Turner, Oregon, the location of the final clue.

The eleventh clue mentioned Roger Tofte, who created the Enchanted Forest amusement park in Turner, Oregon. This was the location of the twelfth and final clue. A family rushed to the park, but the clue had already been taken by another fan. That fan uploaded a picture of the clue online. It was written on ripped paper and had a secret code.

The twelfth clue was the final one, leading directly to Bill Cipher's statue. The back of the clue had a dotted red line, like a treasure map. This line could be combined with a dotted red line from the very first Cipher Hunt image Alex Hirsch posted. Fans used these combined lines to search for the statue along the West Coast, but had no luck.

Finding the Statue: Reedsport, Oregon

After several days with no progress, Alex Hirsch tweeted a hint. He revealed that a Polybius square (a type of code) was needed to solve the final clue. Fans had to find a pattern in the trees behind Bill's statue in the image. They figured out that the decoded message was a location ending with "OR" (for Oregon). This led them to "REEDSPORTOR," pointing to Reedsport, Oregon. Alex Hirsch retweeted fans heading there, confirming their guess. The treasure map was thought to be a path through the city's parks. Fans used Google Maps to find a matching path at the end of S 22nd Street.

Fans rushed to Reedsport to be the first to find the statue. On August 2, 2016, at 7:53 PM, Twitter user @shadow_wolfwind found the statue and tweeted a photo! Soon after, a treasure chest buried in front of the statue was found. Many fans shook the statue's hand, even a baby!

The treasure chest was full of cool stuff! It had plastic coins and gems, Russian and Japanese currency, a special copy of the book Gravity Falls: Journal 3 with drawings by Alex Hirsch, a black light, a plastic crown and a sash that said "Mayor of Gravity Falls," a music box that played the show's theme song, a tiny Bill Cipher statue, a framed drawing of the characters and the statue, and a USB drive.

The USB drive had a text document with a link to a fan's Twitter account. It also had an audio file of Grunkle Stan singing "We'll Meet Again" and congratulating the finders. Another text document, when opened, showed a secret message. This message was a username and password for a website. If entered correctly, it let users watch the unaired pilot episode of Gravity Falls from 2010! This pilot was an early version of the show's first episode, "Tourist Trapped", with different art and scenes.

What Happened Next: The Statue's New Home

Confusion Hill in Piercy, California is now home to the Bill Cipher statue and the completed puzzle.

On August 3, the day after the statue was found, local authorities took it. There was a disagreement about who owned the land where it was found. The statue's hat was broken during this, but it was already a bit damaged. The Reedsport Police kept the statue safe for Alex Hirsch while he found a new place for it. By August 5, the statue was moved to Reedsport's Bicentennial Park. It was bolted to a tree, without its hat. The treasure box was placed below it, and fans continued to visit.

On August 15, Alex Hirsch asked for volunteers to help move Bill's hat and the statue to a new location. Three days later, on August 18, the statue was gone from Bicentennial Park. A sign in its place said "BILL WAS HERE" (when decoded). On August 19, a Twitter user shared pictures, saying they had moved the statue to a secret spot. On August 20, fans discovered the statue had moved to Confusion Hill in Piercy, California. The statue got a new hat within a week. The treasure box was not moved to Confusion Hill. Both the statue and the completed jigsaw puzzle are now at Confusion Hill. There's also a special treasure spot where fans can leave and take small treasures for other visitors.

The promised deleted scenes from Gravity Falls were later released. They were included in the Gravity Falls: The Complete Series DVD box set.

Attribution

• Text was copied from Shuhua at the Gravity Falls Wiki, which is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.